Harrier Jet Crashes In Ohio; Pilot Ejects, No One Is Hurt

FAIRBORN, Ohio - A military jet on a training mission crashed yesterday in a cornfield only 50 feet from a busy interstate highway junction. No one was injured and the pilot ejected safely.

Witness Paul Cronley said he saw flames coming from the engine of the Marine AV-8B Harrier moments before it crashed between Dayton and Springfield in an area of farms and housing developments.

"I think the pilot did one heck of a job to find a safe area," Cronley said.

The crash happened near an Interstate 675 ramp that leads to Interstate 70 in western Ohio. Capt. Stephen Brooks, 30, of Washington, Pa., suffered scrapes and bruises and was taken to a hospital at nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The Harrier, which can take off and land vertically, was assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, N.C., the Pentagon said.

It was one of four Harriers that had just taken off from Wright-Patterson, said Staff Sgt. Kristine Wilbanks, a spokeswoman from Cherry Point. The cause of the crash was being investigated.

Gore praises `Ellen,' urges `moral tone'in TV industry

HOLLYWOOD - Vice President Al Gore yesterday called on the television industry and Hollywood in general to exhibit "deep responsibility" in its role of setting "the moral tone of the nation."

"You form our national and increasingly our world consciousness," Gore told the Hollywood Radio and Television Society.

Some in the industry expected Gore to use the opportunity to take Hollywood to task for glorifying drugs, violence and sex. But he struck a moderate tone, stressing the good TV can do.

Gore singled out the lesbian character on "Ellen" for praise. "When the character Ellen came out, millions of Americans were forced to look at sexual orientation in a more open light," he said.

Wal-Mart is ordered to pay $3.96 million to surgeon

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - A heart surgeon who said his career was ruined by a fall in a Sam's Club parking lot won a nearly $4 million verdict against Wal-Mart.

Dr. Charles Butler, 54, was carrying a bulk package of paper towels when he tripped over the tongue of a trailer hitch outside a store in Kalamazoo, injuring his spine. His hands shake as a result.

The jury ordered Wal-mart to pay Butler $3.96 million, largely for lost future earnings.

Jurors had come up with a $5.28 million award. But they found that Wal-Mart, which owns the warehouse-style discount retailer Sam's Club, was only 75 percent responsible for the injuries Butler suffered. The company denied any negligence.

Woman sentenced for assault linked to alleged molestation

DELAWARE, Ohio - A mother who sexually assaulted her husband because she believed he was molesting their daughter has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Jewell Hosler, 28, pleaded guilty Wednesday to kidnapping and attempting to rape her husband in an attack that allegedly involved her mother and aunt as well.

Relatives said Hosler feared her husband was again molesting the child, whom he was convicted of molesting in 1994. He denies ever molesting her.