Man charged in two deaths after pickup rams police car
Police say Tyson Kreuscher, 27, rammed the patrol car at 65 to 70 mph Monday while it was parked on a side street in Hobart.
According to the criminal complaint, Kreuscher told investigators he is suicidal and suffers from severe depression. Assistant District Attorney John Luetscher said there was no evidence Kreuscher had planned to target the police car.
The crash killed Robert Etter, 55, and Stephanie Markins, 32, both of the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department.
Wrongly convicted New York man freed after years in prison
BUFFALO, N.Y. — A 36-year-old man who spent almost half his life in prison on a murder charge has been released after his conviction was overturned.
Angelo Martinez of Brooklyn was convicted in the 1985 murder of Rudolph Marasco outside a bingo hall in Queens.
Another prisoner confessed to the murder about a decade ago, said Oscar Michelen, Martinez's defense attorney. But authorities didn't believe Charles Rivera because he failed a lie-detector test.
Further investigation by the Queens district attorney's office confirmed Rivera's confession that he killed Marasco as a favor to another man.
In June, a Queens judge threw out Martinez's murder conviction. Martinez then filed a $50 million lawsuit against the state, claiming he had been unjustly convicted.
SEC accused Church of God fund-raising arm of fraud
INDIANAPOLIS — In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, the SEC has accused the fund-raising arm of the Church of God of defrauding investors out of $85 million.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said in the court documents it had negotiated a preliminary settlement with the group, Church Extension of the Church of God.
The group is accused of artificially inflating income in correspondence with investors and misleading them about the risk of investments.
A judge must approve the settlement, which Church Extension entered into without admitting or denying the allegations.
Church Extension was created in 1921 to raise money for church construction and renovations. The Church of God has more than 2,200 affiliated congregations and more than 230,000 members nationwide.
Students, group sue school over Quran requirement
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Three students and a conservative Christian organization have filed a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina, saying a requirement that freshmen read a book about Islam is unconstitutional.
The university is infringing on students' First Amendment right to religious freedom by requiring them to read "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations," says the suit, filed Monday in federal court in Greensboro.
All incoming freshmen have been told to read the text, which includes 35 translated sections of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. They also are expected to attend discussion sessions.
School officials have said the subject is timely and informational, and that the reading requirement is not intended to promote Islam.
The lawsuit was filed by the Virginia-based Family Policy Network and three UNC freshmen identified only as John Doe No. 1, an evangelical Christian; John Doe No. 2, a Catholic; and Jane Roe, who is Jewish.
Iowa popcorn-plant worker diagnosed with lung disease
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A popcorn-plant worker has been diagnosed with a rare lung disease that health authorities have linked to inhaling the artificial butter flavoring used in microwave popcorn.
Federal health officials are testing other workers at American Pop Corn for bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as popcorn packers' lung, a severe and irreversible disease.
The man, who was not identified, still works at the plant.
He has a light case of the disease that is not life-threatening, company Vice President Tom Elsen said. He no longer works in the department where butter flavorings are mixed with other ingredients.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says scientists have found no evidence of danger to people who eat microwave popcorn.