Around the Nation

UTAH

Original KFC torn down

SALT LAKE CITY — The world’s first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant was demolished yesterday, leaving the familiar Col. Sanders logo upside down atop a heap of rubble.

By early August, however, KFC will be reborn on the same spot as a restaurant and museum that will tell how buckets of crispy fried chicken came to be sold at nearly 12,000 restaurants around the globe, generating annual sales of around $10 billion.

“We’re definitely proud of our heritage in Utah,” said James Jackson, chief financial officer for California-based Harman’s KFC Corp., based in Los Altos, Calif.

NORTH DAKOTA

Study examines nutrition, flying ability

GRAND FORKS — Elliot Wilson is on his way to becoming a commercial airline pilot, but that’s not why he is eating expensive seafood this semester.

Mr. Wilson is one of 15 University of North Dakota aviation students in a research study that examines what pilots eat and whether it affects their ability to think and operate an airplane.

For an entire week four times a semester, the pilots feast on a variety of foods including occasional servings of lobster and crab. At the end of the week, they are put in demanding situations on a flight simulator.

“You want to make sure you are stressing them enough to see a difference, so they are pushed pretty hard,” researcher Warren Jensen said.

Associated Press

Lorenzo Gilyard, charged with 12 counts of murder, is being investigated for links to other unsolved killings, Kansas City, Mo., police say.

ALABAMA

State university sorry over slavery ties

TUSCALOOSA — The University of Alabama apologized yesterday to the descendants of slaves who were owned by faculty members or who worked on campus in the years before the Civil War.

The apology — approved overwhelmingly by the Faculty Senate — was the first at the university and possibly the first of its kind in the nation, officials said.

It also was the second move in a week to acknowledge the university’s ties to slavery. On Thursday, university officials announced that the school will erect a marker near the graves of two slaves on the campus and place others on buildings where slaves once worked and lived.

ARIZONA

Rancher still jailed over beef grazing

TUCSON — A 71-year-old Arizona rancher will remain in prison after refusing again to remove his cattle from federal land.

Wally Klump has spent a year behind bars on a contempt of court charge for his continued refusal to remove his 28 cows from a portion of the Dos Cabezas Mountains, owned by the Bureau of Land Management.

On Monday, a federal judge in Tucson asked Klump to remove the trespassing animals, but Klump refused, and federal authorities said they wouldn’t round up the cattle because of concerns that other members of the Klump family might resort to violence to prevent such a move.

CALIFORNIA

Border fence plans create divide

SAN DIEGO — Expansion of a 14-mile fence separating Mexico from the United States has become a political football, USA Today reported yesterday.

The federal government has spent eight years adding two fences to the original one outside San Diego, and plans to extend it by 3.5 miles.

However, opponents of the barricade say it would harm endangered species in the sensitive Tijuana Estuary, flatten part of a scenic canyon, and block public access.

Annual arrests of illegal immigrants in the fenced sections have dropped to 3,000 from about 25,000 in three years.

The Border Patrol says the number of illegal immigrants caught trying to enter at land borders has declined from about 1.6 million in 2000 to 931,557 in 2003.

CONNECTICUT

Man charged in death of toddler, boy’s aunt

NEW LONDON — A man with a history of violent behavior was charged yesterday in the stabbing deaths of his toddler son and the boy’s 10-year-old aunt.

Robert Swain III, 24, was charged with two counts of capital felony murder, which carries a potential death sentence, for the slayings of 15-month-old Josiah Swain and Emmaline Turner. Judge Kevin McMahon ordered a psychiatric evaluation and set bail at $1 million.

Mr. Swain was treated for self-inflicted stab wounds. His 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Turner, and neighbor Rita Whitehead also were stabbed, and three officers were hurt trying to arrest Mr. Swain.

FLORIDA

Rape suspect ruled incompetent

ORLANDO — A judge has ruled that an Orlando man accused of raping a severely retarded woman is incompetent to stand trial.

Circuit Judge C. Alan Lawson said Phillip Strong, 76, who suffers from dementia and memory loss never will be competent enough to be tried, the Orlando Sentinel reported yesterday.

Mr. Strong is forbidden from any contact with a child or disabled person.

Judge Lawson instructed sheriff’s deputies to investigate Mr. Strong’s living arrangements “to assure he is supervised in a manner that can assure compliance with this order.”

Mr. Strong was charged with raping a woman known only as J.D.S., who is severely retarded and has cerebral palsy and autism. She was raised in a foster home.

ILLINOIS

Gang members told to avoid each other

CHICAGO — An Illinois judge has forbidden members of a Chicago area street gang from associating with one another in public, the Chicago Sun-Times reported yesterday.

The action by Judge Edward R. Duncan of DuPage County was hailed by law-enforcement officials who have been frustrated in dealing with the Satan Disciples street gang. They say it gives them a tool to deal with other gangs.

However, Judge Duncan also denied a request from West Chicago and DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph Birkett to make the 14 remaining members of the gang also pay $529,000 in damages. Judge Duncan said authorities couldn’t really show that the gang members cost police that much money in five years.

IOWA

Senate marriage bill supports counseling

DES MOINES — Couples would have to undergo 12 hours of premarital counseling or face longer waits for a marriage license under a bill approved yesterday by the Iowa Senate and sent to the governor.

The bill, which passed 33-14, would set a waiting period of three days with counseling and 20 days without it. Supporters say it will strengthen marriages and slow the divorce rate.

“This is a good step to take. It brings people to the table to discuss issues ahead of time,” Sen. Neal Schuerer said.

Some opponents of the bill said marriage is a religious matter and not one for the government to regulate.

“There are people that have no faith, no religion, that will be paying a lot of money to get this counseling that they may or may not want,” Sen. Matt McCoy said.

KENTUCKY

Lawmaker detained over gun at airport

LOUISVILLE — Rep. John Hostettler, Indiana Republican, was detained briefly when airport security workers found a handgun in his briefcase as he was going through a checkpoint on a trip back to Washington yesterday.

The five-term congressman was released after he was issued a citation by airport police for a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed deadly weapon. The charge carries a maximum year in jail and up to a $500 fine.

Mr. Hostettler was preparing to board a US Airways flight at Louisville International Airport when the gun was found, said his press secretary, Michael Jahr.

“Apparently the congressman had left a handgun in his briefcase and forgot it was in there and took it to the security checkpoint, where it was detected, and they detained him briefly to make sure he had no ill intent, as they should do,” Mr. Jahr said.

MASSACHUSETTS

Harvard Law School creates race institute

CAMBRIDGE — Harvard Law School said it is establishing an institute to focus on race and justice.

Harvard made the announcement Monday, issuing a release that named Charles Ogletree as the director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice.

The institute will focus on a variety of race and justice issues and will sponsor research, conferences and policy analysis. The institute is named for Charles Hamilton Houston, credited with spearheading the Brown v. Board of Education case that led to court-ordered desegregation of the nation’s public schools.

The institute will begin activities in fall 2005.

MINNESOTA

Autopsy identifies missing coed’s body

CROOKSTON — A preliminary autopsy report concluded that a body found Saturday was indeed that of Dru Sjodin, and that the University of North Dakota student was a victim of homicide, Polk County officials said yesterday.

A final report will be completed by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office in St. Paul, said Greg Widseth, Polk County attorney. A statement from Mr. Widseth gave no detail on how she died.

The body of Miss Sjodin, 22, was found near a county road northwest of Crookston, about five months after she was last seen at a Grand Forks, N.D., shopping mall.

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 51, of Crookston, is charged in Grand Forks County with kidnapping her. He has pleaded not guilty.

NEW YORK

No malfunction seen in train crash

NEW YORK — There were no signs of signal failure or equipment problems on a Long Island Rail Road train that was rear-ended by an empty Amtrak train, leaving 127 persons with mostly minor injuries, the LIRR said.

The LIRR train, with hundreds of passengers on board, had stopped as required just before switching tracks to pull into Pennsylvania Station shortly after 7 a.m., LIRR President James Dermody said. The train had been stationary when the empty Amtrak train hit it, and the Amtrak crew should have seen its well-lit back, he said.

Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said the incident remained under investigation. He declined to describe what kind of signal the Amtrak train had at the point where trains switch tracks. He said the Amtrak train, which was heading from a rail yard to pick up passengers at Penn Station, was moving at less than 15 mph.

Of those injured, 79 were taken to hospitals. Most were treated and released, said Fire Department spokesman Frank Gribbon.

OKLAHOMA

Waco raid upset McVeigh, witness says

McALESTER — The prosecution’s star witness in the Terry Nichols murder trial began testifying yesterday after a judge allowed him to discuss the supposed conspiracy between Nichols and Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Oklahoma City federal building.

Michael Fortier’s testimony focused on how he, Nichols and McVeigh met as Army buddies stationed together at Fort Riley, Kan.

Two years after Fortier left the Army, McVeigh showed up unannounced at his home in Kingman, Ariz., shortly after the April 19, 1993, government raid at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in which about 80 people died. McVeigh was upset over the raid.

“He was speaking about the fire that had occurred in Waco, Texas,” Fortier said. “He was excited and angry about it.”

Fortier, serving 12 years in prison for knowing about the bombing plot but not telling authorities, was brought to the courthouse under heavy security.

OREGON

Cops must report pointing their guns

PORTLAND — Starting in July, Portland police officers will have to write a report each time they point a gun at someone.

The policy was announced Monday on the eve of grand jury hearings yesterday on the shooting death of James Perez, an unarmed motorist killed in a confrontation with Portland officers during a traffic stop last month.

The Perez shooting stirred a public uproar that Police Chief Derrick Foxworth said he hoped would be cooled by the new report requirement, which takes effect July 1.

Chief Foxworth told reporters the policy would drive home the gravity of pointing a weapon at someone, particularly if that person isn’t armed.

TENNESSEE

’Springer’ arson case goes to court

KNOXVILLE — All Ricky Meredith wanted to do was appear on national television.

Instead, he lost his prized collection of 2,000 clip-on ties, his 16 “homemade” Western shirts and the big-screen TV he had just finished paying off, all because of a fire prosecutors contend his ex-stepdaughter and her boyfriend set while he was in Chicago for an appearance on “The Jerry Springer Show.”

Mr. Meredith’s former stepdaughter, Sarah Martin, is standing trial on charges of arson and aggravated burglary for the October 2001 fire at Mr. Meredith’s apartment.

Miss Martin, however, contends boyfriend Jason Howard Copley is the guilty one. Her attorney insists Miss Martin is being falsely accused.

Copley pleaded guilty to arson last month. He testified as part of a plea deal, telling jurors the arson was Miss Martin’s idea. Copley is serving a seven-year sentence for his role in a 1998 robbery and murder.

WISCONSIN

Americans want sex more than youth

GREEN BAY — A trip to the “Fountain of Youth” may be a much desired destination on one’s life itinerary, but what are Americans willing to give up for a drink of the infamous elixir? Not sex, said half of men and a third of women ages 18 to 64 in a February 2004 survey of 1,000 adults by Body Confident.

Those in the 64-and-over age group named coffee (18 percent) as the item they are not willing to exchange.

While 13 percent of Americans conceded they are not willing to give up anything for a sip of the youthful nectar, 15 percent would cease their intake of dessert and chocolate, 10 percent would surrender their coffee cup and 9 percent would trade in their cable box.