Around the nation

ARKANSAS

Worker killed, 2 others feared drowned in collapse

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — Rain and swift river currents yesterday prevented divers from searching for the remains of two men presumed drowned when scaffolding underneath an Arkansas River bridge collapsed.

A third victim’s body was recovered about eight hours after Wednesday morning’s collapse, which threw the men 100 feet into the river. The three were working on a project to install a water main beneath the bridge for the Central Arkansas Water utility.

Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors will lead the investigation into the accident, said John Rehrauer, a spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. Names of the victims were not released.

FLORIDA

European cargo ship docks at space station

CAPE CANAVERAL — A European cargo ship docked yesterday with the International Space Station, successfully delivering food, water and clothes in its orbital debut.

The unmanned cargo ship, called Jules Verne, was operated by flight controllers at a European Space Agency center in Toulouse, France.

NASA’s Mission Control in Houston and Russia’s control center outside Moscow kept close tabs on the operation, which culminated in the morning linkup more than 200 miles above the Atlantic. Everything went smoothly with the automatic docking after a 26-day flight.

CALIFORNIA

Demolition delayed for Cow Palace

DALY CITY — The Cow Palace won’t be put out to pasture for now.

Plans to demolish the 67-year-old arena that once hosted the Beatles and the 1964 Republican National Convention are on hold because the state Senate declined to act on legislation to raze it.

The city wants to buy part of the state-owned land for redevelopment. Arena advocates said stock shows, rodeos and concerts draw more than 500,000 people annually.

CONNECTICUT

Taser-like device found with student

CLINTON — A 14-year-old student has been accused of rigging a camera so that it could deliver an electrical shock similar to a Taser.

Police said the boy modified the camera using instructions from the Internet. He brought the device to school, but a teacher intervened before he could use it.

School resource officer Kyle Strunjo said the makeshift device is capable of delivering a 600-volt shock.

The boy was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds, attempted assault and breach of peace. He was released into his parents’ custody.

GEORGIA

Judge regrets ousting whites

ATLANTA — A black judge said he was wrong to evict whites from his courtroom so he could deliver a stern lecture to black defendants, but insisted he meant no harm.

“I wanted to have a fireside chat,” Fulton Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington said yesterday. “And my grandmother said years ago that if you’re going to fuss at black people, you don’t need to do it in front of white people.”

On March 27, Judge Arrington asked all white people to leave the room before he addressed the defendants, telling them that bad behavior in poor black neighborhoods inhibits black advancement.

He delivered a similar message at sentencings yesterday, only with no race restrictions. The judge talked about several killings and other violent crimes, including one in which his brother was robbed while unlocking the door to his home. He said the gunman put a pistol into his brother’s mouth.

“We have insanity going on in the black community,” Judge Arrington said. “If we don’t say something, the infrastructure of this community is going to collapse. It will be like living in the wild, wild West.”

Judge Arrington said he won’t keep quiet in the future but will be more inclusive.

LOUISIANA

Ex-councilman pleads guilty to kickbacks

NEW ORLEANS — A former councilman from a New Orleans suburb pleaded guilty yesterday to seeking kickbacks from a subcontractor performing cleanup work after Hurricane Katrina.

Joseph A. Impastato, a former council member in St. Tammany Parish, changed his plea in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. Besides the charge of soliciting illegal gratuities, he pleaded guilty to filing a false 2001 tax return.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped nine other counts and asked for a two-year prison term on the charges, but Impastato faces up to 13 years. Judge Stanwood Duvall set sentencing for July 9.

Impastato was accused of extorting at least $85,000 from owners of a business that turned downed trees into wood chips.

KENTUCKY

Heavy rainfall threatens flooding

LOUISVILLE — The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for rivers and creeks in Kentucky in advance of heavy rain expected to end today.

Forecasters said up to 4 inches of rain was expected to fall over the northern part of the state within a 48-hour period, beginning yesterday.

Major flooding is forecast along the Rolling Fork River near Boston in central Kentucky. Moderate flooding is expected along the Rough River at Dundee in western Kentucky. Other areas across the state may experience minor flooding.

Meteorologist John Denman said the ground already is soaked from recent rainfall across the state.

MAINE

Store thief shoves guitar into pants

LEWISTON — Police are searching for a man accused of shoving an electric guitar into his pants and walking out of a store.

Police said they are looking for three men involved in the theft last week.

One of the men shoved a Fender Stratocaster into his pants and pulled a sweatshirt over the top. The other two acted as lookouts.

All three can be seen on footage from video surveillance.

A thief used the same method in 2006 but was caught as he tried to walk out of the store.

MINNESOTA

Woman bites pit bull to save dog

MINNEAPOLIS — Amy Rice feared for her dog’s life when a pit bull jumped over a fence into her yard and attacked her pooch. So she took matters into her own mouth.

Miss Rice, 38, said she bit the pit bull on the nose Friday after trying to pull the dog’s jaws off her Labrador retriever, Ella. The pit bull had jumped a fence to get into her northeast Minneapolis yard, and she said she feared it would kill Ella.

The pit bull was quarantined Wednesday by Minneapolis Animal Control officers while rabies tests are being completed. Miss Rice’s doctor will determine whether she needs shots for rabies.

MISSOURI

Youth ban sought on ’cage fighting’

JOPLIN — Legislators are seeking to ban mixed martial arts competitions — sometimes called “cage fighting” — among children in Missouri, which appears to be the only state where youth matches are allowed.

The sport is a blend of martial arts styles made popular by cable TV’s “Ultimate Fighting Championship.”

Republican state Reps. Bryan Stevenson of Webb City and Steve Hunter of Joplin introduced the measure Monday, days after the Associated Press reported the practice.

“I think it borders on child abuse. I just don’t think it’s appropriate behavior at all,” said Mr. Stevenson, adding that he has never attended a youth fight but has seen video clips.

NEW YORK

Lincoln letter sells for $3.4 million

NEW YORK — A letter written by Abraham Lincoln in response to a children’s petition to end slavery sold for a record $3.4 million yesterday at auction in New York .

The letter, an emotional response to a “Children’s Petition to the president asking him to free all the little slave children in this country,” dates from 1864 and was the highlight of a sale of historical American manuscripts.

The top lot, which was bought by an anonymous U.S. buyer bidding by phone, set a record price for a U.S. manuscript at auction.

“Please tell these little people I am very glad their young hearts are so full of just and generous sympathy,” Lincoln wrote in the letter. “While I have not the power to grant all they ask, I trust they will remember that God has, and that, as it seems, He wills to do it.”

TENNESSEE

Lightning strike ignites propane tank

MILLINGTON — Firefighters yesterday extinguished a propane tank fire that they said was sparked by a lightning strike.

No injuries were reported, but the morning fire forced the evacuation of 20 workers.

Fire department spokesman Brent Perkins said the fire occurred at a U.S. Zinc facility in an industrial area about 18 miles north of Memphis. No homes were threatened.

Emergency crews closed off the area while they tried to determine whether any propane seeped out of the 27,000-gallon tank, which was 60 percent filled when it ignited.

WISCONSIN

Landowner fires at SWAT team

VIOLA — A landowner with “strong anti-government attitudes” barricaded himself in his rural home yesterday and fired shots at SWAT officers trying to search his home and arrest him, authorities said. No one was injured.

Officers used a bullhorn to talk to Robert Bayliss, 60, because he does not have a phone, said Lt. Bob Frank, a spokesman for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

The dispute started Monday when deputies tried to serve Mr. Bayliss with a lawsuit seeking to evict him for failure to pay property taxes back to 2001 on his home and 18 acres, Richland County Counsel Benjamin Southwick said.

The county took ownership of the land in November because of the unpaid taxes, Mr. Southwick said.

Rifle shots were fired at officers who went to the property Monday, said Darin Gudgeon, Richland County emergency management director.

From wire dispatches and staff reports