California
Part of Judd’s Weinstein lawsuit is dismissed
LOS ANGELES — A judge has dismissed one section of Ashley Judd’s lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, but the rest remains headed toward trial.
U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled Wednesday that Judd’s sexual harassment claim isn’t within the scope of a California statute.
Gutierrez had already rejected the claim in November but allowed Judd’s lawyers to amend it, then dismissed it again.
Judd attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. says nothing about the ruling changes the fact that Judd’s lawsuit is moving forward, and her strong case remains intact.
New York
US officials declare romaine lettuce OK
People are also reading…
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials have declared an end to a food poisoning outbreak blamed on romaine lettuce from California.
From October to December, the E. coli outbreak sickened 62 people in 16 states. No one died, but 25 people were hospitalized. Illnesses were also reported in Canada.
Investigators concluded that romaine lettuce grown in central and northern California was the likely source. They found the same bacteria strain in a reservoir at a farm in Santa Barbara County.
Officials said Wednesday that no new illnesses have been reported for a month, and lettuce from the area is no longer in stores or restaurants. Romaine harvesting has since shifted to winter growing areas, primarily Arizona, Florida, Mexico and California’s Imperial Valley.
Texas
Couple found guilty of enslaving girl 16 years
FORT WORTH — A federal jury has found a suburban North Texas couple guilty of enslaving a Guinean woman for 16 years.
Jurors found Mohamed Toure and his wife, Denise Cros-Toure, guilty Thursday of forced labor. They face up to 20 years in prison, but no sentencing date was immediately set.
Toure is the son of a former president of the West African country of Guinea. The Southlake, Texas, pair was accused of bringing the 5-year-old girl from her rural Guinean village in 2000 and forcing her to work without pay in their home for years.
Florida
Helicopter’s blades strike, kill worker
BROOKSVILLE — Authorities say a man was hit in the head by the main rotor blades and killed while working on a helicopter at a Florida airport.
A Hernando County Sheriff’s Office news release says 62-year-old Salvatore Disi died Thursday afternoon near the hangars at Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport.
Officials say two men were using a power cart to jump-start a helicopter when, for an unknown reason, the helicopter suddenly jerked up and then came down. The sheriff’s statement says the motion caused the main rotor blades to strike Disi in the head, killing him instantly.
Maryland
State creates hotline for clergy abuse victims
BALTIMORE — Maryland’s top law enforcement official announced Thursday a phone hotline for victims to report child sex abuse associated with a place of worship or school across the state.
Attorney General Brian Frosh announced the creation of the hotline in Baltimore, home to the country’s first bishop, first cathedral, first diocese and first archdiocese.
Unlike counterparts in other states that have formally announced probes into clergy sex abuse, Frosh’s office has only publicly called for victims of abusers linked to schools or places of worship to come forward.
Colorado
Activists seek details on ex-nuke weapons plant
DENVER — Activists asked a U.S. judge Thursday to make documents public from a 27-year-old criminal investigation into a former nuclear weapons plant outside Denver with a history of fires, leaks and spills.
The activists said the documents could show whether the federal government did enough to clean up the site before turning part of it into a wildlife refuge and opening it to the public.
Wire reports