CALIFORNIA
$30 million bail set for Garrido
PLACERVILLE — A judge on Monday set bail at $30 million for a Northern California man accused of kidnapping a girl and holding her captive for 18 years.
In setting the high amount, El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Douglas Phimister cited the serious nature of the charges, injuries to the girl and the fact that Phillip Garrido was on parole at the time of the purported abduction.
Garrido, 58, and his wife, Nancy Garrido, 54, have pleaded not guilty to 29 charges of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment and have been held without bail in an El Dorado County jail.
The couple are accused of kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard from her home near South Lake Tahoe in 1991, then holding her captive in a backyard jumble of tents and sheds for nearly two decades. Authorities say Mr. Garrido fathered two daughters with Miss Dugard.
GEORGIA
Judge: King kin to discuss estate
ATLANTA — A judge has ordered the surviving children of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King to hold a shareholders’ meeting to discuss their father’s estate.
The Rev. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III sued their brother, Dexter King, last year to force him to open the books of their father’s estate. The lawsuit claimed Dexter King, the estate’s administrator, has refused to provide documents concerning the estate’s operations.
The three siblings are the sole shareholders, directors and officers of a company that manages their father’s intellectual property, but they have not met for an annual shareholders’ meeting since 2004.
Dexter King has also sued his sister, who administers their mother’s estate.
NEVADA
Dealer robbed by Simpson suing
LAS VEGAS — A memorabilia dealer who had several heart attacks after being robbed at gunpoint by O.J. Simpson is suing the former football star and five men who were with him, seeking unspecified civil damages.
A lawyer for Bruce Fromong said Monday that he thinks he can prove Mr. Fromong suffered “great bodily injury” and emotional distress because of the September 2007 confrontation in a Las Vegas casino hotel room.
Simpson’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, calls the lawsuit frivolous and says he’ll fight it “tooth and nail.”
The lawsuit filed Friday in Las Vegas names Simpson, convicted co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart and four others as defendants, including Thomas Riccio, the go-between who arranged the meeting.
NEW JERSEY
’God Bless America’ ejection spurs suit
TRENTON — Three teenagers who say they were tossed from a New Jersey ballpark for sitting through the song “God Bless America” are suing the minor league Newark Bears.
The boys said their constitutional rights were violated when they were asked to leave Newark’s Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium in June by Bears president and co-owner Thomas Cetnar.
Mr. Cetnar confirms the boys were asked to leave but declined to elaborate.
The boys — Millburn High seniors Bryce Gadye and Nilkumar Patel, both 17, and junior Shaan Mohammad Khan, 16 — sued in federal court Friday seeking unspecified damages.
They said when they told Mr. Cetnar they had the right to remain seated, he cursed and had two security officers remove them from their seats behind home plate.
NEW MEXICO
Death of governor’s barber probed
SANTA FE — Police are investigating the death of a man who was found beaten in the middle of the street just blocks from a huge Santa Fe festival.
Police said Gilbert Roybal, 44, was taken off life-support Sunday. Mr. Roybal was a hair salon owner and Gov. Bill Richardson’s barber. Police have no suspects or motive.
The body was found near the burning of Zozobra, also known as Old Man Gloom. Thousands gather each year to watch the 50-foot Zozobra marionette go up in flames. The ritual is supposed to rid people of all the bad things that happened in the past year.
A gang-related shooting in 1997 prompted the city to move the event to Thursday from Friday and to prevent food booths from opening after the burning.
NEW YORK
City wants parks to be smoke-free
NEW YORK — New York City’s famous parks may be going smoke-free.
The city’s health commissioner said the next goal in Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s anti-tobacco crusade is to ban smoking at city parks and beaches.
New York City has more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreation facilities. The Parks Department is also in charge of 14 miles of beaches.
Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said New Yorkers shouldn’t have to breathe secondhand smoke, even outside. He said children shouldn’t even have to see people smoking.
Mr. Bloomberg faced a tough political battle when he banned smoking in restaurants and bars in 2002.
NORTH CAROLINA
Pregnant teen killed at school bus stop
CHARLOTTE | A pregnant 15-year-old was fatally shot in the head Monday as she waited at a North Carolina school bus stop, and her baby was in critical condition.
The shooting followed a domestic dispute, and authorities had identified a suspect, said police spokesman Rob Tufano, who declined to elaborate.
Tiffany Wright, who was eight months pregnant, was shot before dawn at a stop in north Charlotte. She attended Hawthorne High School, a school with a special program for pregnant teens.
Miss Wright was found by her foster mother, who had just walked Miss Wright to the bus stop and returned home, Mr. Tufano said. She heard at least three gunshots and went outside to find Miss Wright in the street.
UTAH
Mormons release Bible in Spanish
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is publishing its own edition of a Spanish-language Bible.
It’s the first time the Mormon church has published an edition of the Bible in a language other than English.
The new edition became available Monday.
Utah is home to more than 120 Spanish-language LDS wards and branches. Spanish speakers make up a major part of the church’s 13 million worldwide membership.
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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