ROCK THROWN FROM OVERPASS KILLS DRIVER ON FLORIDA ROAD
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- A University of Alabama professor driving on Interstate 75 was killed by a 20- to 30-pound rock tossed from an overpass.Julie Catherine Laible, 32, was heading south under the Erie Road overpass, a few miles west of Tampa, when the rock crashed through her car's windshield Sunday, hitting her in the face.
Passenger Tara Sue Wells, a graduate student at the university, reached over and guided the 1995 Honda to the shoulder of the road. No one else was injured.
Six to eight other cars were damaged by rocks thrown from three different overpasses late Saturday and early Sunday, said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Doug Dodson.
MOTHER OF SWITCHED INFANT FIGHTS $2 MILLION SETTLEMENT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- The biological mother of a girl switched at birth with another newborn in 1995 has gone to court to protest a proposed $2 million settlement.
Paula Johnson said in court papers Friday that the settlement for Rebecca Chittum isn't enough and as the girl's biological mother, she must approve it.
The two sets of grandparents raising the other girl, Callie Marie Conley, have agreed to accept $2 million from the state-operated University of Virginia Medical Center.
The girls' switch was discovered last year as a result of court-ordered blood tests in a child-support case involving Callie. About the same time, the couple raising Rebecca -- Callie's biological parents -- died in a car wreck.
ANTI-NUKE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AT THREE MILE ISLAND RALLY
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Five anti-nuclear activists were arrested after entering the grounds of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station to mark the 20th anniversary of America's worst commercial nuclear accident.
"I've been to Chernobyl," said activist Michael L. Mariotte, 46, one of the five, referring to the site of the 1986 Soviet nuclear plant disaster. "I've seen what happens when things go wrong. The people of Pennsylvania are not in the clear."
The five activists crossed over a set of railroad tracks onto the property of GPU Nuclear Corp. to close a pre-dawn rally Sunday and were arrested without incident.
SUSPECTED BURGLAR CHARGED IN DEATH OF ELDERLY NEIGHBOR
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- A suspected burglar has been charged with causing the death of his 81-year-old neighbor who lay on the floor of her home for more than two days while he ransacked her belongings.
Virginia Mary Gress lay conscious in the same spot in a doorway between two rooms while James Burrell allegedly made repeated trips to the house last October and stole more than $1,300 to feed a cocaine habit.
She eventually died of heart failure. Burrell was arrested when police caught him and his cousin inside the house three days after her body was discovered.
FLAMES LEAVE ONLY A SHELL OF CHURCH IN PENNSYLVANIA
ASPINWALL, Pa. (AP) -- George Heid was outside enjoying the end of a warm spring day when he noticed flames licking at the red brick Aspinwall Presbyterian Church next door.
Heid, 51, called 911, but it was already too late. The blaze Sunday left the church a charred shell in the midst of a quiet residential neighborhood.
"I was baptized here; I was married here. This is very hard. It's like losing part of your life," said Anne Wyant, 46, a lifelong church member. "You went here every week, everybody was like part of your family."
One firefighter was slightly injured battling the blaze.
The fire quickly spread thick smoke over Aspinwall, a bedroom community of about 3,200 people along the Allegheny River just north of Pittsburgh. The blaze was contained in about four hours.
BLAST ROCKS FIREWORKS PLANT WHERE WORKERS DIED LAST YEAR
OSSEO, Mich. (AP) -- A fireworks plant where seven workers died last December was rocked Monday morning by another explosion, and an unknown number of people were injured.
Emergency workers rushed to the scene of the explosion and fire, which happened shortly after 8:30 a.m.
"We believe there are injuries," sheriff's deputy Steve Morgan said.
The Dec. 11 explosion at the Independence Professional Fireworks plant killed six women and one man and injured 13 other people.
ATLANTIC CITY EASTER PARADE GOES FROM BOARDWALK TO MALL
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- No more bonnets on the Boardwalk.
A tradition more than a century old is ending this year as Atlantic City's Easter Parade and Pageant moves indoors.
Since 1876, thousands of women in bonnets and men in their Sunday best have paraded in front of waving crowds in this resort city. This year, organizers are holding the event in Atlantic City's only mall, The Shops at Ocean One, The Press of Atlantic City reported Sunday.
The move inside has angered purists.
Louise Johnson, 80, called the parade "part of Atlantic City history" that should be held in the open air, next to the ocean.