Five Indiana Pacers players and three fans charged in a brawl during a Nov. 19 game at The Palace of Auburn Hills appeared in a Rochester Hills, Mich., court Tuesday and were released on bond. Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Johnson, David Harrison and Jermaine O’Neal must return to court in April. Bryant Jackson, a fourth fan who was charged with felonious assault for allegedly tossing a chair, was ordered to stand trial.
NYC SUBWAY FIRE: A subway line serving tens of thousands of New Yorkers a day was knocked out of service and another severely limited, possibly for years, because of a fire that authorities said may have been set by a homeless person trying to stay warm. It will take “several millions of dollars and several years” to rebuild the C and A lines, NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter said.
GUARD UPS INCENTIVE TO JOIN: The Army National Guard is seeking legal authority to offer $15,000 bonuses to active-duty soldiers willing to join the Guard–up from $50. Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters Tuesday that the Guard is 15,000 soldiers below its normal strength of 350,000.
GAYS DROP MARRIAGE CASE: Three Florida gay couples married elsewhere on Tuesday dropped their lawsuits challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act, saying they do not want to risk having a conservative U.S. Supreme Court set precedent by rejecting their case.
MCDONALD’S FAT CASE RETURNS: A federal appeals court in New York gave a lawsuit blaming McDonald’s for making people fat another bite at the legal system Tuesday, reinstating claims pertaining to deceptive advertising.
U.S. DEFICIT GROWS: This year’s federal deficit is expected to hit $427 billion, a senior administration official said Tuesday. The record was partly driven by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and alBerto Trevino (atrevino@tribune.com)
