Woman strangled herself, autopsy shows
A woman who died in police custody during an airport layover was intoxicated and accidentally strangled herself, an autopsy released Friday concludes. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office said Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, of New York was acutely intoxicated on alcohol and prescription drugs when she died in a police holding room at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sept. 28.
Girl conscious after surgery
A 2-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs regained consciousness Friday, wiggled her toes and smiled at her parents 48 hours after massive surgery removed the extra limbs, said doctors in Bangalore, India. Lakshmi, who has been revered by some in her village as a reincarnation of the four-armed Hindu goddess she was named for, still was in intensive care. Doctors took her off a respirator later Friday but were monitoring her closely.
50 die in day of fighting
Fifty people have died in 24 hours of fighting that began when Ethiopian troops tried to retrieve the body of a soldier dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, witnesses and doctors said Friday. The latest clashes with Islamic insurgents are among the most violent since April. Ethiopia has been pushing more troops into the capital in recent days, causing an increase in contact between insurgents and government troops and their Ethiopian allies, residents said.
Plans to settle Vioxx suits
Merck & Co. said Friday it will pay $4.85 billion to end thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its painkiller Vioxx in one of the largest drug settlements ever. Company officials estimated the deal, if accepted, would end 45,000 to 50,000 personal-injury lawsuits involving U.S. Vioxx users who suffered a heart attack or ischemic stroke, the type in which blood flow to the brain is blocked.
AND FINALLY …
Music with ‘Supper’?
It’s a new Da Vinci code, but this time it could be for real. An Italian musician and computer technician in Rome claims to have uncovered musical notes encoded in Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” raising the possibility that the Renaissance genius might have left behind a somber composition to accompany the scene depicted in the 15th-century wall painting. “It sounds like a requiem,” Giovanni Maria Pala said. “It’s like a soundtrack that emphasizes the passion of Jesus.”
