RICIN CASE: A Las Vegas police officer who went to a motel room where ricin was later found has tested positive for trace amounts of a substance that can be derived from the poison’s source, authorities said Thursday. The male officer, whose name and age were not made public, has shown no signs of illness or symptoms of ricin poisoning, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation.
GUILTY PLEA: Thomas Miller-El, 56, who was on Death Row in Texas for nearly 20 years until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his verdict because of racial discrimination, has pleaded guilty to the 1985 slaying for which he was originally sentenced to die. Miller-El accepted a deal with prosecutors Wednesday that spares him from heading to Death Row for a second time but virtually assures he will never leave prison.
DRIVER SURRENDERS: Troy Critchley, 38, a professional drag racer whose car plowed into a parade crowd last summer in Tennessee, killing six people and injuring 22 others, surrendered to authorities Thursday on multiple felony charges.
SALMONELLA SPREADS: An outbreak of salmonella poisoning in Alamosa in south-central Colorado spread Thursday, with 111 people likely sick from the dangerous bacteria, which appears to have contaminated the city’s tap water, officials said.
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QUOTABLE
‘The camel puts his nose in the tent and the next thing you know, he’s in the tent.’
– New York State Restaurant Association Executive Vice President Chuck Hunt, who’s concerned that rules requiring chain restaurants to display calorie counts on menus will be extended to every New York City restaurant. The restaurant lobbying group sued in federal court in January to prevent the city from enforcing the requirement, which is due to take effect at the end of March.
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Page compiled from Tribune news services
