National Roundup

New York Diplomat's daughter suing NYC for wrongful arrest NEW YORK (AP) -- The daughter of an Indian diplomat who says she was wrongly arrested after someone else sent nasty emails to her high school teacher is suing New York City. Krittika Biswas was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing. At a news conference Tuesday, the 18-year-old said she was removed from her Queens high school in handcuffs in February and held for more than 24 hours. The lawsuit says another student was later found to have sent the obscene e-mails but was never arrested. The suit says Biswas is seeking $1.5 million and a key to the city. The district attorney says details of the case are sealed. The city Law Department declined to comment. Biswas is the daughter of Debashish Biswas, the vice consul at the Consulate General of India in Manhattan. Vermont Not guilty plea by man in lesbian custody case BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -- A Tennessee missionary charged with helping a woman get her child out of the United States as part of a high-profile lesbian custody case in Vermont says he's not guilty. Timothy David Miller, who was indicted May 12 for allegedly helping Lisa Miller abscond with her 9-year-old daughter Isabella, didn't attend his arraignment Wednesday in federal court in Burlington. A public defender entered the not guilty plea for him. Prosecutors say he helped Miller -- who's unrelated to him -- take Isabella to Nicaragua in 2009 as part of a custody dispute with former partner Janet Jenkins, of Fair Haven. Timothy Miller, a Mennonite missionary, is free on bail. Lisa Miller, of Virginia, and Jenkins were joined in a civil union in 2000 but broke up after having the child. New York Major sports betting ring busted in NYC NEW YORK (AP) -- Authorities in New York City have busted a major online sports betting ring, arresting 28 people in three states and seizing $5.7 million in assets. Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan said Tuesday raids were executed in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania following a two-year, multi-law enforcement investigation. He says the operation ran out of a Staten Island strip mall. The DA says the ringleader, 56-year-old Joseph Stentella, allegedly had customers betting on horse races, football, basketball, hockey and mixed martial arts fights. He was charged with enterprise corruption, promoting gambling and money laundering. He was jailed after pleading not guilty. His lawyer, Louis Diamond, says he'll seek a bail hearing. Authorities say the operation laundered profits by mail to Florida and Arizona, then by courier to Costa Rica. Kentucky Sierra Club sues coal company, says water polluted LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- An environmental group is suing a coal company, accusing it of violating federal water regulations by dumping toxic amounts of the element selenium in waterways near a mine in southeastern Kentucky. The Sierra Club filed the suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in London accusing ICG Hazard of violating the federal Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 at the Thunder Ridge surface mine in Leslie County. The group is seeking an order requiring ICG Hazard to install selenium treatment facilities at the mine and pay fines. ICG Hazard's parent company, International Coal Group of Scott Depot, W.Va., did not immediately return a message. Selenium, which occurs naturally and is used by plants and animals, can be toxic if consumed in large quantities. Alaska Lawyer says Kip Lynch did not kill wife, baby ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The lawyer for Kip Lynch -- the Fort Wainwright soldier charged with killing his wife and baby daughter -- says someone else committed the crime. Lawyer Dan Lowery declined to tell the Anchorage Daily News on Tuesday who he believed killed the two at the family's Anchorage home in April 2010. Lynch is charged with shooting 19-year-old Raquell and 8-month old Kyirsta, before shooting himself in the head. Lynch has said he can't remember what happened. A clinical neuro-psychologist at Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington State testified that Lynch appeared to be exaggerating his memory loss. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case soon in Superior Court. Louisiana Jury convicts Lake Charles family in teen's death LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) -- Four members of a Lake Charles family have been found guilty in the 2009 shooting death of 14-year-old Alexus Rankins. On Tuesday, jurors found 19-year-old Sean Newton guilty of first-degree murder and convicted his brother, 18-year-old Brandon Newton, on accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Both brothers were also found guilty of inciting to riot and obstruction of justice. Their mother, 44-year-old Nina Lambert Newton, and father, 48-year-old Rodney Bernard Newton, were each convicted on accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Nina Newton was also found guilty of obstruction of justice. The American Press reports state Judge Clayton Davis will sentence the family on July 20. Rankin was walking home from the mall on March 27, 2009, when she was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. West Virginia DuPont says plaintiffs can't double-dip MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Chemical giant DuPont says plaintiffs in a West Virginia personal injury case should be denied enrollment in a medical monitoring program aimed at detecting illness early. Fifteen Spelter-area residents sued in Harrison County Circuit Court last summer after winning a long-running class-action lawsuit over pollution from a zinc-smelting plant. DuPont appealed that 2007 verdict, then offered last fall to settle. It offered $70 million and a 30-year medical monitoring program. In court, the company now argues that there's no point in periodic testing for people who are already sick. Spokesman Dan Turner also argues the law prohibits participation. But Rebecca Morlock says she and her fellow plaintiffs deserve both because some diseases take up to 40 years to develop, and they're still being exposed to arsenic, cadmium, lead and zinc. Published: Thu, May 26, 2011