National Roundup

Connecticut Walgreens settles billing lawsuit HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Walgreen Co. has settled a civil lawsuit with Connecticut and federal officials who alleged the company double billed the government for some prescription drugs. State Attorney General George Jepsen says Walgreen submitted duplicate or multiple claims to Medicare, Medicaid and ConnPACE for drugs provided to people eligible for both the state and federal programs. U.S. Attorney David Fein and Jepsen say the Illinois-based pharmacy company has reimbursed the government for billing errors made between June 1, 2006, and Aug. 31, 2008. Company spokesman Robert Elfinger says Walgreen did not admit to any wrongdoing and agreed to the settlement to avoid further litigation. Kentucky Court upholds dismissal of financial collapse suit LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by petroleum giant Ashland Inc. against the firm Oppenheimer & Co. related to the collapse of financial markets in 2008. A three-judge panel from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected a bid by Kentucky-based Ashland to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars the company lost when the market for securities backed by student loans imploded. Ashland had $194 million invested in the securities, which it purchased with Oppenheimer as the broker. When the market went under, Ashland was left with securities that were virtually impossible to sell. Ashland claimed that New York-based Oppenheimer didn't disclose to Ashland that the markets were collapsing. The appeals panel upheld a ruling that Ashland couldn't prove the claims. Colorado Video backs sheriff on bounty hunter complaint GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- Surveillance videos in the Grand Junction, Colo., lobby of the sheriff's department show people having coughing fits after a pepper-sprayed fugitive was delivered by Duane "Dog" Chapman. The videos back up claims by the Mesa County sheriff that the star of the A&E show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" excessively pepper-sprayed the fugitive during a scuffle on July 20 and then took him in without decontaminating him. The videos were released Wednesday after The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel requested them under the Colorado Open Records Act. Chapman and his wife said they didn't understand why the sheriff was upset because the suspect, Andrew Distel, was cleaned and fed. Distel was wanted on warrants for failure to appear in two felony cases involving possession of methamphetamine. Mississippi Man convicted in 1997 Miss. rampage seeks release JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The man convicted of killing three and wounding seven others in a 1997 rampage in central Mississippi is asking for clemency. In a legal ad running this month in the weekly Rankin County News, 30-year-old Luke Woodham says he'll ask Gov. Haley Barbour to let him out of prison. Barbour's office says the governor hasn't received Woodham's request. Fourteen years ago, Woodham, who was 16 at the time, stabbed and bludgeoned his mother to death and then went to Pearl High School and opened fire with a hunting rifle on students and teachers. When the rampage ended, two students were dead and seven other people were wounded. District Attorney Michael Guest, who assisted in the prosecution of Woodham, said Wednesday that Woodham has no chance of being released. Pennsylvania Man jailed in drunken, hoe-wielding ordeal AMBRIDGE, Pa. (AP) -- A western Pennsylvania man is jailed on charges that he threatened to kill his wife with a garden hoe and smashed items in their home, forcing the woman to take refuge in their basement for three days. Online court records don't list an attorney for 51-year-old Fred Poore II, of Ambridge. Police say Poore's wife told them he'd been "drinking for several days." She said her husband didn't allow her to have a telephone, but she was able to access his cell phone to call her daughter who called police on Tuesday. Police arrived to find broken furniture and glass throughout the living room, and the hoe broken into three pieces. The Beaver County Times reports Poore was drunk and babbling incoherently when he was arrested on aggravated assault charges. South Dakota Holder: End domestic violence against Native women RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- Standing before nine tribal flags, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress to pass legislation designed to combat violence against Native American women. Holder was speaking in Rapid City on Wednesday as part of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and its Native American Issues Subcommittee. The Rapid City Journal reports that Holder vowed his personal commitment to end the "shocking and unacceptable" scourge of domestic violence. Holder's Department of Justice wants to close legal gaps in the prosecution of domestic violence offenders on reservations. The proposed legislation would, among other things, allow tribal courts to prosecute non-Native perpetrators who are charged with abusing their Native wives or girlfriends on a reservation. The Justice Department says one-third of all Native women will be raped in their lifetimes. Illinois $3 million bond for man charged in 1957 killing SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP) -- Bond has been set at $3 million for a man charged in the 1957 kidnapping and slaying of a 7-year-old Illinois girl. Jack Daniel McCullough made an initial court appearance Thursday in DeKalb County Circuit Court via closed-circuit television. The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle reports the 71-year-old Seattle resident was appointed a public defender. McCullough was named John Tessier and lived in Sycamore when Maria Ridulph (RIHD'-uhlf) was kidnapped in December 1957. Although he matched the suspect's description, he had an alibi. He's denied any involvement in the death of the Ridulph. McCullough waived his right to extradition. He was returned to Illinois Wednesday, the same day authorities exhumed the body of Ridulph. Authorities in DeKalb County say they hope scientists can now conduct a better examination of her remains. Published: Fri, Jul 29, 2011