National Roundup

California Police: Wife tried to sever husband's penis PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) -- Police say a 69-year-old woman from Palm Springs has been arrested after her husband reported that she tried to cut off his penis with a pair of scissors. Palm Springs police said in a statement Sunday that Virginia Valdez was arrested on suspicion of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and spousal abuse. Online jail records say she was released Sunday and is scheduled to appear in court next month. The 62-year-old husband -- whose name was not released -- called police Saturday night and when officers came to his house he said his wife had attempted to sever his penis with scissors. The statement says officers recovered the scissors and arrested Valdez. Police say the man was treated at a hospital for injuries in the penis area and released. Virginia Inmate appeals dismissal of sex change lawsuit RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A transgender Virginia inmate is appealing the dismissal of her lawsuit seeking a sex change operation, saying a jury should decide whether hormones and other therapies she receives are adequate or whether she should get the surgery. U.S. District Judge James Turk dismissed Ophelia De'Lonta's lawsuit in October, saying the state was treating her gender identity disorder, a mental diagnosis in which people believe they were born the wrong sex. Turk said courts have ruled that inmates are guaranteed only minimum care, not preferred therapies. De'Lonta was born a man. She claims her disorder causes her to attempt castration and that the surgery is the only thing that will make her stop. In court filings last week, she cites treatment guidelines that say the surgery is needed in severe cases. Mississippi High court won't hear manslaughter appeal JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The Mississippi Supreme Court says it made a mistake in June when it agreed to hear a Brookhaven woman's appeal of her guilty plea to manslaughter in Lincoln County in 2008. The court announced its latest decision in the case in a 5-3 ruling Thursday. The state Court of Appeals upheld Lawanda Dillon's conviction last year. Dillon has claimed in a post-conviction petition that her attorney should have done a better job. She argues she has found new evidence or a possible constitutional issue that could persuade a court to order a new trial. Dillon was charged in the 2006 death of her boyfriend, 32-year-old Boris E. Jackson. Authorities said he was run over while walking on a Brookhaven street. Dillon pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison with six years suspended. The court's majority did not give any details of its decision. However, Presiding Justice Jess Dickinson, in a dissent, said in dismissing Dillon's petition the majority of the court was ignoring the trial judge's actions regarding her mental incompetency claim. He said the Court of Appeals also ignored Dillon's claim. Dickinson said the trial judge had granted Dillon a mental examination but failed to hold a required hearing after the exam was completed. "Once the trial judge ordered a mental competency evaluation, it was the trial judge's duty to conduct a formal, on-the-record competency hearing. The trial court failed to do so," Dickinson said. New York AG investigating foreclosures on military WATERTOWN, N.Y. (AP) -- State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating whether lenders illegally foreclosed on the homes of active-duty members of the military. The state investigation into 10 lenders comes after a federal regulator's report said it would review 4,500 foreclosures on mortgages belonging to soldiers. Officials in Schneiderman's office told the Watertown Daily Times that the state investigation will look in part at whether personnel from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in northern New York were affected. A 2003 law sets strict standards on foreclosures for active-duty soldiers, who cannot always show up for civil court hearings because of deployments. Earlier this year, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America reached settlements with hundreds of soldiers whose mortgages were foreclosed illegally. The banks apologized for the errors. Mississippi Judge orders new sentence for death row inmate OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- A federal judge has thrown out the death sentence of Lawrence Branch, who was convicted of killing a woman in Carroll County in 2001. Branch's claims of mental retardation had been dismissed by Mississippi courts. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that U.S. District Judge Michael Mills ruled Friday that Branch had met each test of the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of mental retardation. Branch was sentenced to death in 2002 in the beating and robbery of Dorothy Broome Jorden of Coila. Jorden was found on her living room floor on Jan. 21, 2001. Authorities say she had been struck in the head at least eight times. Mills says his order will take effect in 60 days at which the state will resentence Branch. Indiana Stolen Santa ret urned to Ind. man with $100, note UNIONVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- A southern Indiana man has gotten an early Christmas gift: A 16-foot-tall inflatable Santa Claus stolen from his yard has been returned with $100 and a note of apology. Jason McClaren tells The Herald-Times that someone returned the deflated Santa to his Unionville yard early Saturday in a trash bag that also contained the money and note. He says the anonymous note makes it clear that the person who returned the Santa wasn't the thief who took it and two 6-foot tall penguins this past week. The penguin decorations are still missing. The typed note states: "Returning your property is the right thing to do, and apologies for the thief who took it in the first place." McClaren says he plans to use the $100 to buy more decorations. Published: Tue, Dec 6, 2011