National Roundup

Wisconsin Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop is arrested MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Authorities in southern Wisconsin are facing a tongue twister thanks to the arrest of Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop. The unusually named 30-year-old man was in jail Sunday in Madison. Police say he violated his bail conditions from a previous run-in with the law. Court records show that his name used to be Jeffrey Drew Wilschke. He legally changed it in October. The Capital Times reports that Zopittybop-Bop-Bop was arrested last week after residents complained of excessive drinking and drug use near Reynolds Park in Madison. Authorities say he was arrested in another local park last April after police found a loaded handgun in his backpack. He's tentatively charged with carrying a concealed knife, and possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana. Jail records don't list his bail amount or an attorney. Mississippi Report: Outgoing Barbour pardons convicted killer JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Mississippi Democrats and a victim's relatives are criticizing outgoing Republican Gov. Haley Barbour for pardoning a convicted murderer on Barbour's final weekend in office. WLBT-TV reports that Barbour pardoned 40-year-old David Gatlin, who was sentenced to life in prison for killing his estranged wife, Tammy Ellis Gatlin, in 1993 and wounding a man. Online state records show Gatlin has been serving as a trustee inmate at the governor's mansion. The victim's sister, Tiffany Ellis Brewer, says Gatlin "spent less time in jail than my little sister got to live." House Democratic caucus Leader Bobby Moak says Barbour's action is "the latest in a long line of irresponsible decisions by a party that claims to stand for law and order." Administration officials didn't respond Sunday evening to messages from The Associated Press. Barbour leaves office Tuesday. New York Trial on tap in Giants Stadium escalator mishap HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) -- Eight people who were injured when a Giants Stadium escalator malfunctioned four years ago are getting their day in court. Opening arguments began Monday in state Superior Court in Hackensack in a lawsuit brought against the company that maintained the escalator and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which operated Giants Stadium. The escalator malfunctioned as fans were leaving a New York Giants game against the New England Patriots on Dec. 29, 2007. An attorney for the plaintiffs says one person lost a leg and another has had more than a dozen operations on his foot. Inspectors said after the accident that the escalator appeared to have sped up, then stopped suddenly, causing some of the bottom steps to bend. Maine Former bus driver sues Waterboro school district WATERBORO, Maine (AP) -- A former Maine school bus driver has sued a school district, claiming treatment at the hands of his supervisors violated his civil rights. Trampas Staples, a former driver for Waterboro-based RSU 57, is asking for his job back and unspecified monetary damages in the suit filed in York County Superior Court. The Journal Tribune reports that Staples drove for the district from 1997 to June 2010, when he was fired. He alleges in his suit that problems started in 2006 when he made statements critical of his supervisors He says he was required to stay at work later than before. He says his complaints about mistreatment were not adequately investigated and no opportunity was given for mediation. Lawyers for the district had no comment. Minnesota Court to consider repressed memories in abuse case ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Supreme Court is expected to hear a case Monday that involves repressed memories and priest sexual abuse. A lawsuit by James Keenan against the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the Diocese of Winona falls outside the statute of limitations. Keenan alleges he was abused by a priest sometime between 1980 and 1982. Minnesota law requires individuals to bring a lawsuit within six years of turning 18 or when they knew about the abuse. Attorney Jeff Anderson tells Minnesota Public Radio News Keenan initially didn't remember the abuse he allegedly suffered as a youth because he repressed the memory. It surfaced in 2002 and Keenan filed the lawsuit in 2006. The court will consider whether memory repression is scientifically reliable. Pennsylvania Judge: No sovereign immunity in urination case PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A federal judge says a Pennsylvania woman can go forward with her lawsuit claiming state police urinated on her as she was shackled hand and foot after a traffic stop. Judge Gary Lancaster says the troopers' claim of sovereign immunity doesn't apply in the case because the alleged misconduct isn't within the scope of their duties. Derena Marie Madison says she was in the passenger seat of her car when the driver was charged with drunk driving. She says she was arrested after protesting her car being towed. Once at the station, Madison says she was pepper sprayed twice, then taken out in the snow and doused with cold water before someone urinated on her. A phone message left for the troopers' attorney wasn't immediately returned Monday. Courthouse News Service first reported the decision Friday. Texas State suit against J&J over drug to go to trial AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Texas is seeking more than $1 billion in damages in a lawsuit that accuses Johnson & Johnson of overstating the safety of an antipsychotic drug and influencing its use in the state's Medicaid program. Jury selection began Monday in an Austin courtroom in the lawsuit filed by a whistle-blower and joined by Texas. The lawsuit is one of dozens of pending state and federal cases alleging illegal marketing practices and kickbacks in an effort to boost Risperdal over competing drugs. Risperdal is a pill for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Johnson & Johnson says it will vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit's claims. The trial is expected to last at least two weeks. Published: Tue, Jan 10, 2012