National Roundup

Ohio Judge OKs fired pregnant teacher's lawsuit CINCINNATI (AP) -- A federal judge has given the go-ahead for trial in a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by a Catholic school teacher fired after she became pregnant through artificial insemination. The archdiocese fired Christa Dias in 2010, saying the single woman violated Roman Catholic Church doctrine by using artificial insemination. U.S. District Judge Arthur Spiegel says in his ruling last week that Dias was a non-Catholic computer teacher with no role in ministering or teaching Catholic doctrine. An archdiocese spokesman says that parents who pay to send their children to Catholic school expect them to be taught in an environment reflecting Catholic moral teaching and that employee contracts specify they will abide by church teachings. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Dias wants compensation for medical bills and other expenses. Iowa Man accused of urinating on co-workers' chairs WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- An information technology worker accused of urinating on colleagues' chairs at an office in Iowa has surrendered to police. The Des Moines Register reports that 59-year-old Raymond Foley turned himself in Saturday to face a charge of second-degree criminal mischief. Foley declined to comment to The Associated Press on Tuesday, other than to acknowledge that he no longer works at the Farm Bureau office in West Des Moines. Police say some co-workers had complained about stains on their chairs. A security system was installed, and police say it caught Foley in the act. Police documents say Foley looked up employee photos in the agency database and then would go into the office during off hours and urinate on their chairs. The chair damage was estimated at $4,500. West Virginia Festival death lawsuit headed to mediation CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) -- The father of a South Carolina woman killed at the All Good Music Festival in West Virginia will try to settle his lawsuit against eight of the defendants. A court filing by Kim Miller says mediation will begin June 4. Other defendants are welcome to participate. Miller's lawsuit and two others filed after the July 2011 accident near Masontown are to be tried together in federal court in Clarksburg in August. Nicole Miller died, and friends Rosie Doran and Yen Ton were injured when a pickup truck slid down a hillside and plowed into the tent where they slept. All are from Mount Pleasant, S.C. The lawsuits target a dozen parties, including driver Clay Lewin of Cape Charles, Va., Maryland-based Walther Productions, Marvin's Mountaintop LLC, and security and parking companies. Iowa Lawsuit challenging FDA raw milk policy dismissed DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A federal judge in Iowa has rejected a lawsuit that sought to expand access to raw milk by challenging a Food and Drug Administration rule that bans interstate shipments of unpasteurized milk. U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett in Sioux City dismissed the two-year-old case filed by a nationwide group of raw milk drinkers, producers, and distributors. The lawsuit contends the FDA rule allowing only pasteurized milk to be sold across state lines violates their constitutional rights to travel freely and decide what to feed their families. FDA officials say it focuses enforcement on distributors and producers not individuals. Bennett dismissed the case Friday concluding the raw milk supporters have not suffered an injury because the government has made it clear it doesn't plan on enforcing the regulations against individuals. New Mexico Police: Woman ran over boyfriend, beat with bat ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) -- A New Mexico woman is facing battery charges after authorities said she ran over her boyfriend with a pickup truck then hit him with a baseball bat following an argument over a shirt. The Alamogordo Daily News reports that court record said 34-year-old Agapita Ramos beat her boyfriend so bad on March 23 he had to have reconstructive surgery on his right arm. According to Magistrate Court records, Ramos' boyfriend got out of a truck Ramos was driving and grabbed his 18 pack of beer. Records show that Ramos then struck him with the truck and hit him with a baseball bat while his leg was pinned under. Ramos was order held last week at the Otero County Detention Center on a $30,000 no-10 percent bond. Pennsylvania County defends $3M strip search settlement PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Attorneys for the county jail in Pittsburgh are defending their decision to pay $3 million to settle a class-action by 1,600 inmates who were strip searched before doing time for minor offenses, even though the U.S. Supreme Court decided such searches are legal earlier this week. The 2010 settlement involving the Allegheny County Jail included payments to any inmates strip searched for a minor offense between July 13, 2004 and March 18, 2008.The plaintiffs' attorneys got about a third of the settlement. At the time, federal appeals courts had ruled strip searches unconstitutional except for felony inmates of those suspected of hiding contraband. County attorneys tell the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review they could have lost tens of millions at trial. Monday's new Supreme Court ruling says even inmates with minor offenses can be strip searched to improve jail security. Idaho Man sentenced for getting 12-year-old pregnant BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A 28-year-old southwestern Idaho man has been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for impregnating a 12-year-old and forcing her to have an abortion. Kenneth Lamb of Wilder was sentenced Monday by 3rd District Judge Molly J. Huskey to 15 to 30 years in prison on felony convictions of lewd conduct with a minor child and conspiracy to escape from jail. He pleaded guilty in January. Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor says Lamb also was ordered to register as a sex offender and pay the girl $5,000. Court records say while Lamb was jailed on the lewd conduct charge, he conspired with two other inmates to beat a deputy unconscious and then escape. The escape was thwarted when another inmate informed deputies of Lamb's plan. Published: Wed, Apr 4, 2012