National Roundup

California Theme park sued for barring amputees from coaster LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Universal Studios Hollywood has been sued for barring amputees from a theme park roller coaster. The Los Angeles Times says the federal court lawsuit contends two men were kept off the Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Angel Castelan's forearms were amputated after an electrical accident as a child and Marvin Huezo's legs were amputated after a car accident. Castelan says ride operators told him in 2010 that he couldn't ride the coaster because he doesn't have hands to grip the safety bars. He returned to the theme park last year with Huezo and operators told them a new policy requires riders have at least one hand and one leg. A theme park spokesman says they don't comment on pending litigation. Wisconsin Dad jailed after 3 girls found dead at home RIVER FALLS, Wis. (AP) -- A father has been arrested after three young girls, believed to be his daughters, were found dead at home in a tiny western Wisconsin town. Police said the house smelled of gas. Authorities say the girls' mother, who was away, called River Falls police Tuesday afternoon and asked officers to check on the sisters because their father had called her and the conversation made her concerned for their safety. Court records show the couple was divorced last year. Officers found the bodies of the children, ages 5 to 11, at their River Falls home. City administrator Scot Simpson said Wednesday the girls match the description of the couple's three children. The 34-year-old father later turned himself in to police. California LA-area chase of lewd acts suspect ends in crash ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, Calif. (AP) -- A middle school teacher under investigation in a lewd-acts case led officers on a chase Tuesday that ended with his pickup truck veering off a road, flying down an embankment and ramming a tree, officials said. The chase began with a child-endangerment investigation by police in the city of Bell, who are investigating Kip Arnold, a physical education teacher at Southeast Middle School who is suspected of lewd acts with a former student, officials from the California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Unified School District said. Bell police had been watching Arnold at his home in Lakewood, and were about to arrest him when he got into the truck and fled, leading a chase on roads and freeways including Interstate 405, Interstate 10 and Pacific Coast Highway. At one point a patrol car bumped the pickup, forcing it to crash into a big-rig. After that came a brief standoff where the suspect talked to police before fleeing again. "He said, 'I'm not stopping, I'm suicidal,' put the car in gear and drove off," Bell police Lt. Ty Henshaw told the Los Angeles Times. TV news helicopter cameras followed the pickup as it veered off a road in the Rolling Hills Estates area, crashed through a fence, became airborne and flew into trees. Firefighters freed the driver, and took him away on a gurney. Arnold has been employed by the school district for eight years, and also worked at Nimitz Middle School and Gage Middle School, according to a school district statement. Police are looking for other possible victims. New York Ex-Gambino mob soldier praised for NY cooperation NEW YORK (AP) -- A man who testified against mob scion John A. "Junior" Gotti has been sentenced in New York to time served after being praised for helping imprison more than 40 organized-crime members and associates. A judge sentenced Joseph "Little Joey" D'Angelo on Tuesday to the four years he's already served. The ex-Gambino crime family soldier even found words of encouragement from one of his victims, WNYM-AM radio talk show host and Guardian Angels crime-fighting group founder Curtis Sliwa. Sliwa told D'Angelo he "did the right thing." He says telling the truth about organized crime was the "only way you get forgiveness." D'Angelo was posing as a cab driver when Sliwa was ambushed in 1992 after hailing a taxi. Sliwa survived bullet wounds. D'Angelo pleaded guilty in 2005 to charges including murder conspiracy. Gotti denied ordering the Sliwa attack. Arizona Court to hear Arpaio's appeal of smuggling ruling PHOENIX (AP) -- A court will hear arguments on Sept. 13 in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's appeal of a ruling that limited his ability to do immigration enforcement. Arpaio is appealing U.S. District Murray Snow's decision that barred deputies who are enforcing Arizona's immigrant smuggling law from detaining people based solely on the suspicion that they're in the country illegally. The sheriff's attorneys tell the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that Snow erred in ruling that reasonable suspicion is required on all elements of the smuggling law to justify a brief detention. Opposing lawyers have urged the appeals court to reject the sheriff's arguments. The ruling was made in December as part of a lawsuit that alleges that sheriff's deputies racially profile Latinos. Arpaio denies the allegations. Alabama Family claims funeral home failed to embalm body HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- A Huntsville mother says in a lawsuit that a funeral home failed to embalm her son's body. WAAY-TV reports that Norman Holman died at Huntsville Hospital on May 28 due to complications from a blood clot. His mother claims in the lawsuit that Nelms Memorial Funeral Home was supposed to handle arrangements -- including the embalming -- but never completed it. As a result, the family's attorney John Brinkley said relatives arrived at a church for the funeral on July 9 to find Holman "rotting in the casket" and that some mourners left the room because of the smell. WAAY reports that Nelms Memorial Funeral Home CEO Charles Ray Jr. Ray was unavailable for comment. Published: Thu, Jul 12, 2012