Around the Nation

HAWAII

Shark victim surfs to 5th

KAILUA-KONA — Teen surfer Bethany Hamilton returned to competition over the weekend, just 10 weeks after losing her left arm in a shark attack.

Bethany, 13, placed fifth in her age group in the Open Women’s Division of a National Scholastic Surfing Association meet at Banyans.

“It was definitely a good start,” Bethany said.

WASHINGTON

Residents rally for beef

MABTON — Residents of the town where the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was discovered gathered during the weekend to eat beef at a rally in support of the local cattle industry.

Despite frigid winter weather, about 2,000 people participated.

Mabton was thrust into the international spotlight after the Department of Agriculture announced four weeks ago that a slaughtered Holstein cow from the local Sunny Dene Ranch had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the formal name for mad cow disease.

CALIFORNIA

Cyclist improving after attack

MISSION VIEJO — A former Marine who was attacked by a mountain lion while cycling in a wilderness area has been upgraded to fair condition, hospital officials said yesterday.

“Her recovery is truly miraculous,” said the victim’s husband, James Hjelle.

Anne Hjelle was rescued Thursday from the mountain lion’s jaws by her cycling companion, Debbie Nichols. The big cat had pounced on Mrs. Hjelle and tried to drag her away, but Miss Nichols grabbed her friend’s leg and held on as other cyclists threw rocks at the mountain lion until it let go.

CONNECTICUT

School considers changing its name

MIDDLETOWN — The Middletown school board formed a committee to explore whether to change the name of Woodrow Wilson Middle School over claims that the 28th president was racist. Two high school students say their research found that Mr. Wilson used his powers as chief executive to segregate the federal government.

Mr. Wilson served as a professor and football coach at Wesleyan University in Middletown in the late 1890s.

FLORIDA

Fugitives surrender after skeleton scare

MIAMI — Three Florida fugitives scrambled into an attic to elude police but surrendered when they found a human skeleton in their hideaway, police said.

The two men and a woman were wanted on probation violation charges and climbed into the attic to hide when police tracked them to an apartment building in Daytona Beach last week, police Sgt. Al Tolley said.

Police searched the apartment and noticed a hatch leading to an attic above a second-story bedroom and opened it.

One of the suspects called out, “Get me out of here. There’s a dead body up here,” Sgt. Tolley said.

MISSISSIPPI

Smoking banned in House chambers

JACKSON — Rules prohibiting smoking in the House and Senate chambers recently went into effect. Lawmakers now must follow the same rules that most state employees and visitors to state buildings have obeyed for years.

Legislators limited smoking in the Capitol in 2000, but still allowed members to light up in designated areas and some offices.

NEBRASKA

Diocese refuses sex-abuse study

LINCOLN — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln won’t participate in a national study tracking sexual abuse in the church, making it the only diocese in the nation to refuse to take part.

The study, commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will attempt to tally every church abuse case in the country since 1950. It’s part of an effort to develop safeguards to prevent sexual abuse.

Lincoln Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, who has held the post since 1992, said in a statement Friday that the study seemed to exist more to “satisfy curiosity” than to help victims, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

The national study is scheduled to be released Feb. 27.

NEVADA

Casino shuts down amid benefits battle

LAS VEGAS — A landmark hotel-casino was closed indefinitely over the weekend after federal agents shut down the casino floor and seized an estimated $500,000 to pay for unpaid employee benefits.

The front doors were locked, and yellow police tape greeted visitors to Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel & Casino, a downtown Las Vegas fixture for 52 years and home to the wildly popular World Series of Poker.

About 900 Binion’s employees were left without work after owner Becky Binion Behnen agreed to close the property until she could find enough money to reopen it, said Keith Copher, chief enforcement officer of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

NORTH CAROLINA

NFL bans telecast for fund-raiser

CHARLOTTE — City leaders who wanted to use a telecast of the Charlotte Panthers’ playoff game Saturday to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation learned that their plans were prohibited.

The National Football League barred the city from showing the game at an event to honor 12-year-old Hope Stout, who died Jan. 4 of a rare bone cancer. Her dying wish to the foundation, which grants wishes to critically ill children, was that the wishes of the 155 other children be granted.

RHODE ISLAND

Nightclub fire prompts legislation

PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island’s attorney general, who was unable to file criminal charges on behalf of 200 people who suffered serious burns and other injuries in a devastating nightclub fire, announced legislation last week that would allow such charges in future cases.

Attorney General Patrick Lynch’s bill would make it a crime to cause injury to someone through certain acts of negligence.

TENNESSEE

Man gives snow to fiancee

KNOXVILLE — Stan Cooper had a cold surprise for his fiancee. It wasn’t ice for her ring finger, but snow on her lawn.

Jackie Shelton woke up Wednesday to find her front yard covered in snow. Mr. Cooper had rigged up a homemade snow machine to create the winter wonderland.

He used an air compressor and pressure washer, and had tested the prototype at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he works.

Mr. Cooper says he proposed to Miss Shelton on Christmas Day and gave her a ring. But he couldn’t give her a white Christmas.

In order to produce his snowy surprise, Mr. Cooper had to wait until the temperature dropped last week.

Miss Shelton, who loves snow, said at first she thought her fiance had lost his mind, but she added, “He’s so sweet.”

TEXAS

Resident receives $7 million water bill

CORPUS CHRISTI — When Chuck Richison received a water bill in the mail two weeks ago, he had a hunch it wouldn’t float.

Mr. Richison’s bill normally runs about $55, but the new one was for $7,714,510.21.

“It was the 21 cents that got me,” he said. “You’re not too worried about it because you know even if it is real, you can’t afford to pay it.”

Mr. Richison, whose meter recently had been replaced, called the Utility Business Office for help — only to be told that the meter hadn’t been misread. The city later adjusted the bill, acknowledging he was overcharged.

“It was just a timing issue,” office manager Michelle Workman said.

Mr. Richison, who kept the misprinted bill, hadn’t received a new invoice by mail.

WISCONSIN

Court upholds DNA databank

MADISON — Collecting DNA samples from Wisconsin prison inmates for a statewide databank to help solve other crimes is constitutional, a federal appeals court ruled last week.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago rejected claims from four inmates who argued that taking DNA samples violated their rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

“Although the taking of a DNA sample is clearly a search, the Fourth Amendment does not proscribe all searches, only those that are unreasonable,” the court of appeals said.

The government’s interest in solving crime “outweighs the limited privacy interests that prisoners retain,” it said.