In the Nation
Suspect in four slayings arrested
FARMVILLE, Va. - A 20-year-old man suspected of killing four people in a central Virginia college town was arrested at an airport yesterday, where he apparently tried to catch a flight to his home state of California, authorities said.
Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III was arrested by Richmond International Airport police officers who found him asleep in the baggage-claim area, Farmville Police Capt. Wade Stimpson said. He is being held in Farmville, where he faces charges of first-degree murder, grand larceny of an automobile and robbery, Stimpson said.
Officers found the bodies Friday afternoon in the home of Debra S. Kelley, an associate professor at Longwood University, school spokeswoman Gina Caldwell said yesterday. Authorities are awaiting identification of the bodies from the state medical examiner's office, but that isn't expected until tomorrow.
- AP
L.A. officials fear fire will flare up
LOS ANGELES - As temperatures rose and winds picked up, air crews were again dropping flame retardant yesterday on sections of the massive wildfire that has burned for 24 days north of Los Angeles.
U.S. Forest Spokesman Stanley Bercovitz said the decision was made to take preventative measures against smoldering areas near Mount Wilson in the Angeles National Forest. Trucks will spray retardant beginning this morning on the north slope of the peak, which houses telecommunications facilities and a historic observatory.
Triple-digit temperatures and wind gusts of up to 45 m.p.h. are predicted in the next few days. The fire, which was sparked Aug. 26, is 93 percent contained. It has scorched nearly 281 square miles.
- AP
N.J. boy, 4, shares cocaine with class
NEWARK, N.J. - A 4-year-old boy shared cocaine with his friends on Friday at a day-care center because his father told him it was candy, police said.
Shaheed Wright, 25, of East Orange, N.J., put several small plastic bags of cocaine inside his son's jacket after police nearly caught him with it, according to Newark police. The boy then shared the drugs with three other 4-year-olds.
A teacher spotted a girl with a bag in her mouth and called authorities. The children were taken to a hospital, but none was injured. Wright was charged with four counts of child endangerment and drug offenses.
- AP
Elsewhere:
A straw vote held yesterday at the annual Values Voter Summit in Washington suggests former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is a favorite among religious conservatives to be president in 2012. About one-third of the 1,800 registered attendees cast ballots, and Huckabee was tops with 28 percent of the vote.