HDNA TESTS FREE MAN IMPRISONED FOR 24 YEARS

hDNA tests free manimprisoned for 24 years
TAMPA, Fla. -- Alan Crotzer stepped into the warm sunlight outside the courthouse Monday and raised his arms to the sky, celebrating his freedom after more than 24 years behind bars for crimes he didn't commit. A judge freed the 45-year-old Crotzer after DNA testing and other evidence convinced prosecutors that he was not involved in the 1981 armed robbery and rapes that led to his 130-year prison sentence. "It's been a long time coming," said Crotzer, his black hair graying at the temples. "Thank God for this day." Crotzer walked free more than three years after he wrote to the Innocence Project in New York, a legal clinic that seeks to exonerate inmates through DNA testing. "Are you ready for what you waited so long to hear?" Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett said to Crotzer during the brief hearing. "Motion granted -- you're a free man."
PBS' new CEO Kergerhas diverse experience
NEW YORK -- Calling public television a vital piece of the fabric of the American culture, Paula A. Kerger hopes to preserve "authenticity and quality" as the head of Public Broadcasting Service. Kerger, named as PBS' president and chief executive officer, can expect to face an artistic, financial and political minefield when she starts work March 13. But as a top executive with New York City's local public TV stations, she has gained experience in programming, fund raising and dealing with the national organization and with other local stations, she said Monday. In her new job, Kerger will direct the operations of a private, nonprofit media enterprise with an annual budget of more than $300 million, owned and operated by the nation's 348 public television stations.
Advisers vote to allowdiet drug over counter
WASHINGTON -- Federal health advisers voted Monday to recommend over-the-counter sales of a weight-loss pill now sold only with a prescription. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare still needs final Food and Drug Administration approval before it can sell a nonprescription version of orlistat, a diet pill already marketed in prescription form as Xenical. The FDA approved the prescription version of the fat-blocking pill made by Roche in 1999. A joint FDA advisory committee voted 11-3 to recommend approval late Monday after a daylong hearing. The agency usually follows the recommendations of its outside panels of experts, but its final decision could take months. If approved, orlistat would be the first weight-loss drug sanctioned for over-the-counter sales.
W.Va. lawmakers passmine safety legislation
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- After 14 coal mining deaths in three weeks, West Virginia lawmakers unanimously passed a bill Monday that would require mines to use electronic devices to track trapped miners and stockpile oxygen to keep them alive until help arrives. The Senate and House both acted with remarkable haste at the urging of Gov. Joe Manchin, who unveiled the legislation about 11 a.m. and pressed lawmakers to pass it by the end of the day. "We can't afford to wait any longer," Manchin said after two miners were found dead over the weekend in a mine fire in Melville.
Ohio Auditor Montgomeryleaves governor's race
COLUMBUS -- State Auditor Betty Montgomery, one of three GOP candidates for governor, is dropping out of the race, according to published reports. Montgomery, a former prosecutor from Bowling Green, will instead enter the race for attorney general, The Plain Dealer and The Columbus Dispatch reported on their Web sites Monday evening, citing unidentified sources. Montgomery's spokesman and campaign strategist Mark Weaver declined to comment on the reports. He said Montgomery would announce whether she will run for another race or introduce a lieutenant governor candidate an event this morning at the Wood County Courthouse. Messages were left for Montgomery seeking comment.
Associated Press