HHAT WEARER'S AT HOME RECITING A SPECIAL POEM

hHat wearer's at homereciting a special poem
Dana Hart recites a poem about her elaborate balloon hat during the Lawrence Public Library's annual Victorian Tea Party for children Thursday in Lawrence, Kan. The party featured tea, punch and cookies as well as poetry recitation, live classical music and a promenade by all the children.
3 minors heldin mob beating
MILWAUKEE -- Three juveniles suspected in the brutal mob beating of a motorist appeared in court Thursday and were ordered held in custody while authorities investigate the attack. None of the juveniles -- a 14-year-old and two 16-year-olds -- was charged. Police continued to seek more suspects. A prosecutor told a juvenile court judge the 14-year-old allegedly stomped and did a front flip onto 50-year-old Samuel McClain after he was yanked from his car Monday. A 16-year-old was accused of jumping off a car onto McClain and hitting him in the face with an ice ball, while the other 16-year-old allegedly hit the man repeatedly with a bottle, said Joy Hammond, an assistant district attorney for Milwaukee County. "We're talking to a lot of people to try to get to the bottom of what happened," police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said. "We're getting some tips," she added, but declined to be specific. A group of as many as 15 youths punched, kicked and jumped on McClain after he honked for them to move out of the street, witnesses said.
Expelled girls suspectedof being lesbians sue
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Two 16-year-olds who were expelled from a Lutheran high school because they were suspected of being lesbians have sued the school for invasion of privacy and discrimination. The lawsuit, filed last week in Riverside County Superior Court, seeks the girls' re-enrollment at the small California Lutheran High School, unspecified damages and an injunction barring the school from excluding gays and lesbians. Kirk D. Hanson, an attorney for the girls, said the expulsion traumatized and humiliated them. "Their entire support network was pulled out from under them because of suspicions about their sexual orientation," said Hanson, who declined to say whether his clients are lesbians.
Storms churn surfon California coast
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. -- Storms in the Pacific Ocean are churning up the surf along California's coast, generating large waves that have sent surfers back to shore, closed down piers and put beachfront residents on sandbag duty. Waves of 15 feet and higher started pounding Southern California last week, some so fierce they ripped a concrete building off the pier at Los Angeles' Venice Beach and flooded lifeguard headquarters. The waves on Thursday were smaller than last week's, but high surf advisories were in effect up and down the coast. Waves were forecast to build again soon, with predictions they could grow as high as 20 feet Saturday and Monday. Authorities scrambled to erect sandbag barricades along Los Angeles County beaches to protect nearby homes against the surf during high tides.
Mexican policemenaccused of stealing aid
TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico -- Seven policemen in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas were detained Thursday on suspicion of stealing relief packages intended for hurricane victims, the latest in a string of scandals involving the misuse of donated aid. The officers took hundreds of food aid packages Wednesday night from a warehouse in the city of Tapachula, on Mexico's border with Guatemala, Chiapas state prosecutors said in a statement. The packages were destined for victims of Hurricane Stan. Many of the victims lost their homes in widespread flooding caused by the storm in October.
Associated Press