Skier found shot to death

Skier found shot to death
ST. MAURICE, Switzerland -- Former Swiss ski star Corinne Rey-Bellet, above, and brother, Alain, were fatally shot in their parents' home. The 33-year-old Rey-Bellet shared a 2003 world championship silver medal in the downhill. She retired shortly afterward because of injuries to her right knee. Police are searching for Rey-Bellet's husband, Gerold Stadler, in the slayings, said Philippe Medico, examining magistrate in the Swiss state of Valais. Stadler, a 34-year-old banker, appears to have fled but his car was found in a nearby village, Medico said. Rey-Bellet's mother was hospitalized with serious injuries from the attack late Sunday in the mountain resort of Les Crosets, police said. The attacker entered the house, fired five shots and was gone when officers arrived, police said. Despite her injuries, Rey-Bellet's mother was able to call authorities. The couple's 2-year-old son -- who was in the house but was unhurt on a higher floor -- is being kept in secure place, police spokesman Renato Kalbermatten said. Rey-Bellet lived with her husband and son in Abtwil. The skier and Stadler separated late last month, Medico said.
Antibiotic leaving market
WASHINGTON -- An antibiotic plagued by serious blood-sugar complications is coming off the market. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. confirmed Monday that it plans to stop making and selling Tequin. Spokesman Eric Miller said the company will return rights to the drug to Kyorin Pharmaceutical Company in Japan. He said the company acted after a commercial evaluation of the product as well as ongoing transition in the company's focus. Approved for sale in 1999, Tequin has faced questions about its effects on blood sugar, being associated with both high- and low-blood sugar in some patients. In February, the Food and Drug Administration required increased warnings on the drug's label. The manufacturer has warned that it should not be used by diabetics and said the elderly and those with kidney disease are more likely to have problems. Miller said that while Bristol-Myers Squibb will stop making and selling the drug, stocks currently available are not being recalled. He urged people using Tequin not to discontinue it until they talk with their physician about an alternative.
Fatal explosion at factory
LUCKNOW, India -- A sodium tank exploded at a paper factory in northern India, sparking a blaze that killed 15 nightshift workers and burned into early Tuesday, police said. At least 50 people were injured in Monday's blast and fire at the factory in Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal state, senior police superintendent Amit Kumar Sinha said. They were taken to local hospitals, he said. Hundreds of people were reported trapped inside the building immediately after the blast, but Sinha said early Tuesday they had been rescued. The fire was still burning in a coal storage depot that is part of the factory complex. State government spokesman Amit Chandola said 15 people had died. The town is about 245 miles northwest of the region's largest city, Lucknow, capital of the neighboring Uttar Pradesh state. Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the state's top elected official, had ordered an inquiry into the blast, the government statement said. Hundreds of people die each year in India in industrial accidents. Health, safety and pollution control measures are lax at most small-scale industrial units, and government inspectors often are bribed to prevent penalties.
DNA evidence frees man
PITTSBURGH -- A man serving a life sentence for a 1988 killing was freed Monday after charges were withdrawn because DNA evidence from the killer's clothing did not match him. Drew Whitley, 50, had been jailed since he was arrested soon after the shooting death of Noreen Malloy, 22, outside the restaurant she managed. DNA test results released last week showed that DNA from hairs on the killer's hat did not match Whitley, and the office of Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. dropped the charges Monday. The hat, a bloodstained coat and shoes were found outside the restaurant and a stocking mask was found nearby. A witness identified Whitley based on the shape of his face and his walk. At his 1989 trial, a crime lab technician said 41 hairs found in the mask resembled Whitley's hair. DNA testing was not available at the time. Blood on the shoes matched Whitley's blood type, but the shoes were destroyed in a 1996 flood that wiped out much of the county police evidence room.
Associated Press