$54M pants saga goes on

$54M pants saga goes on

WASHINGTON — The man who lost a $54 million lawsuit against his former dry cleaner is fighting their attempts to collect attorney fees from him. Roy L. Pearson filed an opposition to the defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees Friday, saying he shouldn’t have to pay the $82,907.50 that the Chung family owes to defend themselves against his 2005 lawsuit. His opposition “is yet another example of his irrational crusade against the Chungs. His arguments are meritless,” defense attorney Chris Manning wrote in an e-mail. Pearson had claimed that the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” sign that once hung in the Chungs’ shop was misleading and violated the D.C. consumer protection act. A pair of his pants went missing, but a week later, the store owners said they were found. Pearson denied that they were his and sued. The lawsuit originally demanded $67 million, but was reduced to $54 million. The case went to trial in June and a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the Chungs, the owners of Custom Cleaners.

3rd suspect charged
in students’ slayings

NEWARK, N.J. — A third suspect was charged Friday in the execution-style killings of three college students, hours after a man pleaded not guilty in a crime that shocked this violence-weary city. The suspect was identified only as 15-year-old boy during a news conference held Friday night by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities had earlier said they were questioning a juvenile in connection with the slayings. The latest arrest was announced several hours after Jose Carranza, 28, pleaded innocent to three charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and robbery. Victims’ relatives questioned why the illegal immigrant from Peru had been granted bail this year on assault and child rape charges.

Teens in plot reach deal

WAUSAU, Wis. — Three teenagers accused of plotting a Columbine-like attack on a Green Bay high school reached plea agreements Friday, a court official said. Details of the agreements were not immediately released, but a trial set to begin Monday was called off, said Marcia Knoebel, an assistant to Brown County Circuit Judge J.D. McKay. Hearings for the three were set for Monday. William Cornell, 18, Shawn Sturtz, 18, and Bradley Netwal, 19, were charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree homicide and conspiracy to damage property with explosives.

Military draft considered

WASHINGTON — Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush’s new war adviser said Friday. “I think it makes sense to certainly consider it,” Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” “And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s security by one means or another,” Lute added in his first interview since he was confirmed by the Senate in June. President Nixon abolished the draft in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a “major policy shift” and Bush has made it clear that he doesn’t think it’s necessary.

4 Fatah members arrested

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas forces arrested four Fatah members late Friday in the northern Gaza Strip, sparking a protest by relatives that left at least 10 people injured, witnesses and officials said. The arrests mark the first time since Hamas’ bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip that it acknowledged it had arrested Fatah members because of their affiliation. Some 150 woman and children took to the streets and stormed Hamas headquarters in the town of Beit Hanoun. Witnesses said the protesters were beaten with sticks. Ten were evacuated to a local clinic for treatment, medical officials said. Earlier Friday, thousands of Hamas demonstrators took to the streets of Gaza to protest the death of one if its people in the West bank, whom Hamas said was tortured by Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas seized control of Gaza in June following a swift five-day assault against Fatah, loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Voice gave him away

SAO PAULO, Brazil — A reputed leader of Colombia’s biggest drug cartel radically altered his facial appearance with repeated plastic surgeries. But his own words gave him away, thanks to advanced voice recognition technology that has become a key tool in the war against drugs and terrorism. U.S. agents confirmed the identity of Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia using the equivalent of a vocal fingerprint, his attorney said Friday. Brazilian police had closed in on Ramirez Abadia’s properties in and around Sao Paulo, and were probing his alleged laundering of the Colombian cartel’s drug profits. But because of his surgeries and multiple aliases, they lacked the positive identification needed for an arrest warrant. They got their break by taping his telephone conversations, his lawyer, Sergio Alambert, told The Associated Press.

Associated Press