Retrial ordered for man who helped CIA

Retrial ordered for man who helped CIA

PESHAWAR, Pakistan

A senior judicial official on Thursday overturned the prison sentence of a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden and ordered his retrial, citing procedural problems with the initial trial.

The official, Sahibzada Mohammad Anis, issued the ruling because the person who sentenced Dr. Shakil Afridi to 33 years in prison was not authorized to hear the case, said Feroz Shah, a government administrator.

Afridi was convicted in May 2012 of “conspiring against the state” by giving money and providing medical treatment to Islamic militants in Pakistan’s Khyber tribal area, not for helping the CIA track down bin Laden. The doctor’s family and the militants denied the allegations.

Suit accuses 13 of abuse of Boy Scouts

SEATTLE

A dozen men filed a broad new lawsuit against the Boy Scouts and former adult leaders Thursday, saying that abuse occurred regularly in Washington state sites such as a popular camp outside of Seattle.

The case accuses 13 people of abuse — the largest number of such defendants in a case filed against the Boy Scouts of America, according to the attorneys. Those named in the filing include a scoutmaster accused of repeatedly abusing two boys, a camp cook accused of raping a boy and a business manager accused of abusing a boy in a tent.

At least one of those accused denies the allegations and says he was out of the country when the purported abuse happened.

Zimmerman’s wife has marriage doubts

SANFORD, Fla.

George Zimmerman’s wife says she’s going to have to “think about” whether she stays married to him.

Shellie Zimmerman made the comments to ABC in an interview aired Thursday on “Good Morning America.” She pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor perjury charge for lying during a bail hearing after her husband’s arrest for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012.

Her husband, who was acquitted on second-degree murder charges in July, wasn’t in the Sanford courtroom Wednesday as she was sentenced to a year’s probation and 100 hours of community service — even though she supported him and even lied about their finances.

Conjoined brothers separated in Texas

DALLAS

The mother of twins successfully separated after being born joined at the chest says she’s looking forward to holding the babies she once thought had no chance of survival.

“I’m just so happy that they’re here and they’re alive and thriving. It’s the best feeling in the world,” Jenni Ezell said Thursday during a news conference at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas, where she was joined by husband Dave and a doctor.

Owen and Emmett Ezell were separated Saturday at the hospital after being born joined from just below the breast bone to just below the navel July 15. The babies shared a liver and intestines.

Price of tooth for Tooth Fairy nears $4

NEW YORK

Days of finding a quarter under your pillow are long gone. The Tooth Fairy no longer leaves loose change.

Kids this year are getting an average of $3.70 per lost tooth, a 23 percent jump over last year’s rate of $3 a tooth, according to a new survey by payment processor Visa Inc. released today. That’s a 42 percent spike from the $2.60 per tooth that the Tooth Fairy gave in 2011.

The survey results are based on 3,000 phone interviews conducted in July.

Associated Press