College orders frats to become coed

College orders frats to become coed

MIDDLETOWN, Conn.

Wesleyan University in Connecticut on Monday ordered its fraternities with houses on campus to become coeducational within three years, a move it says is not just about bad behavior but also equality.

Wesleyan follows Trinity College in Hartford, which made the transition starting in 2012, citing problems with drinking and drug use in Greek organizations. It also comes less than a month after Wesleyan closed the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house after an accident in which a woman fell from a third-story window.

But school spokeswoman Kate Carlisle said the changes are not a response to any one incident.

Group blasts China’s torture-tool industry

BEIJING

Chinese production and export of police equipment primarily used for torture, such as electric-shock wands and neck-and-wrist cuffs connected by a chain, has grown dramatically, enabling human-rights violations at home and abroad, Amnesty International said in a report today.

More than 130 Chinese companies, up from 28 about a decade ago, are engaged in the development, production and export of law-enforcement tools, most of which are legitimate, but many of which are inherently cruel and inhumane, the London-based human rights group said.

WHO issues dire Ebola warning

LONDON

New estimates from the World Health Organization warn the number of Ebola cases could hit 21,000 in six weeks unless efforts to curb the outbreak are ramped up.

Since the first cases were reported six months ago, the tally of cases in West Africa has reached an estimated 5,800 illnesses. WHO officials say cases are continuing to increase exponentially, and Ebola could sicken people for years to come without better control measures.

FAA: Plane makes emergency landing

OMAHA, Neb.

A commercial airplane traveling from Boston to Los Angeles made an emergency landing in Nebraska on Monday, officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Virgin America flight made the unscheduled landing Monday morning at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield after a medical emergency on board.

The agency didn’t provide additional details, but passengers say a man had tried to open an emergency exit door.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office told KETV in Omaha that a passenger was taken to the hospital for observation.

Prosecutor to drop all Seattle pot tickets

SEATTLE

Seattle’s elected prosecutor said Monday he’s dropping all tickets issued for the public use of marijuana through the first seven months of this year, because most of them were issued by a single police officer who disagrees with the legal-pot law.

In a briefing to the city council on Monday, City Attorney Pete Holmes said he is moving to dismiss 100 tickets issued by the Seattle Police Department between Jan. 1 and July 31. His office also said it would be seeking a refund for 22 people who already have paid their $27 ticket.

Through the first six months of the year, a single officer wrote about 80 percent of the tickets, writing on one that he considered the pot law “silly.” The officer, Randy Jokela, was temporarily reassigned, and the department’s Office of Professional Accountability is investigating.

Associated Press