Christie: Vaccine should be choice

Christie: Vaccine should be choice

CAMBRIDGE, England

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday parents should have some choice on whether to vaccinate their children, a position he’s taken before but one that drew a new level of attention amid a U.S. measles outbreak and his recent moves toward running for president.

The political significance of Christie’s remarks was amplified by his office a short time later, when it released a statement saying the governor believes “with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated.”

Christie’s stumble into the vaccine issue came as a measles outbreak centered in California has sickened more than 100 people in several states and Mexico.

Pimping trial starts for Strauss-Kahn

PARIS

Dominique Strauss-Kahn appeared in court Monday to face accusations of taking part in an international prostitution ring set up to provide him with prostitutes for orgies at luxury hotels in France and the U.S.

The former head of the International Monetary Fund, once considered a near shoo-in as France’s president, went on trial in the northern city of Lille to face charges of aggravated pimping and involvement in a prostitution ring operating out of luxury hotels.

Robin Williams’ kin fight over estate

SAN FRANCISCO

Robin Williams’ children and wife have gone to court in a fight over the late comedian’s estate.

In papers filed in December in San Francisco Superior Court, Williams’ wife, Susan, accuses the comedian’s children from two previous marriages of taking items without her permission and asks the court to exclude the contents of the Tiburon home that she shared with Williams from the jewelry, memorabilia and other items Williams said the children should have.

Groundhog turns on Wis. mayor

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis.

A mayor in Wisconsin has learned a valuable lesson about his city’s weather-predicting critter: Don’t get too close.

Jimmy, the official groundhog in Sun Prairie, bit the mayor’s ear during a Groundhog Day celebration Monday.

The groundhog’s handler was holding the animal next to Mayor Jonathan Freund’s face when it promptly bit down on his ear.

Freund flinched, but he went on with his declaration that Jimmy had predicted an early spring.

Manson wedding license to expire

FRESNO, Calif.

The marriage license of mass murderer Charles Manson and a 26-year-old devotee who believes in his innocence is set to expire without a wedding taking place, prison officials said Monday.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesman Jeffrey Callison said weekend visiting for inmates passed without Manson’s getting married.

Afton Elaine Burton and the 80-year-old Manson obtained a 90-day marriage license late last year. It expires Thursday.

Hikers drag ill pal off NH mountain

Daylight was slipping away and the cold was deepening on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington as 28-year-old Monoswita Saha drifted in and out of consciousness. Her four fellow climbers began to worry that waiting for help as instructed by a 911 operator would put all of them in danger.

And so they bundled Saha in a sleeping bag, tied it with ropes and dragged her, slowly and carefully, 2 miles through the snow to meet a rescue crew at the bottom of the trail.

She not only survived but was out of the hospital within a matter of hours.

Associated Press