Gwinnett Daily Post

Iowa meatpacker fined nearly $10M over violations

IOWA CITY, Iowa - A kosher meatpacking plant that was the site of one of the nation's largest immigration raids was fined nearly $10 million by the state Wednesday over accusations that it violated state labor laws.

Iowa Labor Commissioner Dave Neil assessed the civil penalties against Agriprocessors in Postville for what he called repeated violations of Iowa's wage laws from January 2006 to June 2008.

'Once again, Agriprocessors has demonstrated a complete disregard for Iowa law,' Neil said in a statement. 'This continued course of violations is a black mark on Iowa's business community.'

Jury hears arguments in Spector retrial

LOS ANGELES - A prosecutor on Wednesday portrayed eccentric musical genius Phil Spector as a man who repeatedly threatened women with guns and could become 'very sinister, very violent and very deadly' when he was drunk.

Prosecutor Alan Jackson set sights on the defendant during his opening statement in Spector's retrial on a murder charge in the 2003 death of actress Lana Clarkson. Prosecutors claim Spector shot her after she resisted his sexual advances.

In a speech reminiscent of the one he gave at the first trial, Jackson briefly described the killing of Clarkson at Spector's mansion and displayed photos showing her in life and death. One image showed her body slumped in a chair with blood all over her face.

Neb. governor accelerates fix of safe-haven law

LINCOLN, Neb. - Deciding he could wait no longer to address what has become a state embarrassment, Gov. Dave Heineman said Wednesday he will call a special legislative session to amend Nebraska's loosely worded safe-haven law, which in just a few months has allowed parents to abandon nearly two dozen children as old as 17.

Heineman had planned to wait until the next regular legislative session convened in January, but changed his mind as the number of children dropped off at hospitals grew. Two teenagers were abandoned Tuesday night alone, and three children dropped off previously did not even live in Nebraska.

Body found as police search for missing teacher

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A woman's body was found Wednesday in a wooded area about 13 miles from the abandoned car of a teacher who had disappeared two days before, police said.

The body was believed to have been in the wooded area for more than 24 hours, Nassau County Police Lt. Kevin Smith said.

Police confirmed the body was that of a woman but were continuing to investigate any possible connections to the disappearance of Leah Walsh, 29, of Bethpage.

Walsh's car was found abandoned on a Long Island highway early Monday and she was reported missing after failing to show up for her job as a special education teacher in Glen Cove.

Police arrest brother of mummified Ky. woman

GEORGETOWN, Ky. - A Kentucky man arrested after police found the mummified remains of his disabled sister in the trunk of his car was set to appear in court Wednesday for an extradition hearing.

Timothy Allen Brown, 36, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in St. Louis on Tuesday night, said Georgetown Police Chief Greg Reeves.

The severely decomposed body of 31-year-old Penny Brown was discovered Friday after police towed the car from St. Louis to Kentucky. They had received complaints that it had been on the street for several days.

Fort Dix defendant discussed attack, bombs

CAMDEN, N.J. - One of the defendants in an alleged plot to kill soldiers at an Army base was caught on tape discussing using nail bombs and machine guns for an assault that he said would punish Americans for their arrogance.

Mohamad Shnewer was secretly recorded during a car trip he made to Fort Dix in 2006 with government informant Mahmoud Omar. Prosecutors claim the two men used the trip to scout locations at Fort Dix where they could launch the attack.

- From wire reports