New York City: Rare gold coin brings $7.59 million at auction

A 1933 Double Eagle gold coin that never went into circulation was sold Tuesday for $7.59 million believed to be the most ever paid for a coin at auction.

Double Eagles were first minted in 1850, with a face value of $20. The ones that were minted in 1933 were not circulated because President Roosevelt decided to take the nation off the gold standard.

The coin auctioned Tuesday night is believed to be one of very few 1933 Double Eagles to have survived an order that year that the coins be melted. The front features a standing Liberty figure. The other side features a majestic eagle.

Michigan: High school sued in free speech case

An Ann Arbor high school graduate is suing her alma mater, claiming the school violated her free speech right to criticize homosexuality during a diversity program.

An attorney for the Ann Arbor Public Schools says Betsy Hansen had plenty of opportunities to give her opinion during the weeklong event.

The conservative, Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Center for Law and Justice filed a federal lawsuit July 10 on behalf of Hansen, who said Pioneer High School violated her civil rights during its Diversity Week in March.

Hansen, who graduated in June, said she was forced to remove comments about homosexuality from her speech to an all-school assembly and was prohibited from being on a panel that discussed religion and homosexuality. Hansen, who is Roman Catholic, objects to homosexuality based on her religious beliefs.

New Jersey: Landmark case tests DUI accountability

A 40-year-old laborer is on trial in Salem in a groundbreaking case experts say could clear the way for the prosecution of anyone who lets a drunken driver get behind the wheel.

Kenneth Powell was asleep at home two years ago when police called and asked him to pick up best friend Michael Pangle, who had been arrested for drunken driving after a drinking session in a strip club.

Powell picked up Pangle, 37, and took him back to his sport utility vehicle. Less than an hour later, Pangle’s SUV collided with another car, killing him and 22-year-old Navy Ensign John Elliott.

Tests revealed Pangle had a 0.26 blood-alcohol content when he died, more than twice the legal limit.

Prosecutors blamed Powell for letting Pangle get behind the wheel and charged him with both deaths. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter, vehicular homicide and aggravated assault by auto.

New Jersey: Anthrax cleanup set for postal facility

An anthrax-contaminated postal facility that has been closed since last fall will likely reopen in the spring, federal officials said Tuesday.

Decontamination of the Hamilton office near Trenton should begin in late October or November, said Tom Day, the U.S. Postal Service’s vice president of engineering.

The Hamilton office, which handles mail for 46 post offices, has been closed since Oct. 18. The office processed anthrax-tainted letters sent to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy and the New York Post.

The Hamilton center will be fumigated with chlorine dioxide, the same process that will be used at the larger Brentwood mail processing center in Washington, Day said. The procedure was also used to clean the Hart Senate Office Building.

After fumigation, the Hamilton building will undergo a two-month renovation to install a system to detect and vacuum toxic substances, Day said. Similar systems will be placed in 292 postal facilities across the country, he said.