Oklahoma

Pilot, barge companies sued for bridge collapse

Oklahoma filed a lawsuit accusing a towboat captain and two barge companies of negligence for a crash that caused a highway bridge to collapse, killing 14 people.

Atty. Gen. Drew Edmondson said Wednesday that Capt. William Joe Dedmon, Magnolia Marine Transport Co. and Ergon Inc. should have done more to prevent the May 26 crash. The companies should have had a second pilot on the boat to steer the rig if the first became incapacitated, or a kill switch that would have stopped the boat if there was a problem, he said.

But Tuesday’s lawsuit did not go into specifics because it was filed in response to a pre-emptive bid by Magnolia to limit its liability in the crash, Edmondson said.

Vicksburg, Miss.-based Magnolia asked a federal judge in Jackson, Miss., on Monday to be cleared of responsibility of the crash or to set a $1.2 million limit on civil damages.

Los Angeles

Hollywood to vote on secession issue

The next chapter in the fabled history of Hollywood will be written in November when voters decide whether the community should break away from the city of Los Angeles.

A commission that oversees regional boundaries voted 6-3 Wednesday to place the proposed split on the Nov. 5 ballot alongside a previously approved secession measure involving the San Fernando Valley.

Afterward, about 50 secession supporters chanted, “Hooray for Hollywood.”

Hollywood is one of three areas in the nation’s second-largest city that have mounted breakaway efforts. Secession backers complain about a lack of city services and disinterest at City Hall concerning crime, economic revival and other issues.

Indianapolis

G.I. Joe doll honors WWII correspondent

Ernie Pyle, famous to millions as a World War II correspondent, has been memorialized as a G.I. Joe doll.

The $20, 12-inch likeness of the Scripps Howard reporter was sent this week to stores as part of Hasbro’s “G.I. Joe D-Day collection” to mark today’s 58th anniversary of the Allied Invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

Hasbro took pains to make the figure historically accurate, using photographs to recreate Pyle’s facial features. The doll dresses Pyle in a utility cap, jacket, pants and boots with accessories that include a portable typewriter, a trench-digging shovel, gas stove and a small newspaper.