New York City

Judge restricts sleepovers for Giuliani’s two children

A judge overseeing Rudolph Giuliani’s divorce case ruled Wednesday that the ex-mayor’s two teen-age children can’t stay at his Manhattan residence while his girlfriend is visiting.

State Supreme Court Justice Judith Gische said the children have already met Giuliani’s girlfriend, Judith Nathan, several times.

But in an eight-page ruling Wednesday, the judge said 16-year-old Andrew and 12-year-old Caroline weren’t “psychologically ready” to stay overnight when Nathan, 46, was also staying over.

“They can hardly be said to have a comfortable, familiar relationship with her,” Gische wrote. “The children need to establish a new routine of time spent with their father without worrying about competing for his attention.”

Atlanta

Jail sentence, game ban given for airport breach

A football fan whose dash past security guards shut down the Atlanta airport for four hours was sentenced to 10 days in jail Wednesday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor trespassing.

Michael Lasseter, 33, was sentenced to five weekends in jail and 500 hours of community service. He also was barred from attending University of Georgia football games this fall.

Lasseter was trying to catch a flight to a Georgia game in Mississippi on Nov. 16 when he ran past guards and down an “up” escalator.

Thousands of passengers had to be rescreened after the airport was evacuated. Flights were canceled, causing delays for fliers across the nation.

Three other criminal charges were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.

Washington, D.C.

Former mayor to seek seat on district council

Marion Barry, the national capital’s four-term former mayor, says he’s ready to come back, this time as a member of the District of Columbia Council.

Barry, who served six months in prison after a 1990 misdemeanor drug conviction, said Wednesday he will pursue an at-large seat on the 13-member council.

“God has blessed me with a ministry to serve unselfishly,” said Barry, who marked his 66th birthday by confirming rumors of his candidacy.

Virginia

Stolen letter written in 1788 by George Washington found

A letter written by George Washington in 1788 and stolen from a home in Virginia has been found in New York City.

The letter, valued at $500,000, had been sold to a collector in New York for far less than its value, authorities said Tuesday. It was to be retrieved today by Orange County sheriff’s officials.

Thomas Paytes, 35, of Orange County, was charged with grand larceny in the Feb. 25 theft. Paytes worked for the owner of the letter and had access to his home, the sheriff’s department said. He was arrested in Washington during the weekend.

The letter was written to Washington’s personal secretary, Tobias Lear, nine months before Washington became president. In it, Washington discusses Virginia’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution, which had taken place three days earlier on June 26.