Washington, D.C.

Bush signs measure naming Dole VA center

The veterans hospital in Wichita will be named for former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, under a bill signed into law by President Bush on Wednesday.

The legislation won House and Senate passage last week. The facility’s new name will be the Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. It has been known as the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center.

Dole earned two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star medal after wounds in World War II that cost him use of his right arm. He went on to serve nearly 27 years as Republican U.S. senator from Kansas, rising to Republican leader before unsuccessfully seeking the presidency in 1996.

Dole, 78, has also served as an advocate for the nation’s veterans, most recently helping to raise $160 million for a World War II memorial in the nation’s capital.

Oklahoma

President steps down at Oklahoma State

James Halligan announced his retirement Wednesday as president of Oklahoma State University, two years sooner than he expected when he took the job in 1994.

Halligan has agreed to remain on the job until a replacement is hired, but asked the school’s regents to move quickly to replace him. He said he hoped a new president would be hired in six to eight months.

“I’m turning 66 years old, and Ann and I have been at the head of a campus for 20 years now,” said Halligan, who spent 10 years as president of New Mexico State before coming to Stillwater.

“Our time at OSU has been a joy, but at this point in our lives, we also want the flexibility to spend time with our eight grandchildren. Time is one perk no one can promise a university president.”

Florida

Sinkholes open on Interstate 4

A 10-foot-deep sinkhole opened on a busy stretch of Interstate 4 during the morning rush hour Wednesday, forcing a traffic backup that stretched five miles.

Later in the day, a second sinkhole and a major traffic accident temporarily closed eastbound I-4 between two exits north of downtown Orlando.

The first sinkhole closed two of three westbound lanes at the Lake Mary entrance, said Lt. Chuck Williams, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman.

Department of Transportation crews worked to fill the 15-foot-wide hole with limestone and pave it. A geologist was called to determine whether the hole will continue to grow.

Milwaukee

Defendant killed in courtroom shooting

A murder defendant lunged for a deputy’s gun Wednesday as the jury came back with a guilty verdict and was shot to death by a police officer in the courtroom, authorities said. The sheriff’s deputy was wounded in the struggle.

A Milwaukee police officer who had testified in the case and was in the courtroom awaiting the verdict fired on the defendant, killing him, Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Sgt. Charles G. Coughlin said.

Deputy District Court Administrator Beth Bishop Perrigo identified the defendant as Laron Ball, 20. Ball was charged in the death of Amon Rogers, 27, who was killed during a robbery in December.

New Jersey

Driver pleads innocent in McDonald’s crash

The driver of a car that plowed through a McDonald’s restaurant, killing three workers inside, was arrested Wednesday and charged with three counts of aggravated manslaughter.

Camden County Prosecutor Lee A. Solomon said the May 15 crash in the Philadelphia suburb of Mount Ephraim had been a suicide attempt.

The car was traveling at least 95 mph when it crashed through the restaurant’s glass front window before dawn, Solomon said.

Frank R. Nastasi, 52, pleaded innocent.

Nastasi told detectives that he had chosen to drive into the 24-hour restaurant because his father ate breakfast there every morning.

Oklahoma

Death toll rises to 14 in bridge collapse

The death toll from the highway bridge collapse climbed to 14 on Wednesday when the body of a 3-year-old girl was found floating in the Arkansas River a half-mile downstream.

After the girl’s body was recovered, authorities called off the search, saying they believed they had found all the victims and vehicles in the water.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard planned to leave the area, near Webbers Falls, but divers could be called back if more vehicles or bodies were found under the concrete and debris during the salvage operation.

New York City

Manhole explosions scare pedestrians

Five manhole covers exploded in three separate incidents in a little more than an hour Wednesday morning near the Empire State Building, triggering panic among pedestrians and sparking traffic tieups.

Chris Olert, a Con Ed spokesman, said the covers had popped when utility wires became overheated and caused excessive pressure.

One man suffered a cut on his head when he fell while running away from the explosions, police said. A police officer was treated at a hospital for ringing in the ears.

Business at the Empire State continued as usual, said Howard Rubenstein, the building’s spokesman.