San Antonio: Husband accused of keeping wife on chain

A man was arrested after his wife was found with a 25-foot chain similar to those used for dogs padlocked around her neck, police said.

Jerry Wayne Thomason, 41, was arrested Thursday. A witness had contacted police, saying she noticed the chain around Patricia Thomason’s neck as the couple dropped off their two sons, ages 11 and 14, at school.

Police said the witness asked Jerry Thomason about the chain, and he jerked it and said that he used it so that his wife couldn’t run off.

Officer Kenny Hagen said police went to the Thomason home and found the 45-year-old woman in her driveway, her face bruised and the chain still around her neck. Her husband was asleep in a car in the driveway, he said.

The chain was wrapped around her neck twice and held in place with a padlock, and she was holding the rest of it in her arms, police said. Firefighters used bolt cutters to get it off, and the woman was treated at a hospital and released.

Thomason was charged with aggravated assault and unlawful restraint.

Washington, D.C.: Annual White House Easter egg roll closed

Citing security concerns, the annual Easter Egg roll at the White House will be closed to the public this year and replaced with a smaller event for the children of troops involved in the U.S. -led war on Iraq.

About 12,000 parents and children of active duty and reserve troops will be invited to the event April 21, fewer than half the normal crowd of 40,000, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Friday.

“It was decided to do it to honor those who are serving, families who are sacrificing, the children who haven’t seen their fathers — to bring some joy to their lives,” Fleischer said.

Tickets to this year’s event will be distributed exclusively to military families through the Defense Department.

During World War II, the Easter egg roll was moved from the White House to the National Zoo.

Rhode Island: Search of fire site yields paint can, glitter

A can of black spray paint and a bag of glitter were among items police removed late last week from the site of The Station nightclub fire, according to court documents. Lawyers involved in potential civil suits said those items might help explain why the fire spread so rapidly.

During the March 28 visit to the Warwick site, investigators also recovered two metal housings from fans, fan parts, a piece of melted Plexiglas and a piece of plastic foam. The items were listed on an inventory filed Thursday in Kent County District Court.

The Feb. 20 fire killed 99 people and injured nearly 200 others. It spread rapidly after sparks from a band’s pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing foam near the stage.

A grand jury is considering criminal charges in the case.