Chicago

City to pay panhandlers $99,000 in settlement

A federal judge has approved a $99,000 settlement for people who have been arrested or ticketed for panhandling in Chicago.

The city also must pay $375,000 to cover attorneys’ fees and the cost of distributing the money, said plaintiffs’ lawyer Mark Weinberg, who filed suit in 2001.

Judge Nan R. Nolan approved the settlement Friday. Under its terms, those arrested for panhandling in the past four years can file a claim of $400, while those ticketed can receive $50.

The ordinance was repealed last year. City officials have said a blanket ban on panhandling was considered a limit on commercial speech.

Georgia

Beauty queen to face murder charge

A Georgia beauty queen turned herself in to police Saturday to face a murder charge in the death of her boyfriend.

Sharron Nicole Redmond, who holds the title of Miss Savannah, was being held without bail in the death of 25-year-old Kevin Shorter.

Redmond, 21, was initially charged with aggravated assault in the Tuesday night shooting, but the charge was upgraded to murder after Shorter died Friday.

Redmond’s lawyer, Michael Schiavone, said he would file a bond request Monday.

“She’s having a very difficult time with everything that’s happened, especially with his death,” Schiavone said.

Washington, D.C.

Gore’s son arrested on marijuana charge

The son of former vice president and 2000 Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore has been charged with marijuana possession.

Albert A. Gore III, 21, was arrested Friday night after he was stopped for driving a vehicle without its headlights on.

Two passengers also were arrested and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession. They were identified as Yann V. Kumin, 21, and Marc G. Hordon, 22, both of Cambridge, Mass.

All three were released pending trial.

Iowa

Businessman surprises employees with bonuses

Christmas came early for 270 employees at an Iowa corn company.

Harry Stine, founder of Stine Seed Co. in Adel, told his workers they would get $1,000 for each year they have worked for him. That adds up to a $20,000 bonus for some loyal employees who have worked there for 20 years.

The workers sat in stunned silence after he announced the bonuses after the company’s annual post-harvest luncheon last month.

“He said that we’re a can-do kind of people, that we work in the rain and the mud, and that he just appreciated our hard work,” said seven-year employee Kelley Muir, 30.

The average bonus check was $4,000.

Washington, D.C.

FCC OKs News Corp. purchase of DirecTV

News Corp. won federal approval to take over the satellite television provider DirecTV, a move that federal regulators say will mean more competition but opponents contend will speed media consolidation.

The Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines, 3-2, to approve the $6.6 billion deal. After the FCC’s action, announced Friday, the Justice Department said it would not oppose the takeover of the nation’s largest satellite TV provider by News Corp., headed by Rupert Murdoch.

The FCC approval carries with it some conditions.

News Corp. must agree to arbitration to solve disputes with companies that carry its broadcast and cable channels.

Washington, D.C.

Airmen buried 31 years after crash in Vietnam

Thirty-one years to the day after their Air Force B-52 bomber was shot down over communist North Vietnam, the remains of two U.S. airmen were buried Friday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Maj. Richard W. Cooper Jr., of Salisbury, Md., and Chief Master Sgt. Charlie S. Poole, of Gibsland, La., were crew members aboard the bomber when it was struck by a surface-to-air missile on Dec. 19, 1972, after completing an attack mission over Hanoi. The plane crashed about six miles southwest of Hanoi.

In 1995, a joint U.S.-Vietnamese team excavated the crash site and found B-52 wreckage, crew-related items, personal effects and human remains.