Arizona

Wildfire spreads as winds fan flames

Firefighters thinned vegetation Thursday and called in additional fire engines and helicopters to attack a windblown wildfire that has already destroyed more than 300 mountaintop homes near Tucson.

Gusting winds caused the blaze to grow from 41,500 acres to 56,000 since Wednesday and threatened to drive the flames into developed areas.

The fire pushed toward the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, coming within about three miles of the visitor center of Sabino Canyon, a popular recreation area. Heavy smoke forced the canyon’s closure Wednesday, and fire officials were asking residents of the upscale homes in the area to evacuate.

The fire also was about four miles away from Soldier Camp, a summer vacation area with 51 homes.

Washington, D.C.

New online registry honors WWII veterans

Americans who served in World War II or supported the war effort at home can now add their names to an online registry.

Organized by the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Web-based list is an effort to extend recognition to as many as 16 million Americans who served in uniform during the second World War. It is being launched almost a year before the dedication of the first national monument to World War II veterans, slated for May 29, 2004 on the National Mall.

The registry is accessible on the National World War II Memorial Web site, www.WWIImemorial.com, or by calling the commission toll-free at (800) 639-4992. Registration is free.

Dallas

Court upholds ruling in airline price case

An appeals court Thursday upheld a lower court victory by American Airlines over pricing on some routes that the Justice Department argued was meant to drive out smaller competitors.

The three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said the government failed to prove its case.

The lawsuit, filed in 1999, alleged that American added money-losing flights on four routes to and from its Dallas-Fort Worth hub so it could maintain a monopoly on those routes. A federal judge dismissed the case in 2001.

The routes at issue in the case were to Kansas City, Mo., Wichita, Kan., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Long Beach, Calif.

Maryland

Sniper suspect’s lawyers try to postpone book

Attorneys for sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad asked a federal judge Thursday to delay the release of a book by the former police chief in charge of the manhunt, saying the account will cause a media “feeding frenzy” and prejudice potential jurors.

In a request filed in federal court, attorney Thomas Mann said Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose had “strategically planned the launch of his book just prior to Muhammad’s trial in an attempt to obtain as much money as possible from the results of his official investigation.”

Moose’s book, “Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper,” is due to be released Sept. 15.

Muhammad goes on trial Oct. 14 in Virginia in the slaying of a man at a gas station.

Oklahoma

Man gets life sentence for spitting on officer

A convicted rapist has been sentenced to life in prison for spitting on a police officer.

Creek County Associate District Judge April Sellers White followed the recommendation of a jury for the maximum sentence against John C. Marquez under a law that makes it a felony to place bodily fluids on law enforcement officers.

White rejected a prosecution request for a 25-year prison term and a defense request for a four-year term.

After Monday’s sentencing, Marquez’s attorney, Jason Serner, promised an appeal to the state Court of Criminal Appeals. No appeal had been filed by Thursday.

Marquez, 35, was convicted of hurling body fluids on Sapulpa Officer Charles Gadd while Gadd was taking Marquez to jail after a domestic disturbance.