Connecticut: Death toll rises to 11 in nursing home fire

The death toll has risen to 11 in a nursing home blaze reportedly started by a patient who set her bed sheets on fire.

John Shack, who had been a resident at Greenwood Health Center, died at Hartford Hospital late Friday, two days after the fire. Nearly two dozen residents were injured and 10 remained hospitalized Saturday, with four in critical condition.

One man who died in the blaze, 76-year-old Angel Diaz, had gone back into the burning building after pushing Juan Rodriguez to safety in a wheelchair, The Hartford Courant reported Saturday.

“Mr. Diaz is a hero,” said Rodriguez’s daughter-in-law, Marisol Rodriguez. “He died a hero.”

Juan Rodriguez was among the patients in critical condition.

Investigators interviewed a 23-year-old patient accused of starting the blaze, but had not determined whether the fire was intentionally set.

Florida: Beached whales die

Two pygmy sperm whales separately rescued off the Florida Keys have died within two days of each other.

An 11-foot-long, 950-pound whale died Saturday, a day after it was found stranded near Islamorada and taken to the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo. Officials there said preliminary findings of a necropsy indicated heart failure was the cause of death.

On Thursday another pygmy sperm whale, nicknamed Kokomo, died after more than a month of treatment by conservancy officials and volunteers.

The 1,200-pound mammal was found stranded Jan. 22 off the Upper Keys and spent 12 days recovering in an Islamorada resort’s heated saltwater pool before it was moved to a lagoon. A necropsy was pending.

Chicago: McDonald’s delays switch to healthier oil

McDonald’s plans to switch to a healthier cooking oil have been put on hold, the company said.

When it announced the change in September, the world’s largest fast-food chain had said it would make the switch by the end of February. But in a brief news release Friday night, the company said it would “extend the timeframe.”

The release did not say when McDonald’s 13,000 domestic restaurants would begin using the oil.

Spokesman Walt Riker said the analysis and review of the oil is ongoing.

The company has said the new oil, which will be used to cook all its fried foods, will halve the trans fatty acid levels in its french fries and increase the amount of the more beneficial polyunsaturated fat.

Trans fatty acids increase the body’s level of bad cholesterol while reducing levels of good cholesterol, and have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease.

North Carolina: Air marshals arrest passenger on flight

A plane was diverted Saturday after air marshals arrested a passenger after he began shouting “Majority rules! Turn the plane around!” and walked toward an exit door during a flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to New Orleans.

Richard Perez, 30, of Bay Shore, N.Y., was arrested and taken to a hospital after the plane landed at Charlotte, N.C., said Robert Johnson, spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.

Johnson said crew members had told Perez to sit down after he walked toward the front of the plane and started yelling 45 minutes after taking off at 8:10 a.m. He returned to his seat, then got up and shouted again as he headed for an exit door before three passengers and an air marshal intervened, Johnson said.

“It took one air marshal and three off-duty police officers to subdue this guy,” he said.

Perez was not armed.