WASHINGTON, D.C.

EPA decides against restricting weedkiller

The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it had decided not to impose new restrictions on the common weedkiller atrazine.

EPA said in a statement it did not “find any studies that would lead the agency to conclude that potential cancer risk is likely from exposure to atrazine.”

The agency was required to review the health effects of atrazine under a court-approved agreement in 2001 with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. NRDC sued EPA in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in 1999, saying the agency hadn’t met a deadline to review the safety for children of many high-risk pesticides, including atrazine.

AUSTIN

Former attorney general sentenced for fraud

Former Texas Atty. Gen. Dan Morales was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for filing a false income tax return and mail fraud in a case stemming from the state’s $17 billion tobacco settlement.

Morales had entered into a plea agreement after being charged with scheming to funnel millions of dollars from the settlement to a friend.

“You’ve breached the very valuable trust the people of Texas gave you,” federal Judge Sam Sparks said.

LOS ANGELES

Client shoots attorney in front of TV crews

An attorney was wounded Friday in a courthouse shooting that was captured by television crews gathered to cover a hearing in the murder case against actor Robert Blake.

Police said Gerry Curry was shot on a walkway outside the Van Nuys courthouse by a man who was upset that Curry was being paid from his trust fund.

Television footage showed Curry, 53, of Simi Valley, trying to hide behind a tree as a man identified by police as William Strier, 60, fired a revolver at him several times.

Strier was arrested for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon, Los Angeles police Capt. Jim Miller said.

Curry was in good condition at Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, Miller said.

DENVER

Three Air Force cadets face drug charges

Three Air Force Academy cadets were charged Friday with using Ecstasy and other drugs — the latest blow for the troubled school and just three days before a visit from top Air Force brass.

The charges come in a year that began with a sexual assault scandal that prompted sweeping changes in leadership and policies. So far this year, six cadets have been charged with drug offenses; at least six more face punishment for violating alcohol rules.

John-Paul Doolin, James M. Long and Shane T. Thomas could face prison and dismissal from the Air Force if convicted.

Colorado

Judge refuses to toss Columbine deputy suit

The parents of a victim of the Columbine High School massacre can sue a former sheriff’s deputy who falsely told them their son was killed by an officer, a judge said Thursday.

Former Arapahoe County Deputy James Taylor asked state District Judge James Zimmerman to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds he had governmental immunity. Zimmerman refused, saying Taylor had acted as a friend and not a county employee.

Sue Petrone and Brian Rohrbough, parents of Daniel Rohrbough, are suing Taylor on claims of outrageous conduct and negligence.