Arkansas

Ten-year-old chained to bed dies in fire

A 10-year-old Clarksville girl who authorities say had been chained to a bed by her ankles was killed in a house fire, and her parents were arrested on manslaughter charges.

Sheriff Wesley Kendrick said investigators believe the blaze early Monday was accidental. Four people made it out of the house — the parents and their two other children — before it burned to the ground.

The body of Molly Holt was found by firefighters in her bedroom under debris where the roof had collapsed, Chief Deputy Jerry Dorney said. Investigators also found a chain and padlock that they determined had secured the girl to her bed, Dorney said.

Dorney would not say what the parents told investigators when asked why their daughter was chained to the bed.

Pittsburgh

Hepatitis A outbreak affects at least 340

The number of people sickened by a hepatitis A outbreak at a Mexican restaurant has climbed to at least 340, as the source of the infection continues to elude investigators.

Officials initially believed the infectious liver disease was spread by a Chi-Chi’s Restaurant employee who failed to wash his hands.

However, Pennsylvania health officials said Wednesday that they were unable to determine the exact source of the outbreak and were looking into a number of possibilities, including contaminated green onions that sickened people in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee in September.

While Pennsylvania health officials began warning the public of the outbreak Nov. 3, people were found to have contracted the disease as far back as Sept. 20, McGarvey said.