ATLANTA

CDC: Asbestos deaths soared since 1960s

Asbestos deaths in the United States have skyrocketed since the late 1960s and will probably keep on climbing through the next decade because of long-ago exposure to the material, once widely used for insulation and fireproofing, the government said Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1,493 people died from asbestos in 2000, compared with 77 in 1968.

In fact, in 1998, asbestos-related deaths overtook those from black lung disease, reflecting in part the decline of the coal mining industry, the federal agency said.

NEW YORK City

‘Junior’ Gotti indicted on kidnapping charges

Less than two months from freedom, the jailed son of the late mob boss John Gotti was charged Thursday with the kidnapping and attempted murder of an outspoken talk-show host, allegedly to silence his radio rants against the “Dapper Don.”

John A. “Junior” Gotti, 40, was scheduled to leave prison Sept. 7 on a 1999 racketeering conviction, but now faces charges that could put the former head of the Gambino crime family away for life. Three other alleged mobsters were named in the indictment.

Court papers allege that Gotti and Gambino soldiers Joseph “Little Joey” D’Angelo and Michael “Mikey Y” Yannotti plotted in 1992 to first kidnap and then murder Curtis Sliwa, reportedly as payback for comments he had made about the elder Gotti on a radio show.

New Jersey

Train searched after threatening note found

A threatening note found aboard a Washington-to-New York Amtrak train prompted police to detain it for an hour and a half Thursday morning while they checked all passengers for identification and examined the overhead racks.

After officers videotaped the passengers and searched the cars with at least one bomb-sniffing dog, the train was declared safe and allowed to leave Newark Penn Station to continue on its way.

Amtrak spokesman Dan Stessel said he did not know the exact contents of the note, but a law enforcement source said it contained “pro-Muslim, anti-Jewish rhetoric.” The note included the phrase, “You’re all sitting ducks,” said the source, on condition of anonymity.

The note was attached to the mirror in a restroom of the train’s cafe car, Stessel said.

New Mexico

19 workers put on leave in Los Alamos probes

Fifteen employees at the Los Alamos National Laboratory were placed on leave amid an investigation into the disappearance of two computer disks containing classified information, the director of the nuclear weapons lab said Thursday.

Four other employees also were placed on leave by Director Pete Nanos in a separate investigation involving an intern at the lab who suffered a serious eye injury from a laser.

Nanos said the workers were stripped of their badges and would not be allowed back in until their cases were resolved. They can show up at the lab only for purposes of the investigation.

“We’ve essentially moved them aside,” Nanos said.

SAN DIEGO

Metabolife charged with lying to FDA on ephedra

Metabolife International Inc. and its founder were indicted Thursday on federal charges of lying to the Food and Drug Administration about the dangers of a popular diet supplement containing ephedra, the now-banned herbal stimulant linked to dozens of deaths.

Metabolife and Michael J. Ellis, who founded the San Diego company, were charged with six counts of making false statements to the FDA and two counts of trying to obstruct the agency’s attempt to regulate ephedra supplements.

Ephedra has been linked to several deaths, including that of Steve Bechler, a 23-year-old pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles who died during spring training last year.

Ellis is to be arraigned Tuesday.