Cincinnati

Democrats tap Springer as convention delegate

Ohio Democrats have chosen talk-show host Jerry Springer to be an at-large delegate for the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

“He’s made 50 appearances at Democratic events this year. He’s been an outspoken advocate for the party,” said Dan Trevas, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Springer, who was the mayor of Cincinnati before becoming host of the raunchy “The Jerry Springer Show,” was named Democrat of the Year by the state party last weekend. He was named Friday as one of 159 delegates and 24 alternates from Ohio at the convention July 26-29, when Sen. John Kerry is expected to be nominated as the party’s candidate for president.

Florida

Children’s book author, cartoonist dies at 91

Syd Hoff, a former cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine who is known to generations of children as the author of “Sammy the Seal” and “Danny and the Dinosaur,” has died. He was 91.

Hoff died May 12 at Mount Sinai Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Lauri Oliva said. Longtime friend Edie Fine told The Miami Herald that the cause was pneumonia.

The Bronx-born Hoff wrote and illustrated the inaugural volume of the “Danny and the Dinosaur” trilogy in 1958. The book, about a dinosaur who comes to life, was part of the I Can Read series, a line of books aimed at beginning readers.

North Carolina

Billy Graham stable after fall at home

Evangelist Billy Graham remained in stable condition Saturday after injuring himself in a fall for the second time this year, hospital officials said.

Graham, 85, fell at his home in Montreat on Friday. Preliminary test results indicated a possible hairline pelvis fracture.

The accident was similar to one in early January, when Graham broke his hip in a fall in a hotel room in Jacksonville, Fla., Graham spokesman A. Larry Ross said Friday. Graham had partial hip replacement surgery and was hospitalized until Feb. 2.

Ross said Friday that doctors at Mission Hospitals in Asheville were to run more tests Saturday to determine the extent of Graham’s injuries.

Colorado

Girder falls on freeway; three people killed

A 40-ton steel girder dropped from a freeway overpass construction site into morning traffic on Saturday, crushing one car and killing all three people inside.

The 100-foot-long girder sagged across three lanes of Interstate 70 west of Denver, shearing off the top of an SUV that was carrying a man, a woman and a young girl, said State Patrol Master Trooper Ron Watkins.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m., Watkins said. The site is 10 miles west of downtown Denver.

The girder collapsed after temporary braces holding it in place gave way, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacy Stegman said.

U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez said investigators were looking into the possibility of “criminal tampering.” Jefferson County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Shires confirmed deputies were investigating but added, “We are not suspecting criminal activity took place.”