New Jersey

Family of four found slain inside home

A couple and their daughters — their bodies bound and gagged and their throats slashed — were found slain Friday inside their modest two-story home. Grieving relatives described the four victims as a religious family with “no enemies.”

Police broke down the front door of the family’s house after relatives said they had not heard from them for several days. There were no immediate arrests.

WNBC-TV in New York reported authorities were investigating whether a former tenant who had had a dispute with the family was involved.

The victims were identified as Hossam Armanious, 46; his wife, Amal Garas, 36; and their daughters, Sylvia Armanious, 16, and Monica Armanious, 8.

Ohio

Shootings suspect competent, expert says

A psychiatrist dealt a blow Friday to the insanity defense of a man accused of a dozen highway shootings, saying the suspect knew the difference between right and wrong.

Charles McCoy Jr. is accused of 12 shootings — including the fatal shooting of a 62-year-old woman — between October 2003 and February 2004.

McCoy, 29, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in September to 24 counts, including aggravated murder and assault. He faces the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder.

According to a one-paragraph notice issued to the court and to defense attorneys Friday, psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick found that although McCoy suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, he understands the difference between right and wrong.

Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Mills, hired by McCoy’s attorneys, previously found that McCoy does not always know the difference between right and wrong, an assessment that led to his insanity defense.

Judge Charles Schneider set a Jan. 28 hearing on both psychiatrists’ reports. Because of the conflict between the two reports, Schneider has the option to appoint a third expert.

Arkansas

Sheriff’s deputy fired for wife’s nude poses

A sheriff’s deputy was fired after his wife posed nude next to his patrol car.

A computer disc containing photos of Damon Gregory’s wife posing near the patrol vehicle surfaced in early December at the Franklin County Sheriff’s office. Gregory was fired Dec. 14, and the reason was released Thursday.

A supervisor who knew of the photographs was demoted from sergeant to road deputy.

“As soon as this came to our attention, the sheriff took action,” Chief Deputy James Hamilton said.

Gregory said he wouldn’t appeal his firing for violating department policy and conduct regulations.

“The sheriff’s department wants to apologize to each and every citizen for any embarrassment or loss of confidence,” Hamilton said.

Washington, D.C.

Report finds support for FBI complainant

The FBI never adequately investigated complaints by a fired contract linguist who alleged shoddy work and possible espionage inside the bureau’s translator program, even though evidence and witnesses supported her, the Justice Department’s senior oversight official said Friday.

The bureau’s response to complaints by former translator Sibel Edmonds was “significantly flawed,” Inspector General Glenn Fine said in a report that summarized a lengthy classified investigation into how the FBI handled the case. Fine said her claims “raised substantial questions and were supported by various pieces of evidence.”

Edmonds maintains she was fired in March 2002 after she complained to FBI managers about shoddy wiretap translations and told them an interpreter with a relative at a foreign embassy might have compromised national security by blocking translations in some cases and notifying targets of FBI surveillance.

Nebraska

Bank robbery leader gets death sentence

The leader of a bank robbery attempt in which five people were killed was sentenced Friday to death in the electric chair.

Jose Sandoval, 25, was convicted of killing three people and three partners of killing the other victims in the September 2002 attempt at a U.S. Bank branch in Norfolk.

Surveillance tapes indicate three gunmen were in the bank for only 40 seconds, and no money was taken.

The defense had asked for leniency because testimony indicated Sandoval had a difficult childhood, a personality disorder and was under the influence of LSD during the robbery attempt.

A jury convicted Sandoval in November 2003 and found his crimes merited the death penalty. A three-judge panel sentenced Sandoval after a hearing last month. The case will automatically be appealed.

The victims were assistant bank manager Lola Elwood, customer Evonne Tuttle and employees Jo Mausbach, Samuel Sun and Lisa Bryant.

South Carolina

Charleston again named best-mannered city

For the 10th straight year, Charleston tops the unofficial list of the nation’s best-mannered cities.

“The people … have such an affection for their city,” said etiquette expert Marjabelle Young Stewart, who started compiling her annual list 28 years ago and released the latest installment Friday.

It’s the 11th time that Charleston, the South Carolina city of quiet alleys and picturesque gardens, has taken or shared top honors. The survey is based on letters and faxes to Stewart from the public and those who have taken her etiquette courses.

Stewart said the military atmosphere in San Diego, which ranked second, helped make it one of the nation’s most polite cities.

Seattle was third on the list, followed by Peoria, Ill., Omaha, Neb., and the Quad Cities, which include Bettendorf and Davenport in Iowa and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois.

Hollywood, Fla., was seventh followed by Philadelphia, Houston and Salt Lake City.

Miami

Japanese baby receives six-organ transplant

An 11-month-old Japanese boy smiled and laughed in his mother’s arms Friday as doctors talked of his progress from a six-organ transplant, an operation done here because children’s organ donations are banned in Japan.

Yosuke Ohashi underwent the 8 1/2-hour transplant of a liver, pancreas, stomach, small and large intestines and spleen Dec. 24 at the University of Miami Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

“Finally we got the gift of God on Christmas Eve,” said Yukiho Ohashi, the boy’s father.

Tomoaki Kato, the University of Miami physician who led the transplant team, said the first two years after such an operation were the most difficult, but he added there was a 90 percent survival rate for the first year.

Yosuke, who has a healthy twin sister, was 5 months old when diagnosed with “mid gut volvulus.”

The condition, where the intestine twists around its root, left him with only a tiny portion of his small bowel and large intestine. His liver then deteriorated from complications of intravenous feeding.

San Francisco

Career-advice speaker touts stripping to teens

The principal of a Palo Alto middle school may not invite a popular speaker back to an annual career day after he told girls they could earn a good living as strippers.

Management consultant William Fried told eighth-graders at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School on Tuesday that stripping and exotic dancing can pay $250,000 or more per year, depending on their bust size.

“It’s sick, but it’s true,” Fried said in an interview later. “The truth of the matter is you can earn a tremendous amount of money as an exotic dancer, if that’s your desire.”

Fried has given a popular 55-minute presentation, “The Secret of a Happy Life,” at the school’s career day the past three years. He counsels students to experiment with a variety of interests until they discover something they love and excel in.

Florida

Ex-professor’s lawyers protest delayed charges

A former professor who faces charges that he financed a violent group accused the government Friday of destroying evidence proving he was a political activist, not a terrorist.

Attorneys for Sami Al-Arian also argued the charges should be dismissed because the government took so long in indicting the former University of South Florida professor.

Al-Arian was under investigation by the FBI for two decades before he was arrested on racketeering charges in February 2003. His attorneys said it was unfair to expect them to build a defense when memories of events had faded and records were no longer available.

A U.S. magistrate did not immediately rule on a defense request that government agents be forced to explain how they handled the case.

Al-Arian, 47, and three other men are to go to trial in April on charges they were the North American leaders of Islamic Jihad, which has been linked to more than 100 deaths in Israel. They face life in prison if convicted.