Ohio

Highway shootings case declared a mistrial

A judge declared a hung jury Sunday in the case of a man who admitted to a string of highway shootings — one of which killed a woman — but claimed innocence by reason of insanity.

The mistrial came after four full days of deliberations in the trial of Charles McCoy Jr., charged with 12 shootings that terrified Columbus-area commuters over five months in 2003 and 2004.

Earlier in the day, jurors told Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Charles Schneider they voted twice on the issue of insanity and could not reach a unanimous decision. He ordered them to continue work — leaving two of the jurors with tears in their eyes — but sent them home about an hour later when the panel had again reached an impasse.

“We have no indication at this time that this will change,” jurors told the court in a note read by the judge.

Los Angeles

Trial set Tuesday in Clinton funding probe

Campaign donations made more than four years ago at a celebrity-studded Hollywood gala have led to a federal criminal trial against a former finance director for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that could hamper her future campaigns.

The trial set to open Tuesday focuses on a lavish August 2000 political party at a tony Brentwood estate that drew dozens of A-list guests and performers, including Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, Diana Ross and Muhammad Ali.

Clinton hasn’t been linked to charges that the cost of the event was vastly underreported, but Republicans will be watching for any ammunition they can use against the Democrat, considered an early front-runner for the 2008 presidential nomination.

David Rosen, who was Clinton’s finance director during her 2000 U.S. Senate run, faces three counts of filing a false statement. An FBI agent speculated in an affidavit that Rosen was trying to duck federal financing rules so the campaign would have more money to spend on other expenses.

Rosen pleaded not guilty in January. He could face up to 15 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if convicted.

South Carolina

Research monkey captured after escape

An escapee from Morgan Island has been captured in a tree in the back yard of a home on Lady’s Island — about 7 miles from where he was supposed to be.

The 10-year-old, 20-pound male rhesus monkey was first noticed as missing from the island April 30, the same time residents of Coosaw and Lady’s islands reported seeing him. Some residents were concerned the animal might carry an infectious disease because Morgan Island houses primates used in government research.

Alpha Genesis officials said they couldn’t explain how the monkey managed to leave the island laboratory and make its way across Parrot Creek.

“I have been here eight years, and this is the first (escape) I can remember in the area,” said Greg Westergaard, president and chief executive officer of Alpha Genesis. “I’m at a loss at how it got over there. They probably can swim a little bit, but it really is a long way over there.”

The monkeys have been on the island since 1979 and are the property of the Food and Drug Administration. They are used in defense and vaccine development studies.

The escaped monkey was caught Tuesday, Westergaard said. “I’m sure he wanted to get back but couldn’t figure out how,” he said.

New Hampshire

Missed P.E. class costs student a diploma

A decision to take Advanced Placement biology instead of gym will cost a Bow High School senior her diploma.

Though Isabel Gottlieb is a good student, a trumpet player in the school band and holds varsity letters in three sports, she discovered she was one gym class shy of having enough credits to graduate next month.

She asked for a waiver, but the school wouldn’t budge, telling her instead she had to drop a class to take gym.

“Why would I drop an AP biology class to take P.E.?” the 18-year-old said. “It’s just not on my priority list.”

The missing credit wasn’t caught by the school last spring when Gottlieb’s schedule was set. The class is called BEST, or Building Essential Skills for Tomorrow, and is required for all Bow students to graduate.