North Carolina

Pastor accused of ousting members resigns

A Baptist preacher accused of running out nine congregants who disagreed with his Republican politics resigned Tuesday, two days after calling the issue “a great misunderstanding.”

Speaking from the pulpit during a meeting at East Waynesville Baptist Church, the Rev. Chan Chandler told church members that it would “cause more hurt for me and my family” if he stayed.

Chandler’s attorney, John Pavey Jr., said the pastor has not apologized for anything he said and would continue to speak out against abortion.

Some congregants of the 100-member church in western North Carolina have said Chandler endorsed President Bush from the pulpit during last year’s presidential campaign and said that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry needed to “repent or resign.”

Milwaukee

Investigators find evidence of voter fraud

A task force looking into potential voter fraud on Election Day said Tuesday that it found more than 200 felons voted illegally and more than 100 instances of people voting twice or using fake names and addresses.

The investigators found hundreds of fraudulent votes in all and counted 4,600 more ballots than registered voters in Milwaukee — but did not uncover any proof of a plot to alter the outcome of the hotly contested presidential race in Wisconsin’s largest city.

Prosecutors have not filed criminal charges in the probe.

The task force did find evidence of sloppy record-keeping and poor training for poll workers, who were overwhelmed by thousands of absentee ballots.

Biskupic, the Milwaukee County district attorney, Milwaukee police and the FBI launched the probe after a newspaper investigation found more than 1,200 people voted from invalid addresses and that election officials were unable to process 1,300 registration cards.

Democrat John Kerry received more than 71 percent of the 277,000 ballots cast in Milwaukee in the presidential race. Kerry won Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes by about 11,000 votes.

Minneapolis

Six injured after plane clips another on ground

A Northwest Airlines DC-9 that had reported hydraulic problems collided with another aircraft Tuesday on the ground at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, injuring six people, officials said.

The six were taken to the hospital, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately known, said Pat Hogan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Northwest released a statement saying several crew members were injured, but that no passengers were hurt.

Hogan said the DC-9 had flown in from Columbus, Ohio, and landed without incident when the pilot apparently lost control of the steering on the way to the gate. The plane collided with a Northwest Airbus backing away from another gate for takeoff.

Passengers on both planes were evacuated, Hogan said.

Hogan said the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating.

Indiana

Governor limits access to cold medicines

Gov. Mitch Daniels signed legislation Tuesday requiring many stores to keep cold medicines in a locked case or behind a counter if they contain ingredients used to make methamphetamine.

The new law, approved unanimously by the General Assembly last month, places restrictions on the sale and purchase of drugs containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which are commonly found in over-the-counter cold and allergy remedies.

Stores without pharmacies will be required to keep the drugs in a locked case or behind a counter. Those with pharmacies can have the drugs within sight of an employee, if the store has 24-hour video surveillance.

Customers will be limited to 3 grams — about 100 tablets — of the medicines per week and must show ID and sign a logbook. The restrictions take effect July 1.

Daniels called the new law one of the toughest in the country — similar to one in Oklahoma that has led to a dramatic reduction in meth production in that state.