ANCHORAGE, Alaska
Susan Butcher, 4-time Iditarod winner, dies
Four-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher died Saturday in a Seattle hospital of a reoccurrence of leukemia after a recent stem-cell transplant, her doctor said. She was 51.
Butcher dominated the 1,100- mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome in the late 1980s, bringing increased national attention to the grueling competition. She won the 1986 race to become the second female champion, added victories in 1987, ’88 and ’90 and finished in the top four through 1993.
“What she did is brought this race to an audience that had never been aware of it before simply because of her personality,” Iditarod spokesman Chas St. George said.
She also made headlines in 1979 when she helped drive the first sled-dog team to the 20,320-foot summit of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.
COLUMBUS, Ohio
John Glenn, wife OK after car accident
Former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn and his wife were expected to be released from the hospital Saturday after getting in a car accident a day earlier, authorities said.
Glenn, 85, and his wife, Annie, 86, were in fair condition Saturday afternoon at Grant Medical Center and were expected to be discharged later in the day, nursing supervisor Louis Tejada said.
Hospital staff would not comment on the extent of their injuries. Police said Saturday that no further information was available on the crash.
The driver of the other car, Amy Myers of suburban New Albany, Ohio, said she was driving east late Friday when Glenn, who was driving west, tried to turn left onto a highway ramp.
LOUISVILLE, Ky.
Plaintiffs’ anonymity at issue in priests suit
Attorney Stan Chesley promised confidentiality to more than 350 people who said they were sexually abused by priests. Then a judge ordered him to reveal their names, along with contact information and a description of the abuse.
Unless the judge and attorneys reach a compromise, the Kentucky Court of Appeals will decide whether a promise of confidentiality trumps the need for prosecutors to get information on an alleged crime – and whether a judge can order an attorney to reveal the identities of clients in a civil lawsuit.
Special Judge John Potter suspended his ruling last week for 60 days to allow time for an appeal or resolution to the dispute.
NEW ORLEANS
Probe to eye blockade of key Katrina route
Federal authorities will review last year’s blockade of a Mississippi River bridge by armed police officers who turned back Hurricane Katrina evacuees trying to flee New Orleans.
The investigation will be carried out by the U.S. attorney’s office in New Orleans, along with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan Mann said Friday.
Several hundred evacuees claimed that police from suburban Gretna blocked them as they tried to flee New Orleans for safety Sept. 1.
The case raised widespread allegations of racism and spurred two marches across the bridge by national civil rights organizations in the months after the hurricane.
NEW YORK
Work resumes on skyscraper demolition
Demolition work on a skyscraper severely damaged during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was suspended for one day after high levels of toxic dust were detected on the roof.
Demolition was suspended Thursday at the ruined Deutsche Bank building after testing revealed unacceptable levels of silica, which can cause lung diseases. Work resumed Friday after officials decided wetting the roof would prevent people from inhaling the dust.
