BAGHDAD - The trial of Saddam Hussein’s cousin “Chemical Ali” and other top aides has been put on hold until Oct. 21.The final witness before Thursday’s adjournment was Emma Nicholson, a member of the European Parliament from Britain and author of a book on the Marsh Arabs, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported. She described visiting refugee camps in Iran for Iraqi Shiites after the 1991 Gulf War."During my visits to the refugee camps, I ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- An administrative judge in Washington who unsuccessfully sued a dry cleaner for losing a pair of his pants has been fired for unrelated issues.Roy Pearson, 57, was hand-delivered a letter Tuesday afternoon to vacate his office by 5 p.m., The Washington Post reported Wednesday.The Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges reportedly voted last week against appointing Pearson to a 10-year term after reviewing his decisions and courtroom demeanor, a source ... [full story]

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- A Boston lawyer who was once listed among the most eligible bachelors in the United States was arrested on rape charges in Miami Beach.Gary Zerola was charged with sexual battery after he allegedly drugged and assaulted a young women he met in a bar, the Miami Herald reported Tuesday.The newspaper said Zerola was once a member of People magazine’s most eligible bachelor list and had tried out for the ABC television ... [full story]

NEW YORK -- A man who was convicted in the New York strangling death of a young woman in the 1980s has been arrested again on charges of cocaine dealing.Police said Robert Chambers Jr., the so-called Preppy Killer, was arrested with Shawn Kovell after officers broke down the door to their apartment, The New York Times reported Tuesday.Chambers was also charged with resisting arrest after two officers suffered hand injuries while apprehending him.Chambers pleaded guilty ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore.  – State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo announced Wednesday that thirteen Oregon public schools have been placed on a “watch list,” under the school safety provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Because these schools exceeded the minimum rate of expulsions due to violence, they have been identified as needing school safety improvement plans and must file a corrective action plan with the state. Third year: Salem-Keizer SD 24J - McKay High ... [full story]

MANAMA, Bahrain -- Two female U.S. Navy sailors were killed and a third person critically injured Monday at a base in Bahrain, in an attack the Navy said wasn't terror-related.A Navy statement said the incident occurred at 5 a.m. and sources told the BBC stemmed from a "domestic situation" in the barracks.The injured sailor was reportedly male, CNN said.There was no intrusion of the base, which went into lockdown in Manama for an hour after ... [full story]

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey State Police have charged 40 men and a woman with downloading or distributing child pornography.The suspects were arrested over the last 10 days. They include a man already charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a referee for girls' high school volleyball games, The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press reported.None of those arrested in Operation Silent Shield have been shown to have manufactured child pornography, New Jersey Attorney General Anne ... [full story]

OKHA, Russia -- A faulty stove is believed to be responsible for the deaths of five people Thursday on Sakhalin Island in Russia's Pacific border region.The dead were found in two apartments in a building in the town of Okha, Itar-Tass reported. A married couple, both age 49, were in one apartment and a 64-year-old woman and two children were in the other."Supposedly, they all died at night," an emergency official said. "An investigation is ... [full story]

KALGOORLIE, Australia -- An underground fire Wednesday trapped 54 gold miners in Western Australia but all of them were rescued unharmed.A truck in the shaft reported caught fire around 9 a.m., filling the cavern with smoke, the Australian Broadcasting Corp., reported.The fire was extinguished and the miners retreated to enclosed and sealed safety rooms in the Kanowna Belle gold mine, officials with the Canadian Barrick Gold Corp., said.It took rescue teams several hours to bring ... [full story]

Q: We have a problem with dead areas of grass in our four-year-old lawn. The front yard was sodded and has the problem, while the backyard was seeded and doesn't have the problem. We have tried using fungicides. Nothing seems to kill it. We take good care of the grass by fertilizing and watering it with the sprinkler system on a regular basis. Can you suggest to us what we can do to kill this ... [full story]