National Roundup

Mississippi Station tied to Emmett Till kill i ng to be restored MONEY, Miss. (AP) -- The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is providing $152,000 to restore a gas station as part of the story of Emmett Till, a black 14-year-old from Chicago who was lynched for whistling at a white woman in 1955. Ben Roy's Service Station stands next to what used to be Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market, owned by Carolyn Bryant -- the woman Till is said to have whistled at -- and her husband, Roy. Several nights afterward, Roy Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, killed and mutilated Till. An all-white jury acquitted them of murder, but they later confessed to the crime in an article in Look Magazine. The station will be restored as part of the Mississippi Civil Rights Historical Program, The Greenwood Commonwealth reported Sunday. Ohio Rescuers sue Ohio woman saved from flaming vehicle MARION, Ohio (AP) -- Two Ohio men honored as heroes for their actions after a 2009 car crash are now suing the woman they rescued from a burning vehicle. The Columbus Dispatch reports the suit filed in central Ohio's Marion County by David Kelly and Mark Kincaid claims Theresa Tanner was at fault and that saving her left the men with disabling injuries. They're each seeking upwards of $25,000 in damages. Kelly tells the newspaper the smoke and fire did so much damage to his lungs that he can no longer carry a laundry basket upstairs in his home. He says he saw hair melting on Tanner's head and is haunted by those memories. Court records don't list an attorney for Tanner. Her husband told the Dispatch the family isn't commenting. Washington FBI: 'Credible lead' surfaces in D.B. Cooper case SEATTLE (AP) -- The FBI says it has a "credible" lead in the D.B. Cooper case involving the 1971 hijacking of a passenger jet over Washington state and the suspect's legendary parachute escape. The fate and identity of the hijacker dubbed "D.B. Cooper" has remained a mystery in the 40 years since a man jumped from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 flight with $200,000 in ransom. The recent tip provided to the FBI came from a law enforcement member who directed investigators to a person who might have helpful information on the suspect, FBI spokeswoman Ayn Sandalo Dietrich told The Seattle Times on Sunday. She called the new information the "most promising lead we have right now," but cautioned that investigators were not on the verge of breaking the case. "With any lead our first step is to assess how credible it is," Sandalo Dietrich told the Seattle Post Intelligencer on Saturday. "Having this come through another law enforcement (agency), having looked it over when we got it -- it seems pretty interesting." Dietrich says an item belonging to the man was sent to a lab in Quantico, Va., for forensic testing. She did not provide specifics about the item or the man's identity. Federal investigators have checked more than 1,000 leads since the suspect bailed out on Nov. 24, 1971, over the Pacific Northwest. The man who jumped gave his name as Dan Cooper and claimed shortly after takeoff in Portland, Ore., that he had a bomb, leading the flight crew to land the plane in Seattle, where passengers were exchanged for parachutes and ransom money. The flight then took off for Mexico with the suspect and flight crew on board before the man parachuted from the plane. The FBI's recent tip in the case was first reported by The Telegraph newspaper in London. New Jersey State high court upholds retired judge's censure TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey's Supreme Court has upheld the censure of a retired Superior Court judge. Steven Perskie was disciplined in March for not recusing himself in a timely fashion from a case involving his former campaign treasurer. A state Supreme Court committee also found Perskie was not forthcoming in his remarks to a Senate committee about the incident when he was facing re-appointment. Monday's ruling found Perskie shouldn't have rejected a request during a 2006 case that he recuse himself. He later recused himself for different reasons. The court also found that Perskie didn't intentionally mislead the Senate committee when he answered questions about the incident. Perskie served on the Superior Court in Atlantic County and retired in January 2010. He also served as a state legislator. Connecticut Lawyers challenge survivor of Conn. home invasion NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Attorneys for a man charged with killing a woman and her two daughters in a Connecticut home invasion say the girls' father has repeatedly described him as evil in an effort to ensure his execution. Attorneys for Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mi-sahr-JEFF'-skee) say in court papers unsealed Monday that he is not "pure evil" and has displayed remorse. They say he is a "damaged human being" who has a mental disorder and suffered years of trauma and abuse. They made the statement in response to comments by Dr. William Petit, the sole survivor of the 2007 crime in Cheshire. A gag order has been imposed, but Komisarjevksy's attorneys asked the court to unseal their statement. They say Petit's statements prejudice Komisarjevksy's right to a fair trial next month. Iowa Cedar Rapids police officer denies burglary charge CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- A Cedar Rapids police officer has denied allegations that she took two dogs from a house. Police say 36-year-old Robyn Obadal was arrested on suspicion of burglary last week. Obadal is accused of illegally entering the house and taking the dogs on July 23. The Gazette (http://bit.ly/nhxkbs ) reports that Obadal denied the allegations, saying she picked up the dogs in her patrol car when she found them running free. She says she turned them over to a man who said he knew the dogs' owner. Chief Greg Graham says he's confident in the evidence that led to Obadal's arrest and says "we stand by what we've done." Obadal's been placed on unpaid administrative leave, pending an internal investigation. Online court records don't yet list the case. Published: Tue, Aug 2, 2011