National Roundup

New York
Rabbi who aids child sex abuse victims attacked
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City rabbi who publicizes claims of child sexual abuse in the ultra-Orthodox community is hospitalized after someone threw an unknown chemical at him.
Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg told The New York Times a man he recognized tossed the liquid in his face as he walked in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg section Tuesday.
Police say the two were involved in an “ongoing dispute.” No arrest has been made.
Rosenberg runs a website that publicizes child sexual abuse victims in the Satmar Hasidic community.
On Monday, a prominent member of Brooklyn’s Satmar Hasidic community, Nechemya Weberman, was convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl that had come to him for counseling.
Rosenberg says he believed the attack was connected to the verdict. Police say there didn’t appear to be any connection.

Kansas
Judge finds juror misconduct in  murder trial
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Shawnee County District Court judge says a juror who posted comments on a newspaper website during a murder trial committed misconduct.
The ruling issued Monday requires the Shawnee County district attorney to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the misconduct did not affect the trial against Anceo D. Stovall.
The juror posted a comment on a Topeka Capital-Journal story about the trial while the jury was recessed.
Stovall was one of nine suspects in the July 2011 killing of Natalie Gibson and the wounding of her life partner, Lori Allison. His trial ended in a hung jury on nine counts, an acquittal on one count and a conviction on another count.
The Capital-Journal reports that Stovall is seeking a new trial based on juror misconduct.

Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh city council passes landlord shaming 
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh City Council has passed a bill to shame problem landlords by putting signs in front of the 10 worst-maintained properties in the city — though the only councilman opposing the measure predicts it will backfire.
Councilman Ricky Burgess, who represents a predominantly black district, says neighbors of targeted buildings will be harmed because the signs will send the message, “Don’t come here. Don’t invest here.”
The bill, passed by a veto-proof 7-1 majority, empowers city building inspectors to identify the worst properties based on housing court convictions and citations. Those properties would then get a sign listing the owner’s name, address and phone so neighbors could complain directly to the landlords.
An amendment calls for the sign to be posted in front of the landlord’s home, instead, if they live in the city.

Iowa
Man gets life for killing his mom’s boyfriend
OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — A 27-year-old Oskaloosa man has been given life in prison for killing his mother’s boyfriend.
The Oskaloosa Herald says  Bradley Arterburn was sentenced on Monday in Mahaska County District Court for the murder of Robert “Hank” Horovitz.
Arterburn was convicted in October of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
Prosecutors say Arterburn used a battle ax and a knife to kill the 58-year-old Horovitz, of Davenport, on June 19, 2011, at the home Arterburn shared with his mother.
Prosecutors said in opening trial statements that Arterburn said Horovitz reminded him of an abusive stepfather.
Arterburn had asked to be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Kentucky
Teen sentenced  to 20 years in double slaying
GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a 16-year-old boy who pleaded guilty to killing his guardians to 20 years in prison.
The Glasgow Daily Times reports that Christopher Endicott received the sentence during a hearing Tuesday in Metcalfe County.
He pleaded guilty in October in the 2011 slayings of his legal guardians, Gary and Barbara Holloway. The couple was found fatally shot in their Edmonton home. He also entered guilty pleas to robbery, tampering with evidence and fleeing from police.
Under the plea deal, a 20-year sentence was recommended. However, at the court hearing, prosecutors asked for life without parole and Endicott’s attorneys cited their client’s age in asking for probation.
The judge was not swayed, but he will re-evaluate the sentence when the boy reaches the age of 18.

Virginia
Man sentenced in machete attack at shopping mall
ROCKY MOUNT, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who brought a machete into a traffic argument has been ordered to serve 12 months in a detention and diversion center.
James Lee Bond Jr. of Hardy also was sentenced Tuesday in Franklin County Circuit Court to slightly more than 11 years in suspended time.
The 47-year-old also will pay more than $3,350 in restitution to the man he cut for medical bills and lost wages.
Bond pleaded no contest in October to a charge of malicious wounding and other related offenses stemming from the May driving dispute with two men in a Hardy shopping center.
The Roanoke Times reports that prosecutors have said that Bond grabbed a machete out of his pickup truck and cut the man who had put him in a headlock.

Wisconsin
Suit by Planned Parenthood over drug abortions
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has filed a legal challenge to the state law that subjects doctors who perform medication-induced abortions to possible criminal charges.
Planned Parenthood stopped offering the medication abortions when the law took effect in April. The organization continues to offer surgical abortions at its clinics in Madison, Appleton and Milwaukee.
The law requires doctors and patients to take a series of steps before a woman can receive the medication abortion, including verification that the patient is having the procedure voluntarily.
The State Journal says Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, the state’s district attorneys and the Medical Examining Board are listed as defendants. Van Hollen spokeswoman Dana Brueck says the Department of Justice will review the lawsuit and respond accordingly.