National Roundup

New York Court: No Brady case arguments before February NEW YORK (AP) - A New York federal appeals court says February will be the earliest it will hear arguments in the NFL's appeal of the lifting of a four-game suspension of New England quarterback Tom Brady in the "Deflategate" controversy. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday that oral arguments could be heard as early as Feb. 1. The NFL and the NFL Players Association had agreed on the expedited timetable. Lawyers will submit written arguments prior to the oral arguments. Typically, a decision is not immediately rendered once arguments occur. On Sept. 3, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman ruled that the NFL did not act properly when it suspended Brady for four games after concluding balls were deflated when the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts in January's AFC championship game. New York Ginsburg among honorees at Four Freedoms Awards NEW YORK (AP) - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is among four people who have been awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Awards. The awards were presented Tuesday night in New York City. The other winners were Dance Theatre of Harlem founder Arthur Mitchell, North Carolina NAACP President the Rev. Dr. William Barber III and Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, who helped diagnose and treat breast cancer in underserved patients. The Four Freedom Awards are presented each year by the Roosevelt Institute to those whose achievements are in line with Roosevelt's principles. The awards focus on freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. Past honorees include Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and the Dalai Lama. About 400 people attended the ceremony. New York Former minor league hockey player charged with killing wife CATON, N.Y. (AP) - A former minor league hockey player has been charged with killing his wife inside their upstate New York home. The Steuben County sheriff's office says deputies and state troopers responded to Thomas Clayton's home in Caton, near the Pennsylvania border, after he called 911 early Tuesday and said he found his wife dead. Officials say 35-year-old Kelley Clayton was discovered on the floor with severe facial trauma. The couple's two young children were home. Thomas Clayton was charged with second-degree murder. He's being held Wednesday in the county jail without bail. It couldn't immediately be determined if he has a lawyer who could comment on the charges. The 37-year-old Clayton played at Niagara University and for several seasons with the Elmira Jackals, a mid-level minor league hockey team. Virginia Court asked to block execution of serial killer RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Attorneys are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution of a convicted serial killer in Virginia who claims that he's intellectually disabled. Virginia plans to execute Alfredo Prieto at 9 p.m. Thursday after Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe rejected the El Salvador native's attempt to delay his death sentence this week. Prieto was on death row in California for raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl when DNA evidence linked him to the 1988 slaying of a young couple in Virginia. Federal Public Defender Hilary Potashner in California asked the high court Tuesday to stay Prieto's execution so that he can continue to fight his death sentence in California on the grounds that he's intellectually disabled. Prieto's attorneys in Virginia have also asked the court to block the execution. New York Lawsuit against NASCAR driver to stay in central NY UTICA, N.Y. (AP) - A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit against NASCAR driver Tony Stewart over the death of a driver he ran over during a race will remain in central New York. The Post-Standard of Syracuse reports the judge rejected a request from Stewart's lawyers to have the case transferred from Utica to Rochester. The family of Kevin Ward Jr. is suing Stewart over the August 2014 crash at Canandaigua Motorsports Park that killed the 20-year-old dirt track racer. Ward had gotten out of his car after it spun out and was walking toward Stewart's approaching car when he was hit by the NASCAR veteran's vehicle. The Ward family's lawsuit filed last month accuses Stewart of gross negligence. Stewart's lawyers wanted the case moved 120 miles west to Rochester because many of the witnesses were closer to that city. New Hampshire Woman identified as Arizona cold case victim NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire woman has been identified as the victim in a 34-year-old cold case in Arizona. Authorities in Tucson say Brenda Gerow, of Nashua, was the woman found brutally murdered near the Pima County Fairgrounds in 1981. Her body was exhumed in 2012 so investigators could use her skull to reconstruct her face. Gerow was about 20-years-old when she left with John Kalhauser, who is currently serving time for the murder of his estranged wife. Detectives say Kalhauser had a picture of Gerow when he was convicted of killing his wife about 15 years after Gerow's disappearance. Police say he is now a person of interest in her murder. Indiana @ROUND UP Briefs Headline:Attorney hired after suspect dies in custody INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The family of a teenage shoplifting suspect who died in Indianapolis police custody after complaining of breathing problems has hired an attorney to investigate the events leading up to his death. A coroner says 18-year-old Terrell Day died of a heart attack in the back of an ambulance Saturday after twice complaining about having breathing problems. Police say Day pulled a handgun during a shoplifting incident at a clothing store. He was arrested after police said they found him near a handgun in a grassy area not far from the store. Day family attorney Nathaniel Lee tells The Indianapolis Star the family is seeking answers "to determine exactly what occurred." Public safety officials said Tuesday that an investigation into Day's death is ongoing. They offered condolences to his family. Published: Thu, Oct 01, 2015