Man shot after driving on tarmac
Palm Springs, Calif. A man drove his truck across two active runways at the Palm Springs International Airport on Sunday, broke a lock on a plane door and tried to run over an officer before he was arrested.
Even after the man, dressed only in underwear and a shirt, crashed his truck in the yard of a nearby home and had been shot multiple times by police, he still refused to surrender until a police dog subdued him, police spokesman Sgt. John Booth said.
The suspect, identified as Michael Broderick, was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for gunshot wounds. His injuries were not life-threatening, Booth said. He was booked for investigation of attempting to kill an officer. He underwent drug tests, but the results will not be available for several weeks, Booth said.
Medicaid protesters gather at Frist home
Washington About 100 people, most of them in wheelchairs, rallied against cuts in Medicaid funding for the disabled outside Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s home Sunday in the District of Columbia.
Members of ADAPT, a national advocacy group for the disabled, protested for several hours and left around 4:30 p.m. A spokeswoman for Frist, R-Tenn., said the senator was not home at the time and the group dropped off a letter, which his office is reviewing.
Bob Kafka, an ADAPT organizer, said the group was motivated by incidents of low-income, disabled people being left behind to fend for themselves after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. He said the group was visiting Washington this week and meeting with several lawmakers and lobbyists.
Train was speeding when it derailed
Chicago A commuter train was going almost 60 mph above the speed limit just before it derailed, killing two people and injuring dozens of others, the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday.
Mark Rosenker said the Metra train was traveling at 69 mph and should not have been going faster than 10 mph when it switched tracks at a crossover just before jumping the tracks Saturday.
Transportation officials also determined Sunday that train signals were working. Extensive damage to the train’s undercarriage has prevented investigators from examining its brakes, but it appears the brakes engaged as the train was switching tracks.
The train engineer, three crew members and dispatchers were all tested for drugs and alcohol, which is standard procedure.
Michael Schiavo to tell his side of story
Punta Gorda, Fla. Michael Schiavo is co-writing a book with author Michael Hirsh to tell his side of the end-of-life case that divided much of the country.
Hirsh expects the 280-page book, “Terri: the Truth,” to be available just before the first anniversary of Terri’s death. Dutton Publishing publicity manager Jean Anne Rose confirmed that the company is publishing the book in March.