Nation in brief: Governor delivers baby month early
Gov. Sarah Palin gave birth Friday to her fifth child, a boy, about a month before her due date.
Trig Paxson Van Palin weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces. A news release from Palin’s office says the 44-year-old governor and the baby are doing well and resting comfortably.
“Trig is beautiful and already adored by us,” the Palin family said in a statement. “We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives.”
Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow would not elaborate on the special challenges. She said the governor would talk with reporters early next week.
The name Trig is a Norse word meaning “true” and “brave victory,” Leighow said.
New York
Homeless man finds tower plans
The government agency building a 102-story skyscraper at the World Trade Center site is investigating the discovery of two sets of blueprints for the building that a homeless man says he found in the trash.
The schematic documents for the Freedom Tower, under construction at ground zero, were marked “Secure Document – Confidential,” the New York Post reported Friday.
The documents, dated Oct. 5, 2007, contain plans for each floor, the thickness of the concrete-core wall, and the locations of air ducts, elevators, electrical systems and support columns, the Post reported.
Michael Fleming told the newspaper he found the documents on top of a public trash can in downtown Manhattan, with written warnings on it to “properly destroy if discarded.”
Charleston, S.C.
Boys say counselor led ‘choking game’
Authorities say a 17-year-old camp counselor has been arrested after teaching the “choking game” to two boys who passed out for several minutes.
Ronald Edward Riley was a counselor at a camp for children of deployed soldiers or those preparing to go overseas.
Authorities say he put his hands around a boy’s neck and choked him twice to the point of unconsciousness. A second boy also told authorities Riley choked him until he passed out.
Riley, of Saluda, S.C., was arrested at his high school this week on assault and unlawful conduct charges. He was being held Friday at a Clarendon County jail on $30,000 bail.
The choking game has killed 82 children from 1995 through 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The game is a fad among youth seeking the euphoric, dreamlike feeling that people get as blood rushes back to the brain.