Nation in brief: Toddler in stroller blown into lake

A wind gust blew a 2-year-old in a stroller into Lake Michigan, where the boy remained submerged for at least 15 minutes before being pulled out unconscious but alive.

The child’s grandfather, who had been pushing the stroller Friday afternoon, jumped into the water to try to save the boy, the Chicago Fire Department said.

Witnesses said the frantic grandfather struggled in the frigid water, just off a 70-foot long pier, pointing a few feet away and shouting in broken English, “Child! Child!”

“He was just moaning in the breakwater, crying,” said John Derscheid, who called 911.

Winds at the time were about 20 mph with gusts of about 30 mph, a meteorologist said.

The boy was in critical condition at Children’s Memorial Hospital, authorities said Friday night. A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment Saturday.

The grandfather, who appeared to be in his 60s, was stable Saturday night at St. Joseph Hospital, where he was being treated for exposure.

DETROIT

Mayor says God punishing him

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says God is punishing him for his “disobedience.”

The mayor addressed a crowd Saturday at Fellowship Chapel Church in Detroit. He and his former chief of staff face perjury and other charges stemming from their testimony during a whistle-blower trial last year.

Kilpatrick told the crowd: “I’m not being whupped by the devil; I am being punished by my God. I know that my disobedience put me in the situation I am in.”

His address was part of a Detroit Manpower Movement event aimed at getting more black men involved in volunteer efforts.

Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty denied having a romantic relationship, but excerpts of text messages contradict their testimony.

LEXINGTON, Ky.

Boy, 13, accused of peanut plot

An eighth-grader is accused of putting peanut butter cookie crumbs in the lunchbox of a classmate with a severe peanut allergy.

The allergic student did not eat the cookies Thursday at Morton Middle School in Lexington.

Fayette County schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said the accused student was arrested on a felony wanton endangerment charge. The student will face charges in the juvenile court system.

Deffendall said it was well known that the student suffered allergies. There was no known history of problems between the 13-year-olds.

For those allergic to peanuts, trace amounts of peanut oil can cause severe reactions and even death.