September 25, 2008 in Nation/World

House passes rail safety bills

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Spurred by the recent train crash that killed 25 people in Los Angeles, the House passed sweeping rail safety legislation Wednesday requiring more rest for workers and technology that can stop a train in its tracks if it’s headed for collision.

At least one of the measures could have made a difference in the Sept. 12 head-on collision between a freight train and a commuter train – the nation’s deadliest rail crash since 1993.

Lawmakers scurried to reach agreement on the safety bill in the wake of the disaster, which happened when a Southern California Metrolink commuter train failed to stop at a red light and ended up on the same track as an oncoming freight.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where prospects for passage are uncertain in the dwindling legislative hours before Congress adjourns for the election at the end of this week.

Garden City, N.Y.

Gym owner charged with three murders

An owner of a Long Island gym was arrested Wednesday on charges that he murdered an armored-van guard during a heist 14 years ago and later killed two other men to cover up the first shooting.

One of those killed was the brother-in-law of Dee Snider, lead singer of the 1980s head-banging MTV sensation Twisted Sister. Another victim was shot to death, stuffed in a trunk and dumped in the ocean.

FBI agents swooped in on Christian Tarantino in a dawn raid at his mansion in Dix Hills, 40 miles east of Manhattan.

Tarantino, 39, later pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Central Islip and was ordered held without bail. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Federal prosecutors said Tarantino, a co-owner of the Synergy Fitness Club in Farmingdale, participated in a June 1994 holdup of an armored van in Muttontown, making off with nearly $100,000 in cash.

Washington

Generals disciplined for warhead error

Eight generals, ranging in rank from one to three stars, have been disciplined as a result of the mistaken shipment of fuses for nuclear warheads to Taiwan, the Associated Press has learned.

Defense officials said Wednesday that the six Air Force and two Army generals were given disciplinary letters that vary in seriousness but can often end careers or hopes of promotion.

The officers are mainly in logistical jobs and were involved to some degree in the mistaken shipment to Taiwan of four electrical fuses for ballistic missile nuclear warheads in 2006.

South Charleston, W.Va.

Driver faces charge for breaking wind

A West Virginia man who police said passed gas and fanned it toward a patrolman has been charged with battery on a police officer.

Jose A. Cruz, 34, of Clarksburg, was pulled over early Tuesday for driving without headlights, police said. According to the criminal complaint, Cruz smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and failed three field sobriety tests before he was handcuffed and taken to a police station for a Breathalyzer test.

As Patrolman T.E. Parsons prepared the machine, Cruz scooted his chair toward Parsons, lifted his leg and “passed gas loudly,” the complaint said.

Cruz, according to complaint, then fanned the gas toward the officer.

“The gas was very odorous and created contact of an insulting or provoking nature with Patrolman Parsons,” the complaint alleged.

He was also charged with driving under the influence, driving without headlights and two counts of obstruction.

From wire reports

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