In brief: Police allege drug lab at Georgetown

Washington – Police on Saturday arrested three men suspected of creating a drug lab in a freshman dormitory at prestigious Georgetown University.

D.C. Police spokesman Officer Hugh Carew said investigators found a DMT lab where chemicals could create a hallucinogenic drug. DMT stands for dimethyltryptamine.

Emergency crews responded about 6:15 a.m. after a strange odor was reported. About 400 students were evacuated from Harbin Hall. Seven people were exposed to noxious chemicals, including three students. Georgetown spokeswoman Julie Green Bataille said no one was injured.

Carew said two of the suspects are students and one was a visitor.

Judge orders Miller records released

Fairbanks, Alaska – A judge ruled Saturday that the Fairbanks North Star Borough must release personnel records of Senate candidate Joe Miller.

In an unusual Saturday hearing, retired Superior Court Judge Winston Burbank ruled that the public’s right to know about candidates outweighed Miller’s right to privacy.

“I hold that although Mr. Miller has a legitimate expectation of privacy in those documents, Mr. Miller’s right to privacy is indeed outweighed by the public’s significant interest in the background of a public figure who is running for the U.S. Senate,” the judge said.

The case was brought by a group of Alaska news media organizations, who have been trying since summer to see borough documents concerning Miller’s employment as a part-time borough attorney.

Miller, the Republican nominee for Senate in a tight three-way race, fought the lawsuit, arguing that any release of personnel records violated his privacy rights.

Miller’s lawyer, Thomas Van Flein, said he was unsure whether the ruling would be appealed.

Among the documents being sought are details of Miller’s resignation from the borough job last year, and any disciplinary actions taken against him while employed. Separate lawsuits were brought by the Alaska Dispatch and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. The Anchorage Daily News and the Associated Press joined, and the suits were combined.