National news

Youngest son of Kirk Douglas found dead in N.Y. at age 46

New York Oscar-winning actor Kirk Douglas’ youngest son, who battled drug and alcohol problems for years, was found dead Tuesday inside an apartment building, police said.

Eric Douglas, 46, was discovered after someone flagged down a passing police car. There were no signs of foul play, police said. An autopsy was planned.

Eric Douglas was an aspiring actor and comedian, but he never found the success of his father or of his Academy Award-winning sibling, Michael Douglas. He had a short-lived acting career in the 1980s and early ‘90s, playing supporting roles in movies such as “Delta Force 3: The Killing Game.”

He also appeared in an episode of the HBO program “Tales From the Crypt” opposite his father, who earned an Emmy nomination for his role on the show.

In recent years, the youngest of Kirk Douglas’ four sons drew attention more for his problems than for any performances. In a 2000 interview, he said he spent eight days in a coma after a pill overdose a year earlier.

For years before that, Eric Douglas struggled with drug and alcohol addictions while repeatedly clashing with the law. He spent time behind bars and in rehabilitation clinics.

Senate convenes as scheduled after low-level asbestos cleared

Washington, D.C. The Senate met as scheduled Tuesday after workers removed what an aide said were low levels of asbestos – but the adjacent party cloak rooms and Senate press gallery were closed so tests and possible cleanup could be conducted.

The asbestos particles were apparently broken free when work was being conducted last week on intake ducts serving the chamber, a legislative spokesman said. The Senate resumed its business Tuesday after taking a break last week for its July 4 recess.

Officials received test results Sunday that showed “low levels” of asbestos in the Senate chamber.

Ex-school superintendent arrested in New York embezzlement case

Mineola, N.Y. The former superintendent of one of the country’s top school districts was charged Tuesday with embezzling more than $1 million for such things as airline flights, cruises, dermatology treatments, furniture and jewelry.

The arrest of Frank Tassone, 57, came a month after similar charges were filed against Pamela Gluckin, a former assistant superintendent also accused of taking more than $1 million from the Roslyn School District on Long Island.

Tassone, who was superintendent for more than a decade, retired days after Gluckin was charged.

Prosecutors said 10 to 20 other people eventually could be implicated. The school board said it found nearly $8 million in suspicious spending.

Judge: Some AmeriCorps money wrongly funds religious teachings

Washington, D.C. The federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps must stop financing programs that place volunteers in Catholic schools, a judge has ruled, saying it crosses the line between church and state.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler sided with the American Jewish Congress, which argued that federal money was being used improperly to pay for teaching of Christian values through programs such as the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education. Kessler’s decision late Friday was posted on the court’s Web site Tuesday.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs AmeriCorps, argued its funding was awarded based on a program’s secular activities, not the religious teaching and daily prayers it said were a separate part of the program.

Wal-Mart appeals ruling on class action for discrimination lawsuit

San Francisco Wal-Mart Stores Inc. asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to review a judge’s order approving class-action status for a sex-discrimination lawsuit.

The judge’s ruling last month gave representation to as many as 1.6 million current and former women Wal-Mart workers.

The lawsuit alleges the retail giant set up a system that frequently pays its female workers less than their male counterparts for comparable jobs and bypasses them for promotions.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, said the company’s 3,500 stores do not follow a policy discriminating against women, and said the class is so large that it is “unmanageable.”

If the appeals court does not overturn U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins’ ruling, the case will become the largest private civil rights lawsuit in U.S. history.