Minnesota kids contract polio virus

St. Paul, Minn. Four children in an Amish community in Minnesota have contracted the polio virus – the first known infections in the U.S. in five years, state health officials said Thursday.

Dr. Harry Hull, the state epidemiologist, said the cases do not pose a threat to the general public because most people have been vaccinated against polio and are unlikely to have contact with Amish people. But he said he expects to find more infections within the Amish community because some of its members refuse immunizations on religious grounds.

None of the children has shown any symptoms of the paralyzing disease. About one in 200 people who contract the polio virus suffer paralysis because of it; others typically rid themselves of the virus after weeks or months.

None of the four children had been vaccinated. Three are siblings; the fourth is a baby from another family.

The infection came to light when the baby was hospitalized for various health problems and underwent tests. Authorities then began testing other members of the community for the virus.

Woman accused of trying to kill for baby

Pittsburgh A woman clubbed her pregnant neighbor over the head with a baseball bat, drove her to the woods and cut her belly with a knife in an attempt to steal her baby, police say.

Police said Wednesday’s attack on Valerie Oskin was stopped before her baby was taken after a teenager on an all-terrain vehicle came across the women.

Oskin, 30, later underwent an emergency Caesarean section at a hospital. State police Thursday said she was in critical condition and her baby in stable condition. She was believed to have been eight months pregnant, authorities said.

Peggy Jo Conner, 38, of Ford City, Pa., was arraigned Thursday on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault and was jailed without bail.

“It would appear from the defendant’s statement that her goal was to get the victim’s unborn child and take it as her own,” District Attorney Scott Andreassi said in a statement.

Investigators found a bassinet, a baby swing and other baby-related items in her trailer, authorities said.

“Clearly, she was expecting a child coming in shortly,” Andreassi said. “There’s nothing to indicate she was pregnant.”

Gingrich will consider running for president

Mobile, Ala. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday he might run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 – unless some candidates promote his ideas.

“There are circumstances where I will run,” Gingrich told a news conference before a speech at the University of Mobile.

Earlier this year, in an interview with the Associated Press, Gingrich said, “Anything seems possible.”

Asked under what circumstances he would enter the race, Gingrich, 62, said he plans to continue traveling the United States talking about the issues.

“My hope is that five or six candidates are going to jump up, steal all of my ideas, and I will be able to relax and go golf,” he said.

The former Georgia congressman said if nobody picks up on the ideas and the country thinks they are significant, a campaign is possible.