National Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

SOUTH


BOY RESCUED FROM WELL AFTER 13 HOURS


FRISCO CITY, Ala. – After nearly 13 tense hours, rescuers using a powerful drill and working under bright lights yesterday saved a toddler trapped at the bottom of an abandoned well, bringing him out to cheers, tears, and cries of “Praise the Lord!” More than 100 people had gathered at the vacant lot, watching and praying through the night for 22-month-old Da’jour McMillan, who was playing with his older brother and sister near his grandparents’ house when he disappeared down the 14-foot well, which was overgrown with grass and unknown to neighbors and firefighters. “The man who cuts the grass didn’t even know about it,” said firefighter Jimmy Brown. The toddler was hospitalized in good condition, after a night that Mayor Jim Cave said “seemed like an eternity.” Rescuers used a drill to dig a shaft next to the one where the little boy was trapped, Mr. Brown said. They then tunneled over to the well to reach the child about 5:45 a.m. A camera was dropped down the well to keep an eye on the boy during the rescue. The warm night helped ward off hypothermia. The main worry was that the child might not be able to breathe in the narrow hole, rescuers said. “It wouldn’t have taken but a little dirt on that child to suffocate him,” said the mayor, who was at the site through the long night. Mr. Brown said the child was “as happy as he could be” when he emerged from the well. “When he came out he saw his momma, and he called out for his momma,” said Tammy Howard, a cousin. “Oh, yes, it was a miracle.”


– Associated Press


HEALTH


OLIVE OIL MAY BOOST HEART HEALTH, FDA SAYS


WASHINGTON – Food containing olive oil can carry labels saying it may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the government said yesterday, citing limited evidence from a dozen scientific studies about the benefits of monounsaturated fats. As long as people do not increase the number of calories they consume daily, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease when people replace foods high in saturated fat with the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. That means a change as simple as sauteing food in two tablespoons of olive oil instead of butter may be healthier for your heart. “Since CHD is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the United States, it is a public health priority to make sure that consumers have accurate and useful information on reducing their risk,” Lester M. Crawford, acting FDA commissioner, said in a prepared statement. “It’s good news for consumers,” said Bob Bauer, president of the North American Olive Oil Association, which sought the qualified health claim in late summer of 2003. “Olive oil is a healthy product to help them fight heart disease.” Recent research has underscored the heart benefits from so-called Mediterranean diets high in unsaturated fats from vegetable oil, nuts, and such fish as salmon and tuna. Mortality rates dropped by more than 50% among elderly Europeans who stuck to such diets and led healthy lifestyles, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in September.


– Associated Press


WEST


PROSECUTOR: PETERSON WANTED BACHELOR’S LIFE


REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Scott Peterson strangled or smothered his pregnant wife not simply to be with his lover, but to rid himself of an unwanted child and to pursue life as a freewheeling bachelor, a prosecutor said yesterday during closing arguments. “The reason he killed Laci Peterson was Conner Peterson was on the way,” prosecutor Rick Distaso told jurors. “Things were going to change. No more of this running around, living this double-life thing. He wants to live the rich, successful, freewheeling bachelor life. He can’t do that when he’s paying child support, alimony and everything else,” the prosecutor said. “He didn’t want to be tied to this kid the rest of his life. He didn’t want to be tied to Laci for the rest of his life. So he killed her.” The defense was to begin its closing arguments today, with jurors expected to begin deliberations as early as Wednesday. The trial is in its 23rd week after testimony from 184 witnesses. Mr. Peterson is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and the fetus she carried. Prosecutors claim he killed her on or around Christmas Eve 2002, then dumped her weighted body into San Francisco Bay. The remains of Laci Peterson and her fetus were found along a shoreline about four months later, a few miles from where Mr. Peterson claims to have gone fishing alone the day his wife vanished. Defense lawyers claim someone else abducted and killed Laci Peterson.


– Associated Press

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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