NORTHWEST

LARGE PLUME BILLOWS FROM VOLCANO

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. – Mount St. Helens released a towering plume of ash yesterday, its most significant emission in months but one that seismologists did not believe heralded any major eruption.

The volcano has vented ash and steam since last fall, when thousands of small earthquakes marked a seismic reawakening of the 8,364-foot mountain. Late afternoon television footage showed the plume billowing thousands of feet into the air, then drifting slowly to the northeast.

The ash explosion happened around 5:25 p.m., about an hour after a 2.0 magnitude quake rumbled on the east side of the mountain, said William Steele, coordinator of the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network at the University of Washington.

Mr. Steele said he did not believe the explosion had increased the risk of a significant eruption and noted that recent flights over the volcano’s crater did not reveal high levels of gases.

On May 18, 1980, the volcano 100 miles south of Seattle blew its top, killing 57 people and covering the region with gritty ash.

– Associated Press

WEST

LOS ANGELES MAYOR RACE WIDE OPEN LOS ANGELES – Mayor Hahn sought re-election yesterday in a wide-open race in which his biggest vulnerabilities were corruption allegations at City Hall and his own drab image in the most star-studded city in America.

Twelve candidates were on the ballot in the nonpartisan contest, but polls showed the race had narrowed to Mr. Hahn and two fellow Democrats. No candidate was expected to receive the 50% needed to win outright, meaning a runoff May 17 between the top two vote-getters.

Mr. Hahn, whose family has been active in Los Angeles politics since the 1940s, was in danger of not advancing to the runoff despite a drop in crime and a growing economy. No Los Angeles mayor has been bounced from office in more than 30 years.

Mr. Hahn’s top rivals were city Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, who was seeking to become Los Angeles’ first Hispanic mayor in more than a century, and Robert Hertzberg, a former state Assembly speaker from the San Fernando Valley. The public had shown scant interest in the mayoral contest, which fell outside the conventional election calendar. Turnout was projected to be light – perhaps around 30%.

– Associated Press

BROTHER OF JACKSON’S ACCUSER CHALLENGED

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Michael Jackson’s lawyer yesterday confronted a 14-year-old boy whose brother was allegedly molested by the singer, pointing to discrepancies between the boy’s trial testimony and earlier accounts, and extracting an admission that he lied in another case.

Mr. Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland Ranch in 2003, giving him alcohol, and conspiring to hold the boy’s family captive to get them to rebut a damaging televised documentary film in which Mr. Jackson said he allowed children to sleep in his bedroom.

Under questioning by defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., the accuser’s brother said he lied under oath in a deposition for another case when he swore his mother and father never fought, and that his father never hit him.

“Did someone tell you to lie in the J.C. Penney case?” the lawyer asked, referring to a lawsuit brought by the boy’s mother against the retailer over an encounter with security guards.

“I don’t remember,” the boy said.

Asked to tell the jury why he lied, the boy said: “I don’t remember. It was five years ago. I don’t remember nothing.”

Mr. Jackson’s defense contends the lawsuit shows the family has a history of filing false claims to get money.

– Associated Press