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OBIT-HAYNES JOHNSON

Journalist and author Haynes Johnson dies at 81

WASHINGTON (AP) - Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Haynes Johnson has died. He was 81.

The Washington Post reported Johnson died Friday at a Bethesda hospital.

Johnson was awarded a Pulitzer in 1966 for reporting on the civil rights struggle in Selma, Ala., while with the Washington Star. He spent about 12 years at the Star before joining its chief rival, the Washington Post, in 1969. He was a columnist for the Post from 1977 to 1994.

The author, co-author or editor of 18 books, Johnson also appeared regularly on the PBS programs "Washington Week in Review" and "The NewsHour." He was a member of the "NewsHour" historians panel from 1994 to 2004.

The New York City native had been a journalism professor at the University of Maryland since 1998.

DEATH SENTENCE OVERTURNED-REVERSAL

Del. Supreme Court reinstates death sentence

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Delaware's Supreme Court has reversed a judge's ruling overturning the conviction and death sentence of accused killer Jermaine Wright.

The court ruled Friday that a Superior Court judge erred in reviewing the admissibility of Wright's confession and in concluding that prosecutors failed to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence to Wright's attorneys.

The justices also said the judge was wrong in deciding that the 40-year-old Wright could be granted bail while prosecutors appealed the overturning of his conviction and death sentence.

Justice Henry duPont Ridgely agreed that the judge's bail decision was wrong, but he said in a dissent that Wright was entitled to a new trial because prosecutors withheld exculpatory information from the defense.

Wright was sentenced to death for the January 1991 murder of 65-year-old liquor store clerk Phillip Seifert.

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY-SENTENCE

Va. man gets 14 years for producing child porn

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - A former preschool teacher has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for producing child pornography by filming his sexual abuse of 5-year-old students in Japan.

Fifty-4-year-old James Manring of Fredericksburg pleaded guilty in January in federal court in Alexandria. Manring admitted filming himself abusing students while he was a teacher at a Japanese preschool, the Remei Hoikuen School, from 1996 to 1999.

Prosecutors say Manring brought DVD's depicting the abuse of at least seven different boys and girls when he returned to the U.S.

Prosecutors say Manring taught preschool in Bethesda, Md., before his November arrest.

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of more than 17 years at Friday's sentencing. The defense requested the mandatory minimum of 10 years.

US-CODA-BANKRUPTCY

Government, creditors object in CODA bankruptcy

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Attorneys for the federal government and unsecured creditors have filed objections to electric car maker CODA Holdings' bankruptcy plans.

Court papers filed Friday argue that CODA's bankruptcy financing and sale plans unfairly benefit a group of debtors seeking to acquire the company.

Lenders led by a Fortress Investment Group affiliate are proposing a credit bid of $25 million to take over the company. In a credit bid, a lender uses debt it is owed to buy a company's assets, rather than cash.

Other objections filed Friday involve concerns about obligations of the new owners to adhere to federal environmental and vehicle safety laws, and proposed bonuses for top executives and directors at Los Angeles-based CODA.

A hearing in the case is scheduled Wednesday in Wilmington, Del.

FUMES-ELKTON SCHOOL

Fumes at Elkton, Md. school sends 5 to hospital

ELKTON, Md. (AP) - Fumes from a cleaning solution used at a school in Elkton sent five people to the hospital.

Cecil County Public Schools spokeswoman Kelly Keeton tells WDEL Radio that several staff members had trouble breathing Friday at Gilpin Manor Elementary School. The five staff members were taken to Union Hospital as a precaution.

Hazardous materials crews were called to the school and ventilated the area.

No children were involved in the incident. Officials say the school day went on as usual, but an emergency message was sent to parents to make them aware of the incident.

METRO EQUIPMENT THEFT

Metro police arrest transit employee for thefts

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - A Metro employee has been arrested and charged with stealing more than a dozen defibrillators from transit agency facilities and selling them online.

Metro Transit Police say they arrested 40-year-old Derrick Davis of Laurel. He was charged Thursday in Prince George's County District Court.

Metro says police detectives contacted Davis through eBay to try to purchase a defibrillator. An undercover detective posed as a potential buyer and arranged to purchase the device for $300 in cash.

After he was arrested, police say Davis admitted that he had stolen 13 of the defibrillators from Metro facilities. They are valued at about $1,400 each.

Davis worked as a maintenance worker on Metro infrastructure projects. He was suspended from his job.

CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS FIRED

6th Md. prison guard pleads guilty in assault

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) - The Justice Department says a sixth former Maryland prison guard has pleaded guilty in the 2008 beating of an inmate at the Roxbury Correctional Institution near Hagerstown.

Federal prosecutors say Jeremy McCusker pleaded guilty in the assault and to conspiring with other officers to cover it up.

McCusker admitted that he and four other officers were involved in the assault on inmate Kenneth J. Davis to punish him for striking an officer during a prior shift.

Court documents refer to the victim as "K.D." Davis is no longer in prison.

McCusker faces up to 15 years in prison. Sentencing has been set for Aug. 23.

Five other former officers also have pleaded guilty. Nine other current or former Roxbury officers still face federal charges in the assault.

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