Ohio pair who caged kids denied custody

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Author: John Bacon

Section: News, Pg. 03a

An Ohio couple charged with abuse for forcing some of their 11 adopted children to sleep in cages were denied custody Monday. Juvenile Judge Timothy Cardwell ruled there was a good chance Michael and Sharen Gravelle would mistreat the children again, citing a history of sexual-abuse allegations against the father. The couple have pleaded not guilty to several charges, including child endangerment, in a separate criminal case. They deny abusing the children, ages 2 to 15, and say the cages were to protect the kids, who suffered from psychological and behavioral problems.

"They love their children. They want them back. They are truly devastated," said their lawyer, Kenneth Myers. He said they will appeal the ruling. Prosecutors in Norwalk accuse the couple of locking the children in cages to discipline them. One child testified he was forced to sleep in a bathtub after wetting the bed.

Michigan governor to sign abortion bill

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, will sign a bill requiring abortion providers to give pregnant women the option to see ultrasound images of their fetuses, a spokeswoman says. Granholm generally has opposed legislation against abortion, but the bill was amended so it no longer requires pregnant women to see the ultrasound images, according to spokeswoman Liz Boyd. Michigan law has required that women seeking abortions be allowed to review diagrams and descriptions showing a developing fetus, but not their own. The group Right to Life of Michigan said the new law ensures that pregnant women have fuller access to accurate information. Kary Moss, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, said the bill is an erosion of women's rights.

Eight accused of airline ticket scam

Eight former employees of Southwest Airlines have been charged in El Paso with wire fraud after allegedly trying to steal more than $1 million from the company.

Instead of returning used tickets, the workers reused them in transactions with cash-paying customers, according to a grand jury indictment. It said the workers pocketed the cash from March 2000 through January 2003. Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said no passengers were stuck with worthless tickets. She said the workers were dismissed in March 2003, and the airline has cooperated with investigators.

Each suspect could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of three counts.

Katrina death toll rises: Two bodies found

Two more bodies have been found in New Orleans' hurricane-devastated Lower 9th Ward, a coroner said. About 1,100 deaths have now been blamed on Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, said Melissa Walker, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Hospitals. Katrina's death toll in Mississippi is 231.

The latest bodies were found Sunday in a collapsed house while rubble was being cleared, state medical examiner Louis Cataldie said.

Trial delayed for mom who drowned kids

A judge in Houston delayed Andrea Yates' murder retrial to allow two defense witnesses time to testify. Jury selection had been set to begin Monday for the trial in connection with the bathtub drowning deaths of Yates' five children, but defense lawyers George Parnham and Wendell Odom said trying Yates without the psychiatric experts would deny her a fair trial.

Hill set jury selection for June 22. Yates was convicted of murder in 2002, but the conviction was overturned because a forensic psychiatrist gave false testimony. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Columbia University gets $200M gift

Columbia University has received $200 million from the widow of a graduate that will be used to establish a center devoted to the study of the brain, school officials said. The donation from Dawn Greene and the Jerome L. Greene Foundation is the biggest gift ever received by the Ivy League university, Columbia President Lee Bollinger said. The Jerome L. Greene Science Center will study such disorders as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, autism, dementia and schizophrenia, Bollinger said. Greene, who graduated from Columbia College in 1926 and from the law school in 1928, was a lawyer and real estate investor. He died in 1999.

(c) USA TODAY, 2006