Copyright 2000 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.
The
Plain Dealer
March 31, 2000 Friday, FINAL / ALL
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 12A
LENGTH: 630 words
HEADLINE:
NATION
BODY:
DETROIT
4 men sentenced in 'date
rape' trial
Three men were sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for
manslaughter
yesterday in one of the nation's first trials involving a death
linked to a
"date rape" drug. A fourth man received a shorter term for his
part in the
death of 15-year-old Samantha Reid of Rockwood. In January 1999,
Samantha
asked for a drink at a party and was given a soft drink spiked with
the drug
known as GHB. She became violently ill, lost consciousness and died
the next
day. Joshua Cole, 19, Daniel Brayman, 18, and Nicholas Holtschlag,
18, were
sentenced to terms of up to 15 years, the maximum for involuntary
manslaughter. Erick Limmer, 26, was sentenced to up to five years for being
an
accessory to manslaughter.
MINEOLA, N.Y.
Health care
group sues big tobacco
Nearly 150 hospitals joined a health care industry
group in filing a $3.4
billion lawsuit yesterday that seeks reimbursement
for the cost of treating
uninsured patients suffering tobacco-related
illnesses. The lawsuit claims the
tobacco industry marketed and sold
cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products,
despite knowing the products are
harmful, addictive, and lead to serious
illness and death. It was filed in
state court by the hospitals and the
Healthcare Association of New York
State. The lawsuit seeks to recover costs
of care provided to the uninsured,
as well as Medicaid and Medicare patients
whose publicly financed plans did
not fully cover the costs of their care. The
defendants include: Brown &
Williamson Tobacco Corp., Lorillard Tobacco Co.
Inc., Philip Morris Inc.,
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the United States Tobacco
Co., Council for
Tobacco Research U.S.A., Inc. and the Tobacco Institute, Inc.
WASHINGTON
Air Force hopes new logo will fly
The Air Force summoned
some of the best minds in the business, paid them more
than $600,000 and
assigned a mission of major importance to the service's very
future. But
what the Air Force got in return was neither a warplane nor a
super-duper
missile. What it got was a logo - which, if the brass ultimately
approves,
will become the first official symbol for the service in its
half-century
existence. In coming weeks, $29 million worth of television ads
will begin
airing across the country. The impetus for the logo creation and
unprecedented TV advertising campaign is the recent steep nosedive in
recruiting youths and keeping the airmen and women already in. The Air Force
describes the logo as an updated version of the star, bars and circle
insignia
of the World War II Army Air Corps, crafted underGen. Henry "Hap"
Arnold,
chief of staff.
WASHINGTON
Grant to help screen
hearing of newborns
Ohio's Maternal and Child Health Program has won a
$107,228 federal grant to
develop a statewide program to screen the hearing
of newborns before they
leave the hospital, Lorain Democratic Rep. Sherrod
Brown announced yesterday.
Ohio was among 22 states to share $7 million in
grants awarded under the
Newborn Hearing Screening and
Intervention Act, which was signed into law last
year.
CAMDEN, N.J.
Mayor accused of taking payoffs
The mayor was arrested
yesterday on federal charges of taking mob payoffs of
cash, vacations and
automobiles in what the U.S. attorney called a "detailed
and systematic
reign of corruption." Milton Milan, 37, pleaded not guilty and
was released
on $150,000 bail, saying he is "absolutely not guilty" and that
the case was
politically motivated. Milan was charged in a federal indictment
with
bribery, conspiracy, extortion, money laundering and fraud. It alleges
Milan
received cash, vacation trips, dinners, automobiles and home
improvements
from former Philadelphia mob boss Ralph Natale and his
associates.
COLUMN: NATION
LOAD-DATE:
April 1, 2000 
