Dozen become sick; flight is diverted

A United Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Chicago last night after about a dozen people aboard became sick. No one was seriously injured. Jeff Kovic, a spokesman for the airline said, "the safety of our passengers is our type priority, and the captain made the right decision to land in Chicago so that our customers could receive appropriate medical attention." The passengers were part of a tour group, and no food was served on board, the airline said. The plane departed at about 6:19 p.m. and had 138 people aboard.

The state Supreme Judicial Court refused last week to hear the case of a Dorchester man whose request for a new trial in the killing of 15-year-old Louis D. Brown was rejected by the state Appeals Court in July. Charles F. Bogues pleaded guilty to killing Brown, a bystander who was struck in the head by a stray bullet near the Ashmont MBTA station in Dorchester on Dec. 20, 1993, while on his way to a Christmas party for Teens Against Gang Violence. Bogues, 38, said he pleaded guilty because investigators convinced him that he was the only gunman firing a .45-caliber weapon during a shoot-out between rival groups. Brown was struck by a bullet from that type of weapon. Bogues said he later learned that new evidence suggested another gunman had also fired a .45-caliber weapon. The state Appeals Court found that ballistics evidence cited by Bogues "casts no real doubt" on his guilt and that he willingly pleaded guilty.

Financial consultants say a proposed $300 million movie studio in Plymouth could generate thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue while putting few strains on town services. Consultants presented their findings this week to town officials, who are trying to decide how much of a property tax break to offer and how they can secure state funding for infrastructure improvements. Officials with Plymouth Rock Studios want to build a movie and television production facility on 240 acres. The project would include 14 sound stages, a back lot, a hotel, and an education center. Consultants say the project would probably generate about 3,000 jobs and $168 million in wages, although it could take several years for the studio to realize its economic potential. (AP)

A tailgater skinny-dipping inside a truck bed at a University of Massachusetts football game has been charged with assault after police said he kneed a campus police officer in the groin when he was told to get out of the water. Deputy Chief Patrick Archbald said Marshal D.P. Keating, 21, of Edgewater, N.J., was among several fans splashing around in the back of a pickup truck before Saturday's game against the University of Delaware. When police told them to stop, Keating initially refused to get out. Archbald said that Keating then approached the officer and kneed him twice in the groin. The officer, whom Archbald did not name, was given morphine at a hospital. He could miss up to two weeks of work. Keating is charged with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. (AP)

A German baroness should not have been ordered to give up a portrait she obtained in Nazi Germany because the estate of the Jewish art dealer who was forced to sell the painting waited too long to try to get it back, her lawyer argued yesterday before a federal appeals court. US District Judge Mary Lisi in December ordered Maria-Luise Bissonnette, who is now living in Providence, to return the painting, "Girl from the Sabine Mountains," to the estate of Max Stern, who was forced to sell off his Dusseldorf art gallery in 1937 under repressive laws that targeted Jews. Bissonnette's lawyer, David Levy, told a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit yesterday that Lisi's decision should be overturned and the case sent back for a trial. The court did not indicate when it would rule. (AP)

New Hampshire tourism officials are looking for a big Columbus Day weekend, with foliage at peak in many parts of the state. The economy is expected to keep some people away, but the state is expecting about 580,000 visitors to spend more than $85 million. (AP)