Guilty plea entered in call girl scandal

NEW YORK - A woman accused of helping run the prostitution ring patronized by Eliot Spitzer, the former governor, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to launder money and conspiring to violate federal prostitution laws. Prosecutors said Cecil Suwal, 23, ran the day-to-day operations of the Emperors Club V.I.P. escort company, which charged clients up to $5,500 an hour for the services of its women. Suwal was accused of supervising the company's booking agents, paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars to prostitutes, and controlling shell companies used to hide the ring's profits. (AP)

Good cholesterol may not help heart
NEW YORK - Good cholesterol that scientists have thought helped unclog arteries had no effect on heart disease in a study, casting doubt on a theory drugmakers have spent more than $1 billion pursuing. Researchers studied people who have a genetic condition that causes them to produce very low levels of good HDL cholesterol, expecting they'd be about twice as likely to have heart disease. Instead, they had no greater risk, according to a study published yesterday by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co., and Roche Holdings AG have spent years developing drugs that increase the production of HDL cholesterol based on the theory that raising the so-called good cholesterol helps ferry artery-clogging plaque from the body. (Bloomberg)

Man pleads guilty to terrorism charge
COLUMBUS - A man accused of joining Al Qaeda in the early 1990s and helping teach fellow Muslim extremists how to bomb US and European targets pleaded guilty yesterday to planning terrorist attacks. Christopher Paul, 44, pleaded guilty to a count that carries a maximum life prison sentence, but entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors that calls for a 20-year term. (AP)

Tiger attack victim had drugs in system
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Medical Examiner says a teenager who was killed by an escaped zoo tiger six months ago had marijuana and alcohol in his system. The toxicology report was released Monday. It is included with an autopsy that concluded 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. was killed by "blunt force injuries of the head and neck." Sousa's two friends also were seriously injured when a 250-pound Siberian tiger escaped its enclosure at San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day. Michael Cardoza, a lawyer for the Sousa family, says it is irrelevant whether the teen was drinking or smoking pot before he was mauled. The family is suing the city. The wall surrounding the tiger's enclosure was found to be 4 feet lower than recommended industry standards. (AP)