16 in military died of electrocutions

July 26, 2008

Sixteen American service members have died of accidental electrocutions in Iraq, the Defense Department said yesterday, more than the military had previously disclosed. Most of the 11 soldiers and five Marines died during their work, including making accidental contact with power lines or accidents while performing maintenance on electrical systems, the Pentagon said. But two died in their living facilities, including at least one soldier who was electrocuted while he took a shower. The disclosure was made after William Utt, KBR Inc. chief executive, met with Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, on Capitol Hill to discuss allegations that soldiers died of electrocutions caused by faulty wiring at US facilities run by the contractor. (AP)

PORT CARBON - Three white teenagers were charged yesterday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in a small Pennsylvania coal town. Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the July 12 attack on Luis Ramirez, 25. Derrick M. Donchak, 18, was charged with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation, and other offenses. All are from Shenandoah, where the attack occurred. (AP)

CAMDEN - A judge yesterday ordered Robert Levy, former Atlantic City mayor, to serve three years of probation and pay a $5,000 fine for lying about his Vietnam War service to pad his benefits check. During a sentencing hearing, US District Court Judge Jerome Simandle also ordered Levy to repay the $25,000 in extra benefits. Levy admitted to lying about what he did in the war to obtain extra benefits. (AP)

SACRAMENTO - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill yesterday banning trans fats in restaurant food, making California the first state to ban them. The law, modeled after a ban in New York City, prohibits use of partially hydrogenated oils, which contain trans fats, by the state's 87,000 restaurants beginning in 2010 and in all baked goods starting in 2011. Trans fats - found in processed and fried food, candies, and cookies - are treated to extend the shelf life of products. The oils have been linked to LDL cholesterol. (Bloomberg News)