The nation in brief: Breast implants, suicide studied
Breast implants, suicide studied
LOS ANGELES | Women who receive implants for breast enhancement are three times more likely to commit suicide, according to a new report that offered a sobering view of an increasingly popular surgery.
Deaths related to mental disorders, including alcohol or drug dependence, also were three times higher among women who had the cosmetic procedure, researchers said. The report appeared in the August issue of the Annals of Plastic Surgery.
Transplant scandal
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. | A transplant doctor charged with hastening the death of a patient so he could harvest his organs asked a respiratory therapist to remove the man's breathing tube, the worker told authorities.
In records made public Monday, nurses and others told police that the doctor, Hootan Roozrokh, was present when Ruben Navarro was removed from life support. State law bars transplant doctors from being involved in the treatment of potential organ donors before they are declared dead.
O.J. Simpson image
LOS ANGELES | O.J. Simpson must pay the family of the late Ronald Goldman any money he earns from a video game featuring his likeness to satisfy a $38 million wrongful-death judgment.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued the ordered Tuesday. The game, "All-Pro Football 2K8," features Simpson's likeness playing as one of 240 former football greats.
Private wasn't truthful, Army inquiry says
WASHINGTON | Army investigators have concluded that the private whose dispatches for The New Republic accused his fellow soldiers of petty cruelties in Iraq was not telling the truth.
The finding disclosed Tuesday came days after the Washington-based magazine announced that it had corroborated the claims of the private, Scott Thomas Beauchamp, except for one significant error. A military official said that the matter is being handled administratively, with Beauchamp punished by having his cell phone and laptop confiscated for an undetermined period.
Trial in cat arrow case
SAN DIEGO | A man accused of firing two arrows from a crossbow to kill a neighbor's tabby cat will face trial on two animal-cruelty counts, a judge has ruled.
Robert Eugene Brunner, 47, was jailed on $75,000 bond in June, when he pleaded not guilty to two counts of maliciously or intentionally killing an animal and one count of animal abuse.
The $54 million pants
WASHINGTON | The judge who sued his dry cleaners for $54 million over a pair of pants may want to begin looking for a new job.
A city commission has voted to formally notify Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson that he may not be reappointed to the bench, a government source said.