Suspect arrested in NYC hit-run fatalities
BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 6 (UPI) -- A man sought in the hit-and-run deaths of a pregnant woman and her husband in New York City was arrested in Pennsylvania, Wednesday, police said.
Julio Acevedo, 44, allegedly drove a BMW into a taxi that was taking Raizy Glauber and her husband, Nathan, both 21, to a hospital for a pregnancy checkup Sunday. The couple's son was delivered three months premature after the crash and died Monday.
Acevedo gave himself up to authorities in the parking lot of a convenience store in Bethlehem, Pa. The Times said the surrender was arranged by a friend of the suspect.
Acevedo was jailed pending his extradition to New York City.
He served time in prison for the 1987 killing of Kelvin Martin, a criminal and street character known as 50 Cent who was the inspiration for the name used by the more famous present-day rapper, NBC News reported.
The Times said Acevedo, who had a pending court date on a drunken-driving charge, had borrowed the BMW and allegedly was speeding at the time of the crash.
Bill to legalize hemp advances in Kentucky
FRANKFORT, Ky., March 6 (UPI) -- A bill that would legalize the growing of industrial hemp in Kentucky was released from committee Wednesday in the state House of Representatives.
If the bill becomes law, Kentucky would be one of the first states in the country to allow hemp production, The Louisville Courier-Journal reported. Under federal law, hemp is treated as if it was marijuana although it contains far less of the active ingredient THC than its cousin.
Hemp can be used to make fiber and fabric, building materials and paper as well as rope.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo, a Democrat, has not said whether he will bring the legalization bill up for a vote. He has said he is concerned about the views of police officers who say legalizing hemp would make enforcement of laws against marijuana more difficult.
Kentucky's congressional delegation generally supports legalizing hemp. The two Republican U.S. senators, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, plan to introduce a bill that would change federal law, giving hemp a different status than marijuana.
Lion kills worker at California sanctuary
DUNLAP, Calif., March 6 (UPI) -- An African lion that killed an employee at a California refuge for large cats was shot by sheriff's deputies, police said.
Project Survival's Cat Haven in Dunlap, about 40 miles east of Fresno, said the lion was a 4-year-old male, KMPH.com reported. The animal had been living in the sanctuary in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains since it was 8 months old.
The worker was in a cage with the lion when it attacked, police said. Fresno County sheriff's deputies killed the lion.
Cat Haven, which opened in 1993, provides a home for lions, tigers and other large cats.
Cocaine disguised as soy milk powder
MONTREAL, March 6 (UPI) -- A traveler on a flight from Jamaica allegedly tried to smuggle 70 1/2 pounds of cocaine into Canada disguised as powdered soy milk, authorities said Wednesday.
The Canada Border Services Agency said in a release on its website the suspected cocaine was discovered Feb. 27 in two pieces of luggage at Montreal-Trudeau Airport.
The illicit drugs were hidden in 63 packages of powdered soy milk.
The traveler, whose identity was not reported, was arrested and turned over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The agency said border officers made 205 drug seizures at the airport last year.
