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News Briefs

December 14, 1995
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EST

Jeff Getty

Experimental baboon-to-human AIDS transplant begins

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Doctors prepped an AIDS patient Thursday for an experimental transplant of baboon bone marrow. The controversial procedure is being attempted because baboons have been found to be resistant to HIV-1, the primary virus causing acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

AIDS patient Jeff Getty was to be given the transplant at San Francisco General hospital later on Thursday. But before that, he had to undergo radiation therapy to "make space in his bone marrow for the new cells," a hospital spokesperson said.

The infusion, similar to a blood transfusion, takes half an hour and does not require surgery. The procedure will be carried out by researchers at University of California at San Francisco and the University of Pittsburgh.

It will be the first time a bone marrow cell infusion from one species to another -- known as a xenotransplant -- has been attempted using the specific scientific approach that has been approved for this study, the researchers said.

Researchers are hoping that if the infusion is successful, the newly transferred marrow will produce virus-resistant T-cells in the blood. Theoretically, that would help Getty ward off opportunistic infections, which can be fatal for an AIDS patient.



School bus accident in dense fog injures 45

JAMESVILLE, Oklahoma (CNN) -- More than 40 children and teen-agers were injured when a car hit a small town school bus on a foggy highway Thursday.

A second car smashed into the first car following the accident shortly after 8 a.m., troopers said.

Because the fog was so thick, two medical helicopters had to use a special tracking devices to locate the accident .

Nearly 40 children on the Boynton school bus received bumps and bruises. Five people in the cars were injured, one critically.

The 17-year-old driver of the first car was trapped inside the wreckage for more than 30 minutes, and was reported to be in critical condition. His 14-year-old passenger was in serious condition, and a 15-year-old passenger was in stable condition.

Two teen-agers in the second car were also injured.



Rodney King beating sergeant released from custody

Stacey Koon

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Former police sergeant Stacey Koon, convicted in the 1991 videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, was released from federal custody on Thursday.

Koon had spent the last month of the 30-month sentence under home arrest with his wife and five children. He must report to a federal probation officer for the next two years.

Koon did not take part in the beating, but was convicted of violating King's civil rights because he ordered and supervised it. Former officer Laurence Powell, convicted along with Koon, completed his sentence on Wednesday.

Koon and three others were tried in a state trial for battering King in 1992. A jury found all four not guilty of assault and use of excessive force. That verdict led to the worst urban rioting this century, in which more than 60 people were killed and property estimated at $1 billion was damaged.

The public outrage over the verdict prompted a second, federal trial, in which the four officers were found guilty.



EPA says 40 percent of U.S. waters unfit for swimming

EPA Logo

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly 40 percent of U.S. rivers, lakes, and estuaries are too polluted for swimming or fishing, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a report released Thursday, the EPA said water quality surveys done in 1992 and 1993 showed that "more work is needed if waters are to be made clean and healthy in all communities."

The report was based on surveys of 17 percent of the nation's rivers, 42 percent of its lakes and 78 percent of its estuaries.

Polluted waste from rainstorms and melted snow was the leading cause of contamination.



Five killed as Amtrak train hits pickup truck

Amtrak

PONCHATOULA, Louisiana (CNN) -- Three children and two women were killed when an Amtrak passenger train crashed into their pickup truck Thursday afternoon at a railroad crossing in a small Louisiana town 40 miles north of New Orleans.

Amtrak's "City of New Orleans" was northbound and passing through Ponchatoula, a town of about 5,500, at 3:15 p.m. CDT when the accident occurred, according to Amtrak spokesman Bobby Brooks.

No passengers or crew were injured, and the train itself sustained little damage. It continued on its way to Chicago about three hours after the accident, Brooks told CNN.

Ponchatoula Police Chief Tim Gideon had campaigned unsuccessfully for several years to get an automatic rail crossing signal installed at the site of the crash, according to one of his assistants.

The track is owned and maintained by the Illinois Central Railroad.



Barbieri says she dumped Simpson on day of murders

Paula Barbieri

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- O.J. Simpson's ex-girlfriend Paula Barbieri testified Thursday she left a message ending her relationship with the former football star the day of the murders, a source told CNN.

Barbieri made the statement as part of her deposition in a wrongful death civil suit against Simpson. The suit has been filed against Simpson by the families of Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, who were killed June 12, 1994.

Barbieri told lawyers she left the phone message on Saturday, June 11, 1994, but during questioning in the afternoon, she said she did so on Sunday, the day of the murders. She said she didn't resume her relationship with Simpson until after he was jailed on murder charges, the source told CNN.

Barbieri said she was in Las Vegas to attend a Michael Bolton concert that weekend, according to the source.

Her questioning was expected to last through Thursday afternoon and possibly into Friday, according to Barbieri's attorney.

Simpson had no comment when he arrived at the office of the Goldman family attorney, where the deposition is taking place.



Reeves

Christopher Reeve heads home

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Christopher Reeve left a rehabilitation center Wednesday after nearly seven months and returned home in time for Christmas.

"As I leave Kessler Institute, I experience many profound feelings," the paralyzed "Superman" star said in a statement. "Most of all, happiness to be going home with my wife and children."

Reeve, 42, was paralyzed from the neck down when he fell from a horse on May 27. His doctors said he is able to breathe for 15 minutes at a time without the help of a respirator. He uses a wheelchair he guides with a straw.

His doctors said he will continue his rehabilitation at his home in New York state.



Billy Graham suffers fall

Graham

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Rev. Billy Graham was recovering Thursday from a fall Tuesday in his New York hotel room, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The 77-year-old minister suffered a fractured rib and a severely bruised right shoulder. His doctors said that the fall was not related to his Parkinson's disease and that he will fully recover from his injuries.

Graham has suffered from Parkinson's disease for the past six years. This is reported to be Graham's third fall in the past six months, though the association could not immediately confirm that.

His doctors advised Graham to remain quiet and refrain from any events or speaking engagements for the rest of the month.



Judge orders girl chained to mother as punishment

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) -- A judge ordered a 15-year-old girl with a history of juvenile delinquency to stay chained to her mother 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a month.

Citing ethical reasons, Family Court Judge Wayne Creech refused Wednesday to comment on the punishment, which was handed out on December 7. He recently ordered the same punishment for a 10th-grade boy.

Tonya Kline must stay chained to her mother, Deborah Harter, 38. If she is caught unshackled, her mother could be sentenced to 30 days in prison.

Her mother is required to hold a metal ring, that is attached to Kline's prisoner belt. The two must go everywhere together -- to school, to the store, to bed and to the bathroom.

The girl said the punishment is working.



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