NEWS OF THE DAY
Tanker fire: A fuel tanker truck crashed and burned Friday on a highway near Los Angeles International Airport, killing two people and causing a massive traffic jam that forced travelers to abandon their vehicles and walk off the freeway with their luggage, authorities said. The California Highway Patrol received reports of the crash involving the tanker and an SUV followed by a fireball on the westbound side of Interstate 105 shortly after 5 a.m. Both drivers were killed. Both sides of the freeway and a Metro light-rail commuter line that runs down the middle of the highway were shut down as authorities let the fire burn itself out.
Sexual misconduct: A former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was arrested Friday in New York City on a sex abuse charge. The New York Police Department said Thomas Frieden, who also is a former New York City health commissioner, was arrested in Brooklyn. WABC reported Frieden surrendered to face charges that he grabbed the buttocks of a woman he knew in his home in October. Frieden denied the claim and said the woman’s allegation “does not reflect” who he is or the values he has.
Batali sued: A Massachusetts woman says in a lawsuit filed against Mario Batali that the celebrity chef forcibly kissed her and groped her in a Boston restaurant in 2017. The suit filed Wednesday seeks unspecified damages for emotional distress. The suit alleges the 28-year-old woman spotted Batali in the restaurant and tried to take a photo. The suit says Batali invited her to take a selfie with him and then, without asking for permission, repeatedly kissed her face, rubbed her breasts, grabbed her buttocks and put his hands between her legs. Neither Batali nor his representatives immediately responded to requests for comment Friday.
Coal exports: Six states have lined up in support of Washington state in a legal battle over its decision to block a proposed coal-export terminal on the Columbia River. Attorneys general from California, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Oregon filed a “friend of the court” brief this week arguing in support of Gov. Jay Inslee’s administration in its defense against a lawsuit brought by Lighthouse Resources. Lighthouse claimed Washington state officials violated federal laws in denying approvals for the project — a proposed $680 million facility in Longview that would be the largest coal shipping terminal in North America.
Parole denied: John Lennon’s killer has been denied parole for a 10th time and will remain behind bars for at least two more years. In a denial decision this week, the New York’s parole board said it had determined Mark David Chapman’s release “would be incompatible with the welfare and safety of society.” Chapman, 63, shot and killed the former Beatle outside Lennon’s Manhattan apartment on Dec. 8, 1980. He is serving 20 years to life in the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden in western New York.
Chronicle News Services