Across the nation

Woman is arrested in deaths of friend, fetus

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EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. - A woman was charged Saturday in the deaths of a pregnant friend and the fetus authorities think she cut out of the slain woman's womb after knocking the victim unconscious.

Tiffany Hall, 24, was charged as authorities implored the public for help in their search for the victim's two sons, ages 7 and 2, and 1-year-old daughter. Authorities say they were last seen with Ms. Hall on Monday, three days before she was taken into custody.

Ms. Hall, who was jailed on $5 million bond, faces charges of first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child in the death of 23-year-old Jimella Tunstall, said St. Clair County State's Attorney Robert Haida.

Relatives of both women told media outlets the two grew up together and attended alternative schools. The woman in custody often baby-sat Ms. Tunstall's children, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

An autopsy showed Ms. Tunstall bled to death after sustaining an abdominal wound caused by a sharp object, believed to be scissors, said Ace Hart, a deputy St. Clair County coroner.

Mr. Hart said he believes Ms. Tunstall was knocked unconscious before her baby, seven months into gestation, was removed during a slaying he called "very graphic and very brutal."

Five linked to E. coli outbreak

WASHINGTON - The outbreak of E. coli linked to fresh spinach was blamed for another five cases of illness Saturday, raising the number of people sickened to 171, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The number of states affected held steady at 25. So far, 92 people have been hospitalized, including a Wisconsin woman who died. Two other deaths have been reported in suspected cases - a child in Idaho and an elderly woman in Maryland - but those cases are still being investigated.

Stabbing suspect just divorced

BATON ROUGE, LA. - A Texas man accused of repeatedly stabbing his toddler and ex-wife along an interstate while horrified motorists looked on in rush-hour traffic had just been divorced from the woman earlier in the day, authorities said Saturday.

Jimmie Darnell Dixon, 27, of Dallas, was arrested and faces two counts each of attempted first-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping, among other offenses, authorities said. He was in jail Saturday, and no bond had been set.

The woman and the 2-year-old girl, neither of whom were publicly identified by authorities, were in serious condition Saturday at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center, said Capt. Jeff Smith, a police spokesman.

In other news

A FLORIDA WOMAN who killed herself days after reporting her 2-year-old son missing said in a suicide note she ended her life after facing ridicule and criticism. Melinda Duckett is now the primary suspect in the disappearance of her son Trenton.

PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCED Saturday that he is sending a delegation to Lebanon to discuss ways to help rebuild after this summer's fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

AN APOLOGETIC ROMAN CATHOLIC priest from New York was sentenced to four years in prison Friday for stealing more than $800,000 from his parish to finance vacations, country clubs and fancy clothes.

- Edited from wire reports by Jennifer Bishop