Nation Digest
Snowstorm in Midwest makes travel risky, difficult

	JEFF ROBERSON / AP Snow-covered branches hang over parked cars as a man walks yesterday in Chicago, where a storm created dangerous conditions.
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MADISON, Wis. — A storm that brought whiteout conditions to Wisconsin was blamed for two freeway pileups involving more than 50 vehicles yesterday, authorities said.

The storm also forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights in Chicago.

The afternoon accidents on the east side of Madison on Interstate 90 occurred after snow had severely reduced visibility, said Kevin Fosso, a Dane County public-safety dispatcher supervisor.

Fosso said 42 vehicles were involved in the first accident and about a dozen were involved in the second.

No one was killed, but about 15 people were injured, some seriously, he said.

In Chicago, the storm forced the cancellation of about 300 flights from O'Hare International Airport and about a dozen from Midway Airport.

Teen to go free after changing mind on plea deal in killing

MIAMI — A teenager whose life sentence for beating a 6-year-old playmate to death was thrown out signed documents yesterday pleading guilty to second-degree murder in a deal that could get him out of prison as early as this month.

Lionel Tate, 16, signed the papers at a maximum-security juvenile prison in Okeechobee, Fla., where he is serving a sentence for first-degree murder in the 1999 death of Tiffany Eunick.

Tate was 12 when he punched, kicked and stomped the 48-pound girl to death. His trial as an adult touched off a national debate over the prosecution and punishment of children.

His conviction and sentence were overturned last month, and prosecutors offered the same plea deal Tate declined before trial. In the deal, Tate would be sentenced to three years in prison — most of which he has already served — plus one year of house arrest and 10 years probation.

A message left for Ken Padowitz, who prosecuted Tate and now represents Tiffany's mother in private practice, was not returned yesterday.

Diplomat's son released after carjacking arrest

WASHINGTON — The 18-year-old son of a Liberian diplomat was arrested Friday night on charges of carjacking and robbery and then released under diplomatic immunity, according to Montgomery County, Md., police.

Police said in a news release that Thomas K. Kollie was arrested in connection with a carjacking in Silver Spring, Md. Police said about 13 people attacked three occupants of a car, took their vehicle and drove it into two cars parked in a parking lot.

Kollie, of Silver Spring, and two other teenagers were arrested in the incident, police said, but after consultation with the State Department, Kollie was released into the custody of his father, who is charge d'affaires of the Liberian Embassy in Washington. In an interview Saturday night, Thomas Kollie denied involvement in the alleged carjacking.

Under Geneva conventions regarding treatment of diplomatic legations, diplomats and members of their immediate families are entitled to immunity from prosecution on charges allegedly committed in the United States.

The State Department may ask the embassy involved to waive immunity. In serious matters, unless immunity is waived, the suspect is expelled from the United States.

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