Microbiologist to be investigated

Federal microbiologist Robert Cooksey, the father-in-law of the man quarantined with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, will be investigated to see how he was involved in the case, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.

Meanwhile, the CDC said it has withdrawn the federal isolation order for TB patient Andrew Speaker because a Denver health agency's order to detain him at a hospital there is sufficient to protect the public's health. The action ends the first federal quarantine order since 1963.

Speaker has said he, his doctors and the CDC all knew he had TB that was resistant to some drugs before he flew to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon last month.

Cooksey, whose specialty at the CDC is TB and other bacteria, has said he provided "fatherly advice" to Speaker about traveling with the illness.

Washington, D.C.

Speeding car hurts 35 at festival

A woman sped through a crowded street festival Saturday night, injuring about 35 people, including two police officers who drove their motor scooters into her path attempting to stop her, authorities said.

The injured, including at least seven critically, were taken to hospitals, said Alan Etter, a spokesman for the fire department.

Etter said authorities believe the driver was going about 70 mph when she came through the Unifest festival at about 8 p.m. The woman fled the scene and was caught about a block away, he said.

"We're still trying to piece together exactly just what happened that led up to this," District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said at the scene.

Melbourne, Fla.

Shuttle workers vote to strike

A union representing 570 space-shuttle-program workers at the Kennedy Space Center voted to strike Saturday, less than a week before the planned launch of the shuttle Atlantis.

The International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, which represents the United Space Alliance employees, rejected the company's contract offer Saturday morning.

The union could strike as early as this Saturday, a day after NASA officials plan to launch Atlantis. It was unclear whether the vote to strike could affect the launch schedule.

New York

Boy barely helps police nab suspects

A 12-year-old boy just getting into the shower heard a crash and his grandmother scream, so he jumped naked out of a second-floor window and called 911, helping police foil an armed robbery, police said.

"I knew I had to get out, get help," Edwin Alamo told the New York Daily News in Saturday's edition.

His brother, Jose Rodriguez, 21, jumped out of another window in the Bronx home Friday and ran to a nearby restaurant for help.

Police responding to the call shot and wounded two armed suspects after they pointed their guns at the officers and refused to drop them, said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.

Both of the suspects were in stable condition.

Seattle Times news services