Choking danger spurs Gerber recall

Gerber Products recalled all packages of its organic rice and organic oatmeal cereals Friday because of potential clumping of the baby food, which can pose a choking hazard.

Gerber said it has received complaints of choking but no reports of injury.

The company said a "limited quantity" of the cereals could contain lumps that do not dissolve in water or milk. The cereals, sold in 8-ounce boxes, were distributed nationwide. The baby food should not be eaten, and customers can call the Gerber parents resource center at 800-443-7237 or 231-928-3000 to return the product and receive a refund.

Washington

$3.3M fine sought for nuke-data leak

The Energy Department proposed $3.3 million in fines Friday against managers of the Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab because of a security breakdown in which classified documents were found in a trailer-park drug raid.

The civil penalties, the bulk of them levied against the University of California, the longtime former manager of the lab, were the largest such fines the department has ever proposed.

The enforcement action stems from an incident in October 2006, when police found more than 1,000 pages of classified documents and several computer storage devices in a trailer occupied by a former worker at the lab. The discovery came during a police drug raid that focused on another person living in the trailer.

New York

2 charged in plot to echo Columbine

Two teenagers were charged with conspiring to attack a Long Island high school on the anniversary of the Columbine attacks after a chilling journal and videotape surfaced in which one teen identifies several potential victims by name, authorities said Friday.

The teens planned to attack Connetquot High School in Bohemia, about 50 miles east of New York City, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said. Both teens were charged with misdemeanor conspiracy, punishable by up to a year in jail.

Authorities said the two suspects targeted scores of students in an attack they planned for April 20, 2008 — the ninth anniversary of the Columbine High School rampage, in which 12 students and a teacher were killed in Littleton, Colo.

Washington

Sorry for scandal, Vitter tells backers

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has sent an e-mail to supporters apologizing for his role in an escort-service scandal and assuring them that he and his family "will be fine."

The freshman senator thanked supporters for the encouragement they have given him since he acknowledged Monday that his phone number appeared in the billing records of a Washington escort service whose owner has been charged with running a prostitution ring.

Also

The Senate on Friday confirmed former Texas Rep. Pete Geren as secretary of the Army.

Seattle Times news services