Settlement OK'd in pet-food recall

A federal judge in Camden Friday approved a $24 million settlement for thousands of owners whose animals were sickened by tainted pet food.

The deal, worked out last week, resolves more than 100 lawsuits filed in the United States and Canada since an epidemic of sick pets began last year.

Lawyers said Friday that the country's leading veterinarian organization estimated 1,500 pets died from commercially sold food that contained tainted wheat gluten grown in China. Thousands more became ill.

Pet owners would be reimbursed for documented medical expenses and up to $900 for undocumented costs such as wages lost while caring for the animals and property damage.

The main defendant in the case was Menu Foods, a Canadian manufacturer of about 100 of the contaminated product lines. The defendants previously paid $8 million to settle other claims.

New Orleans

Crash in tunnel puts 18 in hospital

A dump truck spilled a load of mud inside a traffic tunnel, causing a chain-reaction crash of 23 vehicles Friday in suburban New Orleans. Eighteen people were taken to hospitals, including a woman in labor.

The dump-truck driver fled, Louisiana State Police spokesman Joseph Piglia said.

If found, the driver could face charges and be held liable for damage to the Harvey Tunnel, which passes under the Harvey Canal on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

San Francisco

10 states seek stay of same-sex ruling

Concerned about the national ramifications of same-sex marriages in California, attorneys general from 10 states asked the California Supreme Court to stay its decision legalizing the marriages, set to begin June 17.

In a letter, the attorneys general asked that the marriages be put off until after the November election, when California voters are expected to vote on a measure that would ban same-sex marriages.

The attorneys general said allowing same-sex marriages now could unnecessarily open the door to legal challenges from gay residents of other states who get married in California.

Upon returning to their home states, the newlyweds could demand equality in everything from tax-filing status to testimonial privileges in civil suits, said the attorneys general of Michigan, New Hampshire, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. The court is expected to issue a ruling by June 16.

Arvada, Colo.

Thong masks show some skin

Police in Arvada are searching for two robbers whose masks showed plenty of fashion sense but little modesty: women's thong underwear.

The two stole an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes in a convenience-store robbery May 16.

Surveillance video showed that one man wore a green thong and the other wore blue. Each thong barely covered the nose, mouth and chin and left the rest of the face exposed.

Seattle Times news services