FCC to Comcast: Stop blocking Web

Washington

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted Friday to uphold a complaint against Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, saying it had illegally inhibited users of its high-speed Internet service from using file-sharing software.

The decision, which imposes no fine, requires Comcast to end such blocking this year.

Kevin Martin, the commission's chairman, said the order was meant to set a precedent that Internet providers and all communications companies, could not keep customers from using their networks the way they see fit unless there is a good reason. "We are preserving the open character of the Internet," Martin said after the 3-2 vote.

Niagara, Wis.

Man arrested near where 3 were slain

A gunman suspected of opening fire on a group of swimmers on a riverbank was arrested Friday after he emerged from woods near where three people were slain and a fourth person was wounded.

Scott Johnson, 38, of Iron Mountain, Mich., was dressed in camouflage when deputies confronted him. He dropped his assault rifle as officers approached.

Investigators have not determined a motive for the attack on the nine young people on the banks of the Menomee River on Thursday. A 17-year-old girl and two men, 18 and 19, were killed. A 20-year-old man was wounded.

Minneapolis

Bridge victims honored a year later

With the sound of rushing Mississippi River water and bagpipes in the background, several hundred people snaked onto the Stone Arch Bridge on Friday to commemorate the anniversary of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.

Many of the victims' relatives watched from a riverboat as Minneapolis Police Inspector Mike Martin read the names of the 13 who died. A dove was released for each victim.

Capping a day of memorials, at 6:05 p.m., survivors, first responders, bridge workers, political leaders and others bowed their heads in silence as a U.S. flag was unfurled from the $234 million replacement bridge that is nearing completion.

Los Angeles

Deal aims to make potato chips safer

Four food manufacturers agreed to reduce levels of the cancer-causing chemical acrylamide in their potato chips and French fries in a settlement with California.

The California attorney general's office announced the deals Friday with Heinz, Frito-Lay, Kettle Foods and Lance.

The attorney general's office sued the manufacturers and several fast-food companies in 2005 because their products contained high levels of acrylamide. The firms agreed to lower the chemical's levels and pay a combined $3 million in fines.

Also

Air crash settled: A judge in Lexington, Ky., called off a trial Friday to hear lawsuits stemming from a 2006 plane crash that killed 49 people after relatives and the airline, Comair, reached settlements in most cases.

Sugar deal questioned: Florida's proposal to acquire 300 square miles of Everglades land from U.S. Sugar in a $1.75 billion deal was illegally brokered, attorney Dexter Lehtinen claimed in a lawsuit filed Friday in Palm Beach County.

Judge dumped: Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr., the Louisiana judge overseeing the criminal cases for the remaining Jena Six defendants, was removed against his will Friday for making questionable remarks about them.

Seattle Times news services