NTSB investigators examine Denver airplane wreckage

Investigators Monday sifted through the wreckage of an airplane that skidded off a runway at Denver International Airport and landed in a ravine.

Thirty-eight passengers were injured when the Continental Airlines Boeing 737-500 spun out of control Saturday night. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Monday they had yet to discover what caused the mishap.

Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB board member, said the flight recorders had been recovered and had "good data." But the investigation was delayed because members of the team to analyze the "black box" voice and data recorders were having difficulty getting back to Washington, D.C., because of the winter storms.

Minneapolis

Franken holds lead over Coleman

Democrat Al Franken is poised to hold on to a 48-vote lead over Republican Sen. Norm Coleman as the state Canvassing Board prepares to award a final pile of votes in Minnesota's unsettled U.S. Senate race.

The board was to meet today and award votes from a remaining group of 5,000 challenges that had been withdrawn by both campaigns.

Judging by a draft report released late Monday by the secretary of state's office, Franken will have earned a total of 48 more votes than Coleman once those votes are allotted. That's out of almost 3 million votes cast in the race in November.

Washington

FDA issues warning about some diet pills

Nearly 30 products that may promise an easy fix to weight problems contain unlisted and possibly dangerous ingredients.

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lab testing found 28 dietary supplements that could land unsuspecting users in the emergency room. Most of the diet pills appear to be coming from China. They are mainly sold on the Internet.

Most of the pills contain sibutramine, a powerful appetite suppressant that's related to amphetamines. It can cause heart attacks, strokes and palpitations, especially in people with a history of high blood pressure or heart disease.

Sibutramine is also the chemical ingredient in Meridia, which is used to treat obesity. But FDA testing found some of the pills contain nearly three times the suggested dose.

Several of the pills contain phenolphthalein, a chemical long used as a laxative, but which is now being withdrawn because of cancer risks.

None of the supplements lists the dangerous ingredients on the label. The list of drugs can be found on the Internet at http://tinyurl.com/8oufor

New York

Actor cleared of murder charge

Lillo Brancato, who played a bumbling aspiring mobster on "The Sopranos," was cleared Monday of second-degree murder in the shooting death of an off-duty policeman during a drunken search for drugs.

The jury convicted Brancato of a lesser charge of attempted burglary. He faces a minimum of three years in prison.

Prosecutors say Brancato and Steven Armento broke into a basement apartment to steal prescription drugs after a night of drinking at a strip club.

Officer Daniel Enchautegui, who lived next door, came out to investigate. Armento shot the 28-year-old officer, who fired back and wounded both men. Armento was earlier convicted and sentenced to life.

Brancato rose to fame in the 1993 movie "A Bronx Tale."

San Francisco

Rape investigated as hate crime

A woman in the San Francisco Bay Area was jumped by four men, taunted for being a lesbian, repeatedly raped and left naked outside an abandoned apartment building, authorities said Monday.

Detectives say the woman was attacked Dec. 13 after she got out of her car, which bore a rainbow gay-pride sticker. The men made comments indicating they knew her sexual orientation, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

Authorities are characterizing the attack as a hate crime.

Also

Illinois governor: President-elect Obama plans to reveal today his staff's conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is accused of trying to sell Obama's Senate seat.

Not guilty plea: Pelham police Chief Edward Fleury pleaded not guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself with an Uzi at a western Massachusetts gun show in October.

Stevens case: Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens on Monday called for his conviction on corruption charges to be thrown out after an FBI agent bitterly complained about Justice Department tactics during the trial.

Seattle Times news services