Police shut down the Brooklyn Bridge for about two hours Saturday afternoon after finding an unoccupied truck on the bridge’s Brooklyn side. Investigators later concluded that the truck had stalled while crossing the bridge and the driver left to get help, a police spokeswoman said. “It’s all cleared up,” she said. “We were just being extra cautious.” The truck was found about 3 p.m. The bridge reopened just before 5 p.m.
Michigan: Passenger disruptive
A vacationing Japanese businessman has been charged with disrupting an international flight by yelling, spilling water and bumping a flight attendant after finding a hair on his blanket, officials said. Kaichiro Tsunemi, 58, was arrested Friday and made a brief court appearance. Authorities said Tsunemi started yelling, swearing and pouring water on the seats and floors after finding the hair on the May 6 Northwest Airlines flight from Osaka, Japan, to Detroit. A federal prosecutor said the case involved alcohol. He did not elaborate.
Tennessee: Carnival ride testimony
The general manager of a Tennessee amusement park denied responsibility Saturday in the death of a woman who fell from a carnival ride last year after her safety harness broke. Charles Stan Martin, 56, took the stand on the fourth day of his trial on charges of second-degree murder in the March 2004 death of June Carol Alexander. Alexander, 51, plunged 60 feet to her death when her seat harness came loose on a rotating gondola ride called The Hawk at Rockin’ Raceway in Pigeon Forge.
Florida: Vaccine targets smoking
The world’s 1.3 billion smokers soon might have a powerful new way to kick the habit – a vaccine against nicotine. Nearly 60 percent of smokers who achieved high levels of antibodies against nicotine after receiving the vaccine stopped smoking completely for at least six months, according to a new study presented Saturday at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla. “The data clearly suggest that antibodies against nicotine are effective in helping people quit smoking,” a Swiss researcher said. “This confirms the concept of vaccination” against smoking.
From Herald staff reports
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