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Nation news briefs
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INDIANA COMMUNITY HANDS OUT DRUG TESTING KITS: LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (AP) — A southeastern Indiana school is distributing kits so parents can test their children for drug use.

Organizers hope to make an impression on fifth and sixth graders at Sunman Dearborn Intermediate School because children often start experimenting with drugs around age 13.

Dearborn County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard obtained grant money to pay for the kits and created a Facebook page to boost the idea. Negangard says he has tested his own children.

Each kit contains a vial for a urine sample and instructions on how to read the results. The kits test for marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine, painkillers and other drugs.

Bright Christian Church family life director Linda Hutchinson says 600 people visited the church when it distributed the kits in May.

FLORIDA TEEN DIES AFTER BEING SHOCKED BY POLICE: MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Miami Beach police say an 18-year-old died after being shocked with a stun gun as he resisted arrest for spraying graffiti.

Chief Ray Martinez told the Miami Herald that officers spotted Israel Hernandez-Llach painting graffiti on an abandoned fast-food restaurant early Tuesday. Martinez said the teen ran, but was eventually cornered. He said Hernandez-Llach then ran at the officers and one shot him with a Taser in the chest. The teen went into medical duress and died at a hospital.

The teen's friends told the Herald that Hernandez-Llach was originally from Colombia. His teachers at Miami Beach High School said he was a talented artist and photographer.

OHIO JUDGE SAYS SHE'S SORRY AFTER SCOLDING JURY: COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A municipal judge in central Ohio says she is sorry if she offended any of the jurors she scolded after they issued a verdict she believed to be wrong.

Judge Amy Salerno tells The Columbus Dispatch that she always tries to be courteous, but she acknowledges she failed to contain her surprise in this case.

Jurors in Salerno's courtroom issued a not guilty verdict last week in a misdemeanor assault case. Four of the eight jurors have complained to the court about how Salerno treated them following the verdict's announcement.

One juror says she cried after the judge berated the group and told them they "got this wrong."

The jury found 36-year-old Joseph McGee not guilty of assault and disorderly conduct charges.

SNEAKER WITH REMAINS OF FOOT FOUND ON NJ BEACH: OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey State Police say a coastal fisherman found a high-top sneaker on the beach — with the remains of a foot inside.

Police say some of the toes still had nail polish on them. But they say the gender and age of the victim have not yet been established.

The discovery was made early Tuesday afternoon at an inlet in Ocean City, about 10 miles south of Atlantic City.

Police say the remains of the right foot have been sent to the state anthropologist for examination and DNA testing.

The sneaker was an Adidas size 5 1/2.

DEAD SHARK IS FOUND IN NYC SUBWAY CAR, DISPOSED OF: NEW YORK (AP) — Did a fan of "Shark Week" get carried away?

New York City's transit authority says a conductor found a small dead shark aboard a subway train in Queens on Wednesday.

The conductor asked passengers to leave the car and closed it off. The train continued to the end of the line, and then a supervisor placed the shark in a garbage bag and put it in the trash.

Photos on the blog Gothamist depict the shark on the subway. It appears to be about 4 feet long, has a cigarette in its mouth with a fare card and Red Bull can nearby.

WOMAN ATTACKED BOYFRIEND WITH TIRE IRON

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico woman faces charges after authorities say she attacked her boyfriend with a boot, a tire iron, a screw driver and door molding while he was driving.

Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office say the bizarre attack occurred Monday as the 23-year-old victim drove and 32-year-old Berenice Gallegos-Martinez's three children sat in the car.

According to a deputy's report, the man says Gallegos-Martinez hit him with a boot during an argument and also tried to strike him with a tire iron.

Deputies say the Hatch woman stabbed the man with a screwdriver before ripping a piece of molding from the rear car door, which she used to try to strangle the victim.

Gallegos-Martinez was arrested and ordered held on $10,000 bond for battery charges. It was unclear if she had an attorney.

 

MAN WHO LOST HAND IN ARMY WINS SUIT VS. FBI : ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who lost his left hand in an Army training accident won a lawsuit Wednesday against the FBI claiming he was denied a fair chance to become a special agent.

Justin Slaby, 30, of Stafford, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lost his hand when a grenade prematurely detonated during a 2004 training exercise in Georgia.

A Wisconsin native, Slaby had applied to become an FBI agent but said he faced discrimination at the FBI Academy in Quantico because of his prosthetic hand. He said the FBI required proficiency shooting a gun with his left hand when that requirement is not imposed on anyone else.

A federal jury in Alexandria ruled Wednesday in Slaby's favor and awarded him $75,000 for emotional pain and suffering. A hearing scheduled for next week will determine potential back pay and the status of his agent application.

'Frankenfish' hooked in Virginia a world record

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who caught a fish known as "Frankenfish" has set a world record.

Caleb Newton hooked the 17-pound, 6-ounce northern snakehead in a creek in northern Virginia during a fishing tournament June 1. The "Frankenfish" gets its nickname because of its appearance and adaptability. The invasive species native to Asia is able to breathe air and survive in very shallow waters or mu