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TROOPERS SUSPENDED OVER CARAVAN 'ESCORT' REPORTS: TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Two New Jersey state troopers have been suspended without pay after being accused of escorting a caravan of high-performance cars on a 100-mph trip down the Garden State Parkway.

The state attorney general's office announced the suspensions of Sgt. 1st Class Nadir Nassry and Trooper Joseph Ventrella on Monday. Nassry's attorney says reports of speeding and reckless driving are exaggerated. It wasn't immediately known if Ventrella had an attorney.

The alleged incident occurred March 30. Witnesses told the state Turnpike Authority two state police cars were escorting the caravan.

The Star-Ledger of Newark was first to report the incident.

An agent for former New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs says that his client drove to Atlantic City that day, but won't say whether Jacobs was part of the caravan.

GRASS VALLEY MAN DIES AFTER BEING SHOT WITH TASER: GRASS VALLEY . (AP) — Nevada County authorities are investigating the death of a 52-year-old Grass Valley man who died after police used a stun gun to subdue him.

Grass Valley police were responding to a report of a man yelling at people around 4 p.m. Sunday. Officers attempted to talk to the partially clothed man, but he didn't comply with their commands and then struck the driver of a passing vehicle.

Police say officers then fired a Taser stun gun at the man and took him into custody.

The man identified as Bruce Chrestensen of Grass Valley became unresponsive and was taken to a hospital where he died.

The Nevada County District Attorney's office is investigating the incident.

DETROIT MAYOR'S BUDGET PLAN INCLUDES 2,500 LAYOFFS: DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing on Monday laid out a budget proposal that would cut more than 2,500 jobs — nearly a quarter of the city's workforce — and shave $250 million in annual expenses after the financially struggling city agreed to state oversight that is aimed at fixing a deficit and long-term debt.

Chief Operating Officer Chris Brown told City Council members the layoffs would be in addition to 1,000 job cuts Bing sought earlier. He said the city's general fund revenues will decrease from $820.5 million to $739 million.

Detroit now has about 10,800 employees and an overall budget of about $2.5 billion, according to Bing's office.

NUGENT FACES ILLEGAL KILL CHARGES: ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Rocker Ted Nugent is scheduled for a court hearing in Alaska on Tuesday, when he is expected to plead guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed.

The conservative activist and gun rights advocate signed a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that was filed Friday in U.S. District Court. Nugent was set to participate by telephone in Tuesday's U.S. District Court proceeding in the southeast Alaska town of Ketchikan, his attorney said.

The plea agreement says Nugent illegally shot and killed the bear in May 2009 on Sukkwan Island in southeast Alaska days after he wounded a bear in a bow hunt, which counted toward a state seasonal limit of one bear for that location. The agreement says Nugent knowingly possessed and transported the bear in misdemeanor violation of the Lacey Act.

According to the agreement, the six-day hunt was filmed for Nugent's Outdoor Channel television show "Spirit of the Wild."

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP CHALLENGES CALIF STADIUM BILL: SACRAMENTO,  (AP) — An environmental group is challenging the constitutionality of a new state law that was designed to aid construction of a downtown football stadium in Los Angeles.

The Planning and Conservation League filed a lawsuit Monday in Alameda County Superior Court. The nonprofit group says the law violated the separation of powers between the Legislature and the courts.

The bill by Democratic Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan of Alamo seeks to speed up judicial review of environmental challenges on large-scale projects that cost at least $100 million. The bill was criticized last year for bypassing public review using a controversial legislative maneuver called "gut and amend."

League executive director Bruce Reznik says the state overstepped its bounds when it required environmental lawsuits go directly to the appellate courts rather than trial courts.