Nation digest 05/03/03

Accused in Peterson case hires prominent lawyer

MODESTO, Calif. -- A prominent Los Angeles lawyer who has represented celebrities and served as a television commentator in coverage of Laci Peterson's murder said Friday he will defend her accused husband.

Mark Geragos said he had been hired by Scott Peterson's family. He will replace two public defenders assigned to Peterson during arraignment April 21, when Peterson said he couldn't afford a lawyer.

Peterson, a 30-year-old fertilizer salesman, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder in the deaths of his 27-year-old wife and their unborn son.

Most recently, Geragos represented Hollywood actress Winona Ryder on shoplifting charges.

United posts $1.3 billion loss in first quarter

CHICAGO -- United Airlines' parent company reported a $1.3 billion loss Friday for its first full quarter in bankruptcy, its 11th straight quarterly loss and its second-worst ever.

UAL Corp. blamed the loss, the largest by any carrier for the first three months of the year, on the sluggish economy, the war in Iraq, SARS and consumer concerns about United's future.

The results pushed the total of first-quarter losses for major U.S. airlines to $3.56 billion, on pace to exceed the industry's deficit in the previous quarter.

Man pleads innocent to killing five prostitutes

PHOENIX -- A man pleaded innocent Friday to five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of prostitutes whose bodies were found in a blighted downtown neighborhood over a nine-month period.

Cory Morris, 24, allegedly told police he lured women to his motor home with drugs, then strangled five of them during sex.

Morris was formally charged last month. He was arrested April 12 after his uncle contacted authorities saying he found a woman's body in the motor home where his nephew had been staying. Morris' attorney didn't immediately return a phone call Friday.

Poll: Almost half think U.S. SARS epidemic likely

WASHINGTON -- Almost half of Americans think the United States is likely to face a SARS epidemic similar to that in Asia, according to an Associated Press poll.

Still, most people aren't worried they will be exposed to the disease for now.

While almost half, 47 percent, said they thought it was at least somewhat likely the country would face such an epidemic, only 8 percent believed such a problem was "very likely," according to the poll conducted for the AP by ICR/International Communications Research of Media, Pa.

"I'm glad that people are paying attention to what is going on," said Dr. James Hughes, director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases.So far, nobody has died in this country, and none of the scores of probable or suspected cases has been confirmed as SARS.

Lawyer accuses police of leaking Smart details

SALT LAKE CITY -- A lawyer for the family of Elizabeth Smart said Friday that police and FBI officials leaked information about the case to two local reporters who were later fired for working with the National Enquirer.

The reporters, Michael Vigh and Kevin Cantera, avoided litigation with the family by identifying the sources of their information, attorney Randy Dryer said. He refused to identify any of the sources.

Dryer, hired by the Smarts to find the source of the leaks, sent his findings to state and federal prosecutors. He said the offenders may have broken statutes prohibiting unauthorized leaks by law enforcers.

Elizabeth, 15, was found March 12 walking down the street of a Salt Lake City suburb with self-described prophet Brian Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. They have been charged with kidnapping and face trial this fall.

-- From wire reports