Dan Quayle walks out of Mellencamp concert

LOS ANGELES -- John Mellencamp played, but Dan Quayle's no longer a fan. The former vice president walked out of the singer's July 14 show at Harvey's Lake Tahoe Casino in Nevada, miffed about a comment made by Mellencamp about President Bush's administration. Mellencamp introduced the song "Walk Tall" by saying, "This next one is for all the poor people who've been ignored by the current administration." He was unaware that Quayle was there. Quayle, in town for a celebrity golf tournament, made his exit, deciding "enough was enough," his spokesman Craig Whitney told the Los Angeles Times. Mellencamp said he had no regrets.

Eight grocery employees stabbed at Tenn. store

ARLINGTON, Tenn. -- Police say a grocery store employee stabbed eight co-workers Friday morning, critically injuring four before a witness tackled him. The suspect, whose name wasn't immediately released, was arrested and then taken to a hospital after complaining of chest pains, Memphis Police Sgt. Vince Higgins said. Higgins said authorities hadn't determined a motive for the attack. The attack started in the manager's office of the Schnucks supermarket in Arlington, on the outskirts of Memphis, then spilled out into the store, Higgins said. By the time the suspect was tackled, six women and two men were bleeding from stab wounds, he said. Police said two large kitchen knives used in the attack were found at the scene.

Three Boston cops arrested on drug charges

BOSTON -- Three Boston police officers accused taking $35,000 in exchange for protecting a cocaine shipment were arrested in Miami on federal drug charges in an FBI sting operation, authorities said Friday. Roberto Pulido, 41, describe by authorities as the ringleader, and fellow officers, Carlos Pizarro, 36, and Nelson Carrasquillo, 35, were arrested late Thursday in Miami. All three officers appeared briefly Friday in federal court in Miami but did not enter pleas.

New York City blackout problem enters fifth day

NEW YORK -- Tens of thousands of New Yorkers were still without power Friday, the fifth day of a mysterious electrical problem that has been blamed for subway delays, flight cancellations and dead air conditioners during the hottest week of the year. Power company Con Edison initially said fewer than 2,000 customers were affected, but it increased that number tenfold Friday morning to 25,000 customers. Mayor Michael Bloomberg estimated that would translate to about 100,000 people considering that each "customer" could be more than one household in an area where homes are often sectioned into multiple units, and could even be an entire apartment building. The blackouts started Monday in a handful of neighborhoods in Queens.

British bankers granted bond, must stay in U.S.

HOUSTON -- Three British bankers facing Enron-related fraud charges learned Friday that they must stay in the United States pending trial under restrictive conditions that one of them said could be regarded as "psychological torture." U.S. Magistrate Stephen Smith sided with federal prosecutors in granting a bond that blocks the trio from returning to England and possibly launching another lengthy extradition battle after losing a string of appeals over more than two years.

Orlando set to shatter old homicide record

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mickey Mouse made this medium-sized city loom much larger in the public eye than its population would suggest, but this year it has been running up a big-city statistic its residents would be better off without. In less than seven months this city of about 215,000 reported 33 homicides, more than it's seen in any full year except one. It's only three shy of its 1982 record, and on pace to have one of the 15 worst per-capita murder rates in the country. FBI figures from 2005 released last month showed a 2.5 percent increase in violent crime nationwide -- the largest since 1991 -- and a 4.8 percent rise in murders.

-- From wire reports