Nation digest 11/14/01

Mistrial in murder case against rabbi

CAMDEN, N.J. -- A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the trial of a rabbi accused of arranging his wife's murder after the jury said they had reached a standstill on all three counts.

Jurors deliberated for more than 40 hours over seven days before sending Superior Court Judge Linda G. Baxter a note Tuesday saying they could not reach a decision in the case against Rabbi Fred J. Neulander.

Prosecutors claimed Neulander, 60, wanted his 52-year-old wife dead so he could carry on an affair with a former Philadelphia radio host. Carol Neulander was found bludgeoned to death in the couple's suburban Philadelphia home on Nov. 1, 1994.

Teen takes hostages, then kills self at school

CARO, Mich. -- A 17-year-old boy who killed himself after a three-hour hostage standoff was a somber, respectful student who had recently been despondent over a breakup with his girlfriend, officials said Tuesday.

Chris Buschbacher left the Caro Learning Center Monday and came back later armed with a .22-caliber rifle and 20-gauge shotgun, said Tuscola County Undersheriff Jim Jashinske.

The girlfriend, who was not identified, was one of four people in a classroom Buschbacher entered. She and another girl escaped but Audrea Jackson, 15, and teacher Joseph Gottler were taken hostage.

Buschbacher released Jackson in exchange for a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, and freed the teacher about an hour and a half later. Neither hostage was injured.

Buschbacher shot himself in a classroom shortly after 6 p.m., Jashinske said.

New Jersey trooper billboards ask for praise

TRENTON, N.J. -- Angered by an ACLU billboard aimed at recruiting plaintiffs for racial profiling lawsuits, state troopers have responded with their own highway signs -- listing a toll-free number for motorists to compliment helpful troopers.

"We chose to take the high road, rather than the low road," said Dennis Hallion, president of the union that represents noncommissioned officers.

The first of two trooper billboards went up Tuesday in Elizabeth near the ACLU sign. A second billboard is planned for Bordentown, about 10 miles down the turnpike from the scene of a 1998 incident in which troopers shot and wounded three minority men, igniting the racial profiling controversy in New Jersey.

The ACLU billboard, which went up last month, shows a photograph of two minority men and between them the words "Stopped or searched by the New Jersey State Police?"

"They admit to racial profiling. You might win money damages," the sign reads. The ad includes the ACLU's toll-free number.

Poundstone briefly jailed for probation violation

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Paula Poundstone was jailed briefly Tuesday by a judge who said the comedian relapsed during treatment at the drug and alcohol rehabilitation center where she was sent after pleading no-contest to child endangerment charges.

"You've been in for half a day and I always let people have a break on the first violation," Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins told her. But "to me, this is a relapse rather than just a slip."

Prosecutor Gina Satriano said that Kamins' actions were a common tactic in such cases.

Poundstone was originally charged with committing a lewd act on a girl under age 14 and endangering two other girls and two boys. She pleaded no-contest Sept. 12 to felony child endangerment and misdemeanor inflicting injury on a child. The lewd conduct charges were dropped.

-- From wire reports