Nation briefs 1/9/04

Woman drops claim that she had winning ticket

CLEVELAND -- A woman who told police she bought and lost a lottery ticket worth $162 million all but admitted Thursday she made it up, saying tearfully: "I wanted to win so bad for my kids and my family. I apologize." Elecia Battle, 40, said she is dropping her lawsuit over the Mega Millions jackpot that was awarded Tuesday to 34-year-old Rebecca Jemison. Battle apologized to her husband, Jemison and her lawyer. Police in suburban South Euclid, where the winning ticket was sold, said Battle will probably be charged with filing a false police report -- a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine.

Mars rover's path still blocked by airbag

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's efforts to clear the way for the Spirit rover to reach Mars' surface have so far failed, and engineers are considering alternative routes for maneuvering the six-wheeled robot off its lander, scientists said Thursday morning. NASA planned to try one more time to gather up the deflated air bags that cradled Spirit during landing but now blocks the ramp engineers want to use as the rover's exit to the Martian soil. The earliest Spirit would leave the lander now is Wednesday. Further delays are possible if NASA opts to send Spirit down an alternative ramp, turning either 120 degrees to the right or 60 degrees to the left, which would be a greater risk for the $820 million mission.

Three kidnapped children found unharmed in Georgia

RANGER, Ga. -- Three little girls who authorities say were kidnapped by their father after a killing spree that left four people dead were found unharmed Thursday, police said. John Bankhead of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told CNN that Jerry William Jones attempted suicide after a police chase. He survived the shooting, Bankhead said. Jones, 31, allegedly shot three former in-laws to death, strangled his infant daughter and fled with the girls in a stolen sport utility vehicle. Two of the girls are his daughters and the other is a former stepdaughter.

Judge moves trial out of Laci Peterson's town

MODESTO, Calif. -- A judge ruled Thursday that accused murderer Scott Peterson cannot get a fair trial in his dead wife's hometown and ordered the case moved out of the county. Judge Al Girolami said extensive news coverage of the case, including 8,000 articles published worldwide and more than 150 stories in the local newspaper alone, swayed him to agree with the defense that the trial should not be held in Modesto. He did not immediately say where the trial would be held. The trial was scheduled for Jan. 26 in Modesto, but will most likely be postponed now that the location has been changed.

Ousted Alabama justice seeks return to office

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Roy Moore, who was ousted as Alabama's chief justice for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building, asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to return him to office. Moore argued in legal briefs that his expulsion sets a "dangerous precedent" and requires judges to deny their oath of office and religious faith. The former chief justice was appealing the Nov. 13 decision of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary to oust him for refusing a federal court order to move the 5,300-pound monument from the Alabama Judicial Building's rotunda.

U-Haul forbids trailer rentals to Explorer drivers

DETROIT -- U-Haul is forbidding its stores from renting trailers to customers driving Ford Explorers, citing product liability lawsuits involving the popular sport utility vehicle, a newspaper reported. U-Haul International Inc., North America's largest trailer rental company with more than 17,000 outlets, implemented the policy Dec. 22, saying it can no longer afford to defend the lawsuits, The Detroit News reported in Thursday editions. Ford Motor Co. spokesman Jon Harmon called U-Haul's decision "surprising and disappointing."

-- From wire reports