Nation briefs 11/3/05

Convicted murderer in Ala. admits to killing 12 more

MOBILE, Ala. -- A man convicted of raping and murdering an Alabama woman has confessed to at least 12 more slayings in four other states, and may be linked to four more killings, authorities said Wednesday. Alabama Attorney General Troy King branded Jeremy Bryan Jones "a monster who would kill without remorse." Jones, 32, of Miami, Okla., faces a possible death sentence Dec. 1 for the killing of Lisa Marie Nichols, 44, in Alabama. During his trial last month, Jones maintained his innocence in the presence of his mother and girlfriend, but privately gave detectives details of the crimes, including victims' names and the locations of the killings, said sheriff's detective Paul Burch.

Woman, son sentenced in death of boy found in bin

NEWARK, N.J. -- A woman who admitted hiding the body of a 7-year-old relative in a basement storage bin was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison, and her son, who admitted killing him in a wrestling move, was sentenced to three. Faheem Williams' decomposed body was found stuffed in a basement storage bin three years ago, and his twin and half brother were discovered living in squalor and filth. The case generated national outrage and led to an overhaul of New Jersey's child welfare agency. As he sentenced 43-year-old Sherry Murphy, Superior Court Judge Michael R. Casale called the case the saddest he has presided over in his nearly 10 years on the bench.

Three health-care ballot measures losing in Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO -- California voters are increasingly leaning toward rejecting three health care-related initiatives, including a proposition that would require parents or guardians to be notified before girls 17 and younger could get abortions, according to a new statewide poll. The Field Poll released Wednesday also showed that a pharmaceutical-backed ad blitz is influencing the voters' view of rival measures addressing drug discounts for the poor, which are both trailing. Put together with a Field Poll released Tuesday, all eight statewide propositions on next Tuesday's ballot are trailing. That earlier poll has found opposition also is growing to the four ballot measures supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. And fellow Hollywood figures Warren Beatty and Rob Reiner are working with groups opposing the Republican governor's agenda to campaign against his initiatives. The drug industry has raised $80 million to defeat Proposition 79, which would force companies to discount drugs for uninsured Californians. The industry is instead supporting Proposition 78, which would make such a discount program voluntary.

Ark. man kills deer in bedroom with bare hands

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Daddy Deerest came to the rescue at his daughter's home when a five-point whitetail deer crashed through a bedroom window, ran down a hall and into the master bedroom. The buck was "jumping back and forth across the bed," said Wayne Goldsberry, who battled the deer for 40 minutes before finally killing the animal. When it was over, the deer lay dead on the bedroom floor, its neck broken.

-- From wire reports