Sprint blames economic change for 6,000 layoffs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sprint Corp. will lay off about 6,000 employees and 1,500 contract workers because of the weak economy and "a rapidly changing industry landscape," the company said Wednesday.

The layoffs amount to about 7 percent of its work force.

The company had held out on layoffs even as its telecommunications competitors shed about 225,000 workers this year.

But steadily lower earnings and troubles in deploying its blended voice and data unit, ION, forced the company's hand.

The layoffs are expected to have a significant impact around Kansas City, where Sprint employs about 14,500 people -- the area's largest private employer.

Limits on drug offender movements ruled illegal

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday declared unconstitutional a Cincinnati law that bans convicted drug offenders from certain parts of the city.

The 1996 law created drug-exclusion zones as part of the city's fight against drug-related crime.

The court, in a 6-1 ruling, said that the law violates the right to travel protected by the U.S. Constitution. The court also said the city cannot impose an additional punishment for an offense under state law.

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer said governments are entitled to attack the problem of drug-infested neighborhoods aggressively.

But he added: "When legislation addressing the drug problem infringes certain fundamental rights, however, more than a compelling interest is needed to survive constitutional scrutiny."

U.S. pharmaceutical firm recalls deadly filters

ZAGREB, Croatia -- Baxter International Inc. announced a worldwide recall Wednesday of dialysis filters that Croatian authorities blame for the deaths of 23 kidney patients last week.

The Chicago-based firm also requested an independent audit of its procedures in factories in Sweden and Miami Lake, Fla., said Jose Divino, associate medical director of the firm's renal business.

Besides the deaths in Croatia, 10 dialysis patients died in Spain in August.

Baxter will take back filters from all hospitals worldwide, Divino said. The devices filter waste substances from the blood before it is returned to patients with kidney failure.

The recall is in force until "all the investigations are completed," Divino said, referring to inquiries in Croatia and Spain.

He called it a "voluntary precaution measure."

Kidnapped Iowa native freed after four months

ACAPULCO, Mexico -- Kidnappers have freed one of Acapulco's most prominent U.S. residents after four months in captivity.

His captors had demanded a $2.5 million ransom, but it was not known if any money was paid for his release.

Ron Lavender, a 75-year-old, Iowa-born realty agent, was kidnapped June 22 when two cars intercepted his vehicle.

Kidnappers e-mailed ransom demands to newspapers, sometimes accompanying them with photos of Lavender or letters from him.

He was freed Tuesday along a busy boulevard.-- From wire reports

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In Iowa, Lavender's brother Don said he spoke by telephone with his brother, who told him he was having trouble walking because he had been kept in leg irons in a small cell throughout his captivity. Ron Lavender also told his brother food was passed to him under a door and he had no human contact during his captivity.

Strong storm drenches southern India, killing 31

HYDERABAD, India -- A strong storm lashed southern India Wednesday, dousing coastal towns with the heaviest rains in 40 years, smashing houses and killing at least 31 people, officials said Wednesday.

The worst hit area was Kurnool, where 16 people were killed, including 15 people washed away when floodwaters gushed into a temple where they had taken shelter, officials said. The area is 170 miles south of Hyderabad, state capital of Andhra Pradesh.

Seven deaths were reported in Cuddpah, where most of the town was under four feet of water after the nearby Buggavanka dam overflowed, said state relief commissioner D.C. Roshaiah. The remaining eight deaths were in the towns of Chittoor and Nellore.

--From wire reports