NEW YORK - An off-duty police detective failed a required sobriety test after wounding an armed suspect, leading a union official to suggest Tuesday that officers will think twice about stepping in when they're off the job.

The shooting early Sunday was the first time an officer failed a Breathalyzer test since a rule took effect last September. The test — the same one used in drunken-driving stops — is now administered to any officer who kills or wounds someone. Previously, a senior officer at the scene would determine whether those involved appeared sober at the time.

In this case, the detective's blood alcohol content was 0.09 percent, and the legal limit is 0.08 percent, authorities said Tuesday.

Shooting appears justified
Police officials said the shooting

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California's state parole board on Tuesday denied a request for compassionate release to Charles Manson follower Susan Atkins, who stabbed actress Sharon Tate to death nearly 40 years ago and is dying of brain cancer.

The California Board of Parole released its unanimous decision hours after a 90-minute hearing, during which it heard impassioned pleas from both sides.

Her doctors and officials at the women's prison in Corona made the request in March because of her deteriorating health. Atkins also has had her left leg amputated and is paralyzed on her right side, her husband and attorney, James Whitehouse, told a parole hearing.

Whitehouse had argued that his wife was so debilitated that she could not even sit up in bed and told the parole b

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - A Marine combat engineer charged with killing his wife made his first court appearance Tuesday, along with a fellow Marine charged with helping him commit the crime.

Corporal John Wimunc was charged with first-degree murder, arson and conspiracy to commit arson in the slaying of his wife, Army 2nd Lieutenant Holley Wimunc.

The nurse from Dubuque, Iowa, was based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Wimunc wore orange coveralls and handcuffs Tuesday as a judge explained the charges. Wimunc told the court he would hire his own lawyer.

Also charged is Lance Corporal Kyle Alden, who faces single counts of first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit arson and accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. He asked the court to appoint him an attorney.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California parole officials on Tuesday considered releasing a follower of Charles Manson who is dying of brain cancer, but the governor and others said her decades-old crimes were too brutal for her to be shown such mercy.

Susan Atkins' doctors and officials at the women's prison in Corona made the compassionate release request in March because of her deteriorating health. Atkins also has had her left leg amputated and is paralyzed on her right side, her husband and attorney, James Whitehouse, told the California Board of Parole Hearings.

He said doctors have given her three months to live.

"Why should we continue to incarcerate her at this point in life?" Whitehouse said. "She can't sit up in bed. ... She literally can't snap her fingers. She c

NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey towns cannot ban sex offenders from living near schools, parks, or other places where children gather, a state appeals court ruled on Tuesday.

The three-judge panel found that New Jersey's Megan's Law was "pervasive and comprehensive" and should be the only law governing how sex offenders are treated. The ruling upheld findings by judges who invalidated ordinances in Cherry Hill and Galloway townships.

Supporters of those ordinances hoped the towns would appeal. Richard D. Pompelio, a lawyer for the New Jersey Crime Victims' Law Center, filed a brief endorsing the town's laws.

He questioned how Megan's Law, which requires sex offenders to register with the state, was pre-empted because it does not impose residency restrictions.

The towns