Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Post Mortem
A judge in Boston Wednesday barred a local TV station from reporting the findings of autopsies on two firefighters who died in action in August.
The firefighters union asked the judge to stop WHDH-TV from airing the results because they are supposed to be confidential. The station said it got the results from sources and broke no laws. But the judge sided with the union — saying the findings could not have been obtained legally. Lawyers for the TV station say this is prior restraint.
But since the order applied only to the TV station — two Boston newspapers were able to break the story that the autopsies revealed one of the firefighters was legally intoxicated and the other had cocaine in his system. An appellate judge overturned the ruling today.
No Identification
A Seattle-area man accused of rape tried to turn himself in Wednesday at the Snohomish County Jail — but was turned away because he did not have proper identification. The Seattle Time reports Larry Baker had been arrested — then released on bail — then after new evidence turned up another arrest warrant was issued.
But the director of the jail says Baker was not taken into custody because he didn't have a driver's license or any other valid ID. He says it is illegal for the jail to detain people when they cannot confirm who they are. So Baker was told to turn himself into police. And on the way — he was spotted by a deputy — and rearrested.
Desperate Measures
People in the Philippines are accusing the ABC TV show "Desperate Housewives" of defaming them with a racial slur. During Sunday's season premiere a character on the show questions a doctor's diagnosis and says, "Before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? Because I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines."
Philippine government officials — and medical professionals — were not amused. ABC issued an apology — but many in Manila are not satisfied. One Filipino senator is calling not only for a boycott of the show but is asking the local station that runs "Desperate Housewives" to stop airing it altogether. And the Philippine Medical Association says it will complain to the Federal Communications Commission.
High Alert
And a section of London was placed on alert Monday night when fears of a chemical attack prompted evacuations — the sealing off of several streets — and the deployment of a hazardous materials response team. Smoke and what was described as an acrid cloud drifted through the area — sending shoppers scrambling — and leaving London police fearing another terrorist incident.
The source was eventually found — a chef at a Thai restaurant who was preparing a eye-wateringly hot chili sauce called Nam Prik Pao. The cooks and waiters say they were baffled when firefighters broke down their door. One waitress who was forced to wait in the street for three hours said the restaurant has been in business for 17 years — and this has never happened before.
— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.
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