Around the Nation

13-Year-Old Accused Of Killing Half Brother

HYANNIS, Mass. -- Police have accused a 13-year-old of masterminding the slaying of his 16-year-old half brother so he could take over a drug operation they are alleged to have inherited from their father. Jordan Mendes was found shot, stabbed 27 times and dumped into a pit, where his body was torched. District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said Mendes was a "significant drug dealer." Authorities said Mykel Mendes, a seventh-grader, was jealous of the money his half brother was making selling OxyContin and cocaine and wanted to take over. A 13-year-old friend and a 20-year-old cousin also are charged with murder. Because of their age, the 13-year-olds cannot be tried as adults.

Doctor to Be Head of Dartmouth

CONCORD, N.H. -- Dartmouth College has chosen as its next president a doctor and humanitarian known as a leader in the global fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Jim Yong Kim, 49, will take over July 1 from James Wright, who previously announced his plans to step down. Kim, a former director of the World Health Organization's HIV/AIDS department, is chairman of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He also helped found Partners in Health, which supports health programs in poor communities worldwide.

Inmate Mattress Case Settled

MADISON, Wis. -- A Wisconsin prison inmate who was awarded $295,000 in damages for having to sleep on a wet mattress has settled for a tenth of that amount. U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb last month wiped out the previous settlement between Reggie Townsend and the state as excessive. Crabb said Townsend could either accept $29,500 in damages or go to trial over the amount. Townsend, 29, accepted the $29,500 in a recently signed settlement. Townsend, of Milwaukee, is serving a 23-year sentence for first-degree reckless homicide. He alleged that his wet prison mattress was not replaced despite his complaints that it was moldy and stinky.

-- From News Services