NATIONAL BRIEFS

WASHINGTON: Court rules PLO can't be sued in torture

Foreign political organizations such as the Palestine Liberation Organization and multinational corporations cannot be sued for the torture or murder of people abroad, including Americans, under the terms of a 1991 U.S. anti-torture law, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday. Only individual perpetrators of such crimes can be held liable, the court said. The decision is a setback for human rights activists who have sought to extend American law to target inhumane conduct abroad. The PLO and the Palestinian Authority had been sued by the family of Azzam Rahim, a U.S. citizen of Palestinian origin, who was arrested in the West Bank while visiting there in 1995. The State Department alleges he was tortured and killed by intelligence officers of the Palestinian Authority.

ILLINOIS: Quiet retirees emerge as winners

Merle Butler routinely laughed off what became a well-worn exchange among locals in Red Bud the instant word swept through the southern village that a Mega Millions lottery ticket bought there scored a share of a record $656 million jackpot. "Are you the winner?" someone would ask. "Yeah, sure, I won it," the retired Butler played along each time. Little did anyone in Red Bud know Butler wasn't kidding. On Wednesday, 19 days since the drawing, Butler and his wife, Patricia, finally stepped in front of news cameras to publicly claim their $218.6 million stake, a secret the famously private retirees and grandparents had no trouble keeping for so long. The Butlers had told only the closest of family and friends, of their newfound wealth. They also consulted an attorney and financial advisers on how to invest their lump sum of $111 million after taxes.

NEW JERSEY: $4.2M for bully's paralyzing punch

The Ramsey school district has agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle a lawsuit by a middle school student who was paralyzed when he was punched in the abdomen in 2006. The settlement was with Sawyer Rosenstein and his family, whose lawyer said their lawsuit alleged school officials knew or should have known the boy's attacker had violent tendencies. Three months before being punched, Rosenstein emailed school officials to report he was being bullied. Rosenstein was paralyzed by a punch that caused a clot in an artery that supplies blood to the spine and will need a wheelchair the rest of his life. He is now a freshman at Syracuse University.