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From The Associated Press

Georgia hiker was decapitated

DAWSONVILLE, Ga.—The hiker whose body was found in the north Georgia woods days after her disappearance was decapitated after she died of a blow to the head, a medical examiner reported Tuesday.

The body of Meredith Emerson, who had been missing since New Year’s Day, was found after a drifter accused of kidnapping her told authorities where to look, officials said.

The finding that she suffered a lethal blow to the head was made by Kris Sperry, the state’s chief medical examiner, said Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead, who declined to discuss any other details of the autopsy.

Gary Michael Hilton, 61, was charged Saturday with kidnapping with intent of bodily injury. He appeared Monday before a judge who denied his request for bail.

Hours later, Hilton led investigators to a spot in a wooded area where they found Emerson’s body, said John Cagle, an agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The 24-year-old woman had gone hiking with her dog. Hilton was the last person seen with her on a hiking trail and had tried to use her credit card, according to his arrest warrant.

Authorities have said that Hilton could face more charges and that they are exploring a possible link between the disappearance of Emerson and the presumed killing of a couple from North Carolina in October, as well as the December death of a woman in Florida.

Consumer borrowing reflects credit card debt

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumer borrowing rebounded in November as credit card debt shot up by the largest amount in six months.

The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that consumer borrowing rose at an annual rate of 7.4 percent in November, far higher than the 1 percent rise in October.

The category that includes credit card debt surged at an annual rate of 11.3 percent, a six-month high, reflecting the fact that shoppers are continuing to rely heavily on their credit cards to finance purchases since home equity lines of credit have become harder to get.

The category that includes auto loans also increased in November, rising at a rate of 5.1 percent after having fallen by 3.5 percent in October.

The 7.4 percent overall increase in credit pushed total credit up by $15.4 billion, much stronger than the $8.5 billion increase that analysts had been expecting.

The 11.3 percent rise in credit card debt was the seventh straight month of strong gains in this area and was the biggest jump since a 12.8 percent rise in May.

Video shows Iranian boats confronting US warships

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Small Iranian fast boats swarmed around U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, and a man speaking heavily accented English threatened, “I am coming to you. ... You will explode after ... minutes,” according to a video released Tuesday by the Pentagon.

The Iranian boats appeared to ignore repeated warnings from the U.S. ships, including horn blasts and radio transmissions.

In a four-minute, 20-second video, shot from the bridge of the destroyer USS Hopper, the small boats — including a bright blue one — can be seen racing near the wake the U.S. ships and crossing close to each other.

From the Hopper’s bridge, after spotting the approaching Iranian boats, a Navy crew member says over the radio: “This is coalition warship. I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law. Intend no harm.”

Often uneven and shaky, the video condenses what Navy officials have said was a 20-minute or so clash. It ends with a blank screen, as only the audio of the Navy’s final warning can be heard, just after the voice warns that they are coming.

“Inbound small craft: You are approaching a coalition warship operating in international waters. Your identity in unknown; your intentions are unclear,” the unidentified crew member says. He then cautions the Iranians that if they do no steer clear they will be “subject to defensive measures.”

“Request that you alter course immediately to remain clear,” the crew member says.

After a pause, the man with the accent issues a final threat: “You will explode after (indecipherable) minutes.”

200 ASU students couldn’t prove status

TEMPE, Ariz.— Arizona State University has revealed that 207 students couldn’t prove their legal status last semester and became some of the first Arizona residents to be charged out-of-state tuition.

The university was complying with Proposition 300.

It checked the status of the 46,217 residents who enrolled, said Sharon Keeler, an ASU spokeswoman.

The university said it has spent $115,000 to check students’ status.

The voter approved Proposition 300 requires public colleges and universities to make sure the students paying in-state tuition are U.S. citizens or immigrated here legally.

In-state tuition, $4,821 this school year is less than one-third of what students from other states and countries pay at the state’s three public universities.

State taxpayers cover the rest of the cost of residents’ higher education.

Brazil police recover stolen paintings

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil police recovered the paintings by Pablo Picasso and Candido Portinari that were stolen last month from Brazil’s premier modern art museum, officials said Tuesday.

Two suspects were arrested with the paintings, but no other details were immediately available, said Rosa Maria da Costa, a spokeswoman with the Sao Paulo state public safety office.

Armed with nothing more than a crow bar and a car jack, thieves took just three minutes to steal Picasso’s “Portrait of Suzanne Bloch” and Portinari’s “O Lavrador de Cafe” from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art on Dec. 20.

The Picasso painting was estimated by art experts at about $50 million, and the Portinari at $5-6 million.

Contaminated milk blamed for 3 deaths

BOSTON?— At Whittier Farms dairy, the fifth-generation owners brag of the quality of their Holstein cows and still deliver milk right to your door, in glass bottles. Customers like the products because they are a hormone-free taste of old New England.

But health officials now say three elderly men have died and at least one pregnant woman has miscarried since last June after drinking bacteria-contaminated milk from the dairy’s plant in Shrewsbury, about 35 miles west of Boston.

All were infected with listeria, which is extremely rare in pasteurized milk. It is more often found in raw foods, such as uncooked meat and vegetables, and processed foods such as soft cheeses and cold cuts.

The outbreak is believed to be only the third time listeria has ever been linked to pasteurized milk in the United States, said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, state director of communicable disease control.

“We know something is going on; we just don’t know what it is,” DeMaria said. “We just need to find out how the bacteria is getting into the milk.”

Listeria bacteria are often present in manure and are commonly found in soil and water. Pasteurization is supposed to kill listeria.

Tests at the Whittier Farms plant found nothing wrong with its pasteurization process, deepening the mystery.

Health investigators are now looking at the cooling and bottling machinery, including the connecting pipes, for the source of the bacteria, DeMaria said. Investigators have taken about 70 samples from vents, ceilings, floors, tanks, bottle-washers, bottles and other equipment.