Free Republic

(CBS/WJTV/AP) JACKSON, Miss. - Deryl Dedmon, a white teen who is being charged in the hit-and-run death of a black man in Mississippi, could now face the death penalty in what authorities are calling a hate crime. Dedmon, 19, was initially charged with murder, but Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith says he has new evidence that shows the victim, 49-year-old James Anderson, was robbed before he was killed, which makes it a capital case, reports CBS affiliate WJTV.

The owner of the towboat whose barge collapsed the Interstate 40 bridge near Webbers Falls has asked a federal court to limit its liability. The injured and the families of the 14 people killed in the May 26 bridge collapse would be unable to receive more than a combined total of about $1.2 million for their losses if a judge approves the petition filed Monday by Magnolia Marine Transport Co. If the petition succeeds, that total also would apply in case the state and federal governments seek monetary damages for the bridge. "We filed a petition for exoneration and/or...