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In the Nation

MRSA found at Wash. beaches

SAN FRANCISCO - Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem.

The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings.

The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening conditions. It spreads mostly through human contact. Little is known about environmental sources that also might harbor the germ.

Finding it at the beach suggests one place that people might be picking it up, said Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle. She presented results yesterday at a conference in California. - AP

Blagojevich fund-raiser dies

CHICAGO - A former chief fund-raiser for ousted Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich died yesterday, just days before he was to report to prison to begin a three-year sentence for tax offenses that included using his company's money to pay gambling debts and claiming it as a business expense.

Christopher Kelly, 51, a suburban contractor, also pleaded guilty last week to an $8.5 million fraud involving hangar roofing contracts at O'Hare International Airport. He faced more than five years in prison at that sentencing, but was ordered to report Friday to begin his three-year term.

Kelly was taken to Cook County's Stroger hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead hours later, said spokesman Marcel Bright.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the county Medical Examiner's Office said Kelly died of salicylate intoxication. According to medical reference guides, salicylates are used in anti-inflammatory and pain relief medications. An autopsy was set for today. - AP

Man accused of breaking dog's leg

NEW YORK - The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said that it tracked down a man accused of breaking a dog's leg by finding him through his Facebook page.

Donnell Walters, 22, of Queens, grew so angry during a dispute with a friend in July that he attacked his 41/2-pound Yorkshire terrier, the ASPCA said. He is charged with repeatedly hurling the dog to the pavement. The dog recovered after surgery.

The ASPCA said it initially had trouble locating Walters but tracked him through the social-networking site, and he was arrested at his workplace in Manhattan on Friday. - AP

Elsewhere:

A New Jersey teenager stands accused of threatening to rape and kill his teacher if she did not give his entire class an "A++" for the last school year. The 14-year-old boy, identified only as a student at the Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology, made the threats in an e-mail sent in May, authorities said. The youth surrendered to authorities on Friday and was charged with making terroristic threats and criminal coercion.