"Patients and their families need to be able to communicate with medical providers for proper diagnosis and treatment," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "This agreement should serve as a model for other hospitals to make certain that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing have equal access to medical care and treatment as required by the ADA."

The settlement agreement resolves allegations that the hospital did not appropriately respond to requests to provide a qualified sign language interpreter for the deaf mother of a pregnant patient who had been involved in a car accident. Approximately 30 minutes after arrival, while still in the ER, the patient expressly requested a sign language interpreter for her mother; however, Inova failed to call for an interpreter until 5 ½ hours after the initial request. This forced the patient to act as the interpreter for her mother at the same time that the patient was receiving distressing news about her own condition.

Under the agreement, the hospital will provide auxiliary aids, when needed, to family members and companions as well as to patients; assess the communication needs of individuals with speech or hearing impairments upon their arrival or at the time an appointment is scheduled; and provide qualified interpreters (on-site or video interpreting) as soon as possible (and within specified time limits) when necessary for effective communication, especially in circumstances involving lengthy or complex interactions such as admissions and detailed discussions of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. The hospital has also agreed to pay the patient and her mother a total of $55,000 in damages.

"Effective communication is particularly critical in the health care setting," said Chuck Rosenberg, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. "We are committed to ensuring that individuals with disabilities and their families are not subjected to unequal treatment because of poor communication with medical personnel about their symptoms, diagnoses and treatment."

Title III of the ADA applies to private entities such as hospitals and other medical care facilities and, among other things, requires that private entities such as hospitals ensure effective communication with persons with speech, hearing and vision impairments. People interested in finding out more about the ADA or the agreement can call the Justice Department's toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 or 1-800-514-0383 (TTY), or access its ADA Web site at http://www.ada.gov.

Boultbee, the former CFO of Hollinger International, stands accused of illegally diverting more than $80 million from Hollinger and its shareholders during Hollinger's $2.1 billion sale of several hundred Canadian newspapers. Two years ago, Boultbee joined Black, former legal executive Mark Kipnis, and former VP Peter Atkinson in pleading not guilty to fraud charges. A fifth defendant, former Hollinger President David Radler, pleaded guilty to the charges and agreed to testify for the government.

Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' former chief of staff who has since resigned, told the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that the prosecutors were fired for political reasons rather than for poor performance as the Justice Department has claimed. Gonzales has defended his role in the firings, admitting that there has been some confusion but saying that his involvement in the matter was limited to signing off on recommendations made by Sampson.

A 16-year-old Buffalo youth has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing a deli owner during a robbery.

Robert Gwynn was 15 when he and a 13-year-old accomplice robbed Myheeb's Deli in November. Gwynn shot the deli owner, Mike Saeed, in the chest. He died soon after.

Because of his age, Gwynn was prosecuted as a juvenile offender. State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Drury told him he'll likely impose a sentence of eleven years to life when he is sentenced in July.

The 13-year-old is being prosecuted in Family Court. His identity hasn't been released.

A jury found Gregory Nurrenberg Jr. guilty but mentally ill when he killed 45-year-old Sherry Dickey.

Nurrenberg, 24, admitted killing Dickey during Memorial Day weekend 2006, but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Jurors deliberated approximately 4 ½ hours before reaching a verdict about 7 p.m. Monday. The trial in Lawrence Superior Court II lasted five days.