National briefs

Alaska volcano has substantial eruption

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Mount Redoubt volcano in Alaska has had another large eruption after being relatively quiet for nearly a week.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage says the volcano about 100 miles southwest of the city erupted early Saturday.

The National Weather Service said radar indicated a plume of volcanic ash rose 50,000 feet into the sky, making this one of the largest eruptions since the volcano became active on March 22.

The ash cloud was drifting toward the southeast and there were reports of the fine, gritty ash falling in towns on the Kenai Peninsula.

Woman gets prison for text and crash

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A woman who crashed into a line of stopped vehicles while text-messaging on her cell phone has been sentenced to six years in a California prison for killing a woman in one of the vehicles.

Deborah Matis-Engle was sentenced Friday by a judge in Redding, Calif.

Investigators said Deborah Matis-Engle was speeding and text messaging when she slammed into the vehicles stopped at a construction zone in August 2007.

Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett said the 49-year-old woman had paid several bills by cell phone in the moments before the crash.

She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she struck a vehicle that burst into flames, killing 46-year-old Petra Winn.

Detroit police break up pillow fight event

DETROIT (AP) — Police in Detroit have ruffled some feathers after they cracked down on an organized pillow fight at a downtown park.

The Detroit News reports that police at Campus Martius Park prevented the feathery fight Saturday by disarming pillow-toting participants. The bout was part of a worldwide event organized on social networking Web sites.

Michael Davis of Hamtramck says police confiscated the 32-year-old man's pillows but returned their cases. He says he was told that he needed a permit.

Scott Harris of Ferndale told the News that it's "not illegal to own a pillow."

Detroit police spokesman James Tate says cleanup was the issue.

Father suspected of killing his 5 children