National news briefs

Reid seeks to revise gay military policy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to hear from the Obama administration on how to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving openly in the military.

The Democratic-led Congress is considering repealing the 1993 law but isn't expected to act on the issue until early next year.

In the meantime, the Nevada Democrat is asking President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to share their views and recommendations on the controversial policy.

In Sept. 24 letters to Obama and Gates, Reid also asked for a review of the cases of two U.S. officers who were discharged from the military because of their sexuality.

Todd Palin resigns from his oil field job

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The husband of former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has quit his oil field job on the North Slope.

Todd Palin's resignation as a production operator for oil giant BP PLC comes almost two months after his wife stepped down as Alaska governor and shortly before the release of her highly anticipated memoir in a deal rumored to be worth millions.

"Todd loved his union job on the Slope and hopes to return," Meghan Stapleton, Sarah Palin's personal spokeswoman, said in an e-mail Friday. "For now, he is spending time with his family."

The resignation was effective Sept. 18, according to BP spokesman Steve Rinehart.

Stepmother defends man in beating case

LINCOLN, Ill. (AP) — The stepmother of a suspect in the slayings of a central Illinois family said Friday that police arrested the wrong person and described her stepson as a gentle man who always walked away from confrontation.

"We're all devastated," Debbie Harris of Lincoln told The Associated Press. "There is no way he did this. I think he's being used as a scapegoat."

Christopher Harris, 30, was arrested Thursday in the bludgeoning deaths of five members of his ex-wife's family in the tiny town of Beason last month. He was charged Friday with five counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Polanski was to pay sex assault victim

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Film director Roman Polanski agreed to pay his sexual assault victim $500,000 to settle a lawsuit 15 years after he fled the United States, according to court documents provided to media outlets Friday.

The deal between Polanski and the victim, Samantha Geimer, was reached in October 1993. The terms of the settlement were confidential, but the amount was disclosed in court documents because of a two-year struggle to get Polanski to pay.

Court records do not indicate if Polanski, now 76, ever paid. The last court filing in August 1996 shows Polanski owed Geimer $604,416.22, including interest.