NEW YORK -- Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and his wife said they escaped injury in a three-car accident on a New York City highway that killed a 30-year-old woman and injured a mail truck driver Friday afternoon.
The accident happened about 1 p.m. as Brokaw was driving in the left lane of the northbound Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx.
Police and the Brokaws said a 1998 Ford Expedition swerved to avoid a spool of cable bouncing in the far right lane, which caused the driver of the SUV to lose control.
The Expedition overturned and then collided with the mail truck, police said. Suejas Estrada of the Bronx was thrown from the Expedition and killed. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Brokaws said the out-of-control Expedition forced the mail truck into the couple's lane. The truck collided with Brokaw's vehicle.
'Bruno' dupe runs for mayor
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- A pastor who was tricked into appearing in the hit movie "Bruno" is now trying to become mayor of Alabama's largest city.
Jody Trautwein is among 14 candidates in next Tuesday's election to replace Larry Langford, who was booted from office after being convicted of bribery.
In the movie, Trautwein is the smiling pastor who tries to talk Sacha Baron Cohen's character out of being gay. Like other participants in the film, he was duped into participating by producers.
While the minister's scene drew laughs, the 39-year-old is now running a serious mayoral campaign. Trautwein's platform includes restoring integrity to City Hall.
The preacher says the movie provided him name recognition. While he may be a longshot, Trautwein says he's in the race to win.
From wire reports
GSTAAD, Switzerland -- Roman Polanski's life took a dramatic turn for the better Friday as he traded a Swiss jail for house arrest surrounded by family in his luxury Alpine chalet.
It's not clear how long this splendid captivity will last -- the threat of extradition to the U.S. and a possible prison term there still hang over the 76-year-old director.
But surely there are worse fates than being stuck in the tony resort of Gstaad, gazing up at the snow-covered Swiss Alps with your wife and two children by your side -- especially after two months in a Swiss jail.
Polanski cannot leave the three-story house and its garden while Swiss authorities decide whether to send him to Los Angeles to face sentencing in a 32-year-old sex case.
It's a vast improvement over his small detention cell in Winterthur, near Zurich, which had only a sink, bed, toilet, television and storage compartment.
In jail, he was allowed outside for one hour of daily exercise, could occasionally use the telephone but could only see family and friends for one hour each week.
The Oscar-winning director can receive guests or hold parties at the house and order in gourmet meals. He has views of snowcapped Alpine peaks, spacious rooms and all the amenities of a town known for its skill at catering to the wishes of the rich and famous.
Of course, there's the minor inconvenience of the electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, which ensures that Polanski doesn't flee like he did from U.S. justice 31 years ago.
He was wearing the ankle bracelet Friday as he arrived at the chalet in a police convoy, the Justice Ministry spokesman said.
Polanski's two children -- Elvis, 9, and Morgane, 16 -- and his wife, French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, eagerly awaited his arrival Friday morning. All were seen peeking out the chalet's windows from behind lace curtains.
