Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Alleged Extortion by Teacher Is Taped

Risking his own graduation, a high school senior in New York City wore a wire to help arrest a teacher who allegedly demanded $300 for a passing grade. Kenneth D. Cotton, 44, was arrested on larceny and bribe-taking charges, moments after the student handed him the second installment of the payoff, investigators said. Because he did the right thing, the student, Andres Namen, had to stay home Thursday night while his classmates graduated without him. Namen needed to pass the course to graduate. But now his diploma languishes in the school office, awaiting a bureaucratic decision: pass, fail or try again. Cotton pleaded not guilty to the charges.