Woman who drank chemical-laced tea shows imnprovement

SALT LAKE CITY - A woman who unknowingly drank iced tea laced with an industrial cleaning solution at a Utah restaurant has improved for the first time since being rushed to a hospital nearly a week ago.

Family attorney Paxton Guymon says Jan Harding's breathing tube has been removed, and the 67-year-old was able to whisper briefly. She also got out of bed with assistance from nurses.

Guymon said Saturday that Harding's family is more optimistic about her recovery, though she remains in critical condition.

Authorities say the heavy-duty cleaner containing lye that ended up in the sweetened iced tea she drank Sunday at a suburban Salt Lake City restaurant was unintentionally mixed into a bag of sugar, which a worker later added into the iced tea dispenser.

Doctors found deep, ulcerated burns in Harding's upper esophagus.