Everett, Wash.
Published: Sunday, July 5, 2009

Nation/World Briefly: Those pink boxers are going to a museum

 FORT WORTH, Texas -- The soldier who was photographed fighting the Taliban in his pink boxer shorts said Saturday he was glad to be back home in Texas after his yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.

Specialist Zachary Boyd said he initially thought he'd get in trouble after an Associated Press photo first transmitted in May showed him with other soldiers behind sandbags wearing his "I love NY" boxers -- plus flip-flops, a helmet and a bulletproof vest.

The Fort Worth soldier jumped up from a nap when his unit came under fire and didn't want to waste time putting on his uniform. "Every second counts," he said.

He said his boxers will be displayed in the 1st Infantry Division museum at Fort Riley, Kan.

New Jersey: TSA agent arrested for avoiding screening at airport

A Transportation Security Administration agent was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport, authorities said, after she avoided a pre-flight screening and boarded a plane. Authorities said Wanda Weems of Newark was detained Friday after she boarded a Continental Airlines flight bound for Houston. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman John Kelly said Saturday that an investigation found she was wanted on traffic-related warrants.

North Carolina: Fireworks blast kills 2

A truckload of fireworks exploded Saturday morning on a dock at, killing two workers and critically injuring three others preparing for an Independence Day celebration, authorities said. The explosion shook homes and businesses. Authorities did not speculate on a cause of the blast.

Italy: Planned U.S. base expansion draws protests

Protesters clashed with police at a demonstration Saturday against the planned expansion of an airport and U.S. military base in the northern city of Vicenza. Demonstrators wearing helmets and carrying plastic shields threw stones and other objects at officers guarding a bridge on the route of the protest. Police fired tear gas canisters and clubbed some demonstrators, but no injuries were immediately reported. The plan would allow the transfer of four U.S. battalions from Germany, raising the number of active duty personnel in Vicenza to 5,000 from about 2,900 already stationed at the Ederle base on the other side of town.

Israel: Jews, riot police clash

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews clashed with riot police in central Jerusalem on Saturday night in the latest protest against the city's decision to open a municipal parking lot on the Jewish Sabbath. Demonstrators forced the closure of several major streets, and some hurled rocks at motorists along a Jerusalem highway, said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. No injuries were reported. During Sabbath, most commerce is halted, though clusters of restaurants remain open, and certain roads are blocked to keep ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods quiet and car-free.Municipal facilities are, as a rule, closed.

Mexico: Owners charged in deadly day-care center fire

Federal prosecutors in Mexico say they have obtained nine arrest warrants for the owners and legal representatives of a Hermosillo day care center where a fire killed 48 children on June 5. The attorney general's office says the suspects, including one health sector official, face charges of improper use of authority. Some are also charged with negligent injury and negligent homicide.

From Herald news services
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA