Nation, World Briefs: G.I. from Concrete dies in Afghanistan
Published 12:11 am Saturday, July 31, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department said a soldier from Concrete has died in Afghanistan after an insurgent attack. Chief Warrant Officer Douglas M. Vose III died Wednesday in Kabul Province of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. The 38-year-old was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Stuttgart, Germany.
Alexander backs Sotomayor
The Senate’s No. 3 Republican announced Thursday he’d break with the rest of his party’s leaders to support Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, who’s in line to become the first Hispanic justice. Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander said he was voting for President Barack Obama’s nominee despite his differences with her, particularly on gun rights. “Even though Judge Sotomayor’s political and judicial philosophy may be different than mine, especially regarding Second Amendments rights, I will vote to confirm her because she is well qualified by experience, temperament, character and intellect to serve,” Alexander said on the Senate floor.
California: More pot in parks
Mexican drug traffickers have expanded their marijuana-growing operations in California parks as state and local governments have tightened spending and slashed jobs and services. Law enforcement officials said the traffickers, taking advantage of the fact that there are fewer sheriff’s deputies and rangers monitoring parks, are cultivating more pot than ever before. This year’s multibillion-dollar crop is on pace to be the largest in history, officials said.
Jackson custody agreement
The mother of Michael Jackson will retain custody of his three children, and the biological mother of the two elder children will visit and maintain her legal parental rights under an agreement reached by both sides, lawyers said Thursday. Katherine Jackson, 79, the late pop icon’s mother, and Deborah Rowe, 50, who bore Jackson’s two older children, also agreed to mutually hire a child psychologist to advise them on how, when and where Rowe’s visits should take place, lawyers for Jackson and Rowe said. The agreement will go before a Los Angeles judge Monday, and both sides expect the judge to approve it.
Texas: Senator to step down
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said she will step down this fall to challenge fellow Republican Rick Perry for governor in 2010, setting the stage for what will be a crowded race to replace her. Hutchison told WBAP radio of Fort Worth-Dallas on Wednesday that she would formally declare her candidacy in August. “Then the actual leaving of the Senate will be some time — October, November — that, in that time frame,” she said. The Republican primary is in March 2010.
Arizona: Aliens in cold truck
An officer who stopped a refrigerated trailer found nearly 100 undocumented immigrants crammed inside in near-freezing temperatures. A tip from federal agents led the Department of Public Safety officer to make the stop to check for faulty equipment Wednesday night on Interstate 19 north of Nogales near the Mexico border. The officer discovered 97 people, including children as young as 9. The trailer was also carrying fruit and chilled to 34 degrees. Temperatures outside were in the mid 80s.
Alabama: Ban on wine label
Alabama’s ban on a wine that features a nude nymph on the label became a business opportunity for a California vintner who is preparing a marketing campaign to capitalize on being “Banned in Bama.” The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board recently told stores and restaurants to quit serving Cycles Gladiator wine because of the label. A board attorney said the stylized, art-nouveau rendition of a nude female with a flying bicycle violated Alabama rules against displaying “a person posed in an immoral or sensuous manner.”
Nigeria: Islamic leader dies
The leader of the Islamist sect blamed for days of violence in northern Nigeria has been shot and killed while in police custody, officials said Thursday. The police commander of Borno state announced that Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the sect some call the Nigerian Taliban, has “died in police custody.” A state governor’s spokesman said: “I saw his body at police headquarters. I believe he was shot while he was trying to escape.” Seeking to impose Islamic Shariah law throughout this country, the militants attacked police stations, churches, prisons and government buildings in a wave of violence that began Sunday.
From Herald news services
