Nation, World Briefs: Federal authorities find long tunnel into Mexico

SAN DIEGO — Federal authorities found a suspected cross-border drug tunnel in Tecate on Monday after a U.S. Border Patrol canine unit followed the scent of drugs to a compound of trailers north of the border. An agent entered a cargo-like container and saw a man with a gun in his waistband disappearing into a hole. Inside the container were thousands of pounds of what is believed to be marijuana, a Border Patrol spokesman said. It was one of the longest tunnels discovered in recent years along the border. Authorities don’t yet know how long the tunnel was operational.

@3. Headline Briefs 14 no:Calif. lawmakers get big pay raise

California’s legislative salaries, already the nation’s highest, rose to $116,208 Monday — a $3,110-a-year raise — while the state fights a massive budget shortfall. The sweeter salaries take effect at a time when the state projects a $10 billion budget shortfall, but the increase was approved by an independent citizens commission approved by voters in 1990. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s salary was set at $212,179, an increase of $5,679, but the figure is moot because the former actor has not accepted pay since taking office.

Virginia: Pastor passes the reins

The Rev. Pat Robertson said Monday that his son, Gordon, has succeeded him as chief executive of the Christian Broadcasting Network, the most recent shift to a younger generation of leaders within major conservative Christian groups. Robertson, 77, announced the transition on “The 700 Club,” the network’s flagship show, with Gordon, 49, on air with him. “I thought that some of this day-to-day operation was important to pass down the line, especially to somebody a little more adept at figuring out the new technologies coming at such a bewildering speed to all of us,” the elder Robertson said.

Illinois: Estrogen, anorexia link

Prenatal exposure to female hormones increases the risk of anorexia nervosa, according to new research Monday that bolsters the theory that the disorder has a biological basis in addition to a social and cultural one. In an analysis, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, of 4,478 pairs of opposite-sex twins, researchers found that males with a twin sister had the same chance of becoming anorexic as women in general, an indication that hormones circulating in the womb increased their susceptibility to the disorder.

New York: Girls tops in science

Girls swept a prestigious high school science competition for the first time Monday, winning top prizes of $100,000 scholarships for their work on potential tuberculosis cures and bone growth in zebrafish. It was the first time girls had ever won the grand prizes in both the team and individual divisions of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. The entries were judged by scientists led by Joseph Taylor, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physics and a professor emeritus at Princeton University.

New Hampshire: Hostage taker

The man accused of taking hostages at a campaign office of Hillary Clinton watched impassively during his video arraignment in Rochester Monday as he was portrayed alternately as a sick man desperately seeking psychiatric help and a manipulative longtime criminal. The judge ordered Leeland Eisenberg held on $500,000 cash bail on six felony charges and ordered a psychiatric evaluation for him. “I think it’s very, very important to keep this man under lock and key for now until we get to the bottom of his mental health problems,” the district judge said.

Algeria: Apology for colonialism

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called his country’s past colonial system “profoundly unjust” Monday in a step toward ending decades of rancor with Algeria, once the crown jewel among French colonies. France in the past has steadfastly rebuffed entreaties to apologize for an era marked by humiliation and brutality in some colonies. “Yes, the colonial system was profoundly unjust, contrary to the three founding words of our Republic: liberty, equality, fraternity,” Sarkozy said at the start of a three-day state visit.

Italy: Mafia boss dies in raid

A man considered one of Italy’s 30 most dangerous Mafia fugitives was killed Monday in Sicily while fleeing from police, authorities said. Daniele Emmanuello, 43, was found in a ravine where he apparently fell after trying to evade authorities closing in on his hideout, police said. However, some reports said he had been shot in the head. Emmanuello, considered by authorities to be the head of the mob in Sicily’s southern port city of Gela, had been on the run since 1996.

Uganda: Ebola outbreak spreads

Three more people have died from a new strain of the Ebola virus in Uganda, bringing the death toll to 19, health officials said Monday. Health workers in the area were fleeing in fear. The disease has now been detected in five districts in western Uganda, the director general of Uganda’s health service said. Ebola has no cure or treatment.

From Herald news services