SALT LAKE CITY — Gordon Hinckley, the oldest president of the Mormon church who presided over one of the greatest periods of expansion in its history, died Sunday because of complications from age, a church spokesman said. He was 97.
Hinckley, a grandson of Mormon pioneers, was the 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for nearly 13 years. He took over as president and prophet on March 12, 1995.
He oversaw one of the greatest periods of expansion in church history. The number of temples worldwide more than doubled, from 49 to more than 120 and church membership grew from about 9 million to more than 12 million.
By tradition, at a church president’s death, the church’s most senior apostle is ordained within days. The most long-serving apostle now is Thomas Monson, 80.
Calif.: Lincoln’s sonar training
The Navy has resumed sonar training off the coast of Southern California as the government and environmentalists battle in court over how the exercises affect whales and other marine mammals. The training by the carrier strike group of the USS Abraham Lincoln, based in Everett, is part of a broader exercise to prepare the group for deployment, the Navy said in a news release. During the exercises, which began Wednesday and were scheduled to last through Friday, sailors train in anti-submarine warfare, ocean security operations and other areas.
Gas drops 9 cents in 2 weeks
The national average price for gasoline dropped about 9 cents over the last two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday. The average price of regular gasoline on Friday was $2.98 a gallon, mid-grade was $3.10, and premium was $3.22, oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of Camarillo said.
Colo.: DNA leads to slaying arrest
A Wyoming prison parolee has been arrested in the 1997 rape and beating death of a University of Colorado senior after he was linked to the case by a DNA match and other evidence, Boulder police said Sunday. Diego Olmos-Alcalde, 38, was being held for allegedly raping and killing 23-year-old Susannah Chase of Stamford, Conn. DNA taken from seminal fluid found on Chase’s body that was entered into a national DNA database, apparently recently, matched Olmos-Alcalde’s.
Iraq: Readying to strike militants
Iraqi army reinforcements moved Sunday into positions near the northern city of Mosul, ready to strike al-Qaida in Iraq targets in their last urban stronghold, a top Iraqi officer said. Iraqi Maj. Gen. Riyad Jalal said the fighters would open an offensive against al-Qaida fighters “immediately after all the added troops arrive.” The U.S. military, meanwhile, reported two soldiers killed over the weekend in separate bombings in Baghdad.
Greece: Church leader dies
Greece’s Orthodox Church leader, Archbishop Christodoulos, who eased centuries of tension with the Vatican but angered liberal critics who viewed him as an attention-seeking reactionary, died today at his home from cancer of the liver and large intestine, church officials said. He was 69. Christodoulos headed the church for a decade.
Russia: Candidate cut from race
The most outspoken opposition politician vying for the Russian presidency was thrown out of the race Sunday, accused by elections officials of forging tens of thousands of signatures. The disqualification of former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was immediately decried by opposition figures and analysts, who said the decision was a politically motivated attempt to silence a vocal government critic.
Egypt: Controlling Gaza border
Egyptian forces brandishing electrified batons stopped Gaza cars from crossing the breached border Sunday and tightened security at checkpoints to try to confine Palestinians who moved freely into Egypt for a fifth straight day. Regional leaders scrambled for a solution to the collapse of the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants blasted through the partition with explosives on Wednesday. Tens of thousands of Gazans, desperate for food and fuel after Israel sealed off the territory, have flooded into Egypt with no border controls.
Australia: Shark attacks on deck
A 200-pound mako shark attacked a fisherman on his boat deck, biting him on the leg after the man reeled it in while fishing off Australia’s east coast for tuna Sunday, an official said. The 20-year-old deckhand was listed as stable at an area hospital and was undergoing surgery. “The shark had his leg clamped in its jaws for several minutes until other deckhands cut its head off,” a rescue spokesman said.
From Herald news services
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