LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Bill Richardson
of New Mexico said on a trade mission to Cuba that all U.S. citizens should be able to visit cultural gems such as Ernest Hemingway's former home outside Havana, adding, "I think enhancing cultural and artistic and educational ties is a prelude to diplomatic and commercial ties."
Raneen Albaghdady
filed suit in Michigan against Wayne County Circuit Judge William Callahan, claiming he violated the Muslim woman's First Amendment right to practice her religion when he ordered her to remove her hijab at a hearing in his courtroom.
Michael Anderson, 23, was found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder in New Orleans in the shootings of five teenagers that prompted then-Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco to deploy National Guard soldiers and state police to help stave off street violence after Hurricane Katrina.
Gianni Alemanno, mayor of Rome, said he is determined to resolve frequent problems with baggage delays at the Leonardo da Vinci airport in Fiumicino after joining the legions of travelers left waiting for their luggage for more than an hour.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
of California blasted state lawmakers for not supporting his plan to reduce the prison system's population and budget, saying "they are now more worried about safe seats than safe streets."
Maj. Muthana Khalid, an Iraqi police spokesman, said special forces recovered a Pablo Picasso painting called The Naked Woman, which was looted from a Kuwaiti museum during Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion, and arrested a man they believe was planning to sell it.
Abneris Santiago, 30, and her boyfriend, Alfred Santiago, 37, were indicted in Dallas on charges of first-degree injury to a child after police said they found the woman's three young children emaciated and filthy in a hotel bathroom.
Robin Starr, the chief executive officer of Virginia's Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said her 16-year-old blind and deaf dog, Louis, died after she accidentally left him in her hot car for four hours.
Pedro Rafael de Pena de La Cruz, 52, of the Dominican Republic was charged with transportation of hazardous materials after authorities said mercury that leaked inside his suitcase shut down several terminals of Puerto Rico's main international airport.
Bing Feng Mai
of Harrisburg, Pa., pleaded guilty in Virginia to felony cigarette trafficking, admitting he bought more than 20 million untaxed cigarettes that were Chinesemade fake versions of Philip Morris' Marlboro brand.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 08/27/2009