In the news

• George H.W. Bush, the 92-year-old former president, was released Friday from a Houston hospital where he was treated for a mild case of pneumonia and chronic bronchitis.

• James O'Keefe, "captain" of the Massachusetts Pirate Party, said the movement, which claims chapters in nearly 70 countries and seven states, as well as a handful of election wins, is seeking candidates to campaign under the Pirate Party flag for local and legislative seats.

• Ben Lamb, pastor of GracePoint Church in Valparaiso, Ind., said a $150,000 advance that the church received on a donated rare 1866 Liberty Head double eagle gold coin which sold at auction Thursday for $517,000 was used to start construction on a new church.

• Glen Casada, the Tennessee House majority leader, and state Sen. Jack Johnson, who together sponsored legislation to make it illegal for minors to send or keep sexually explicit messages on smartphones, saw the bill pass in the state House and head to the Senate.

• Matthew Kane, a Massachusetts state trooper, grabbed a rope out of his cruiser and lassoed a llama that was roaming loose on a highway in Russell, leading it off the road so it wouldn't be hit by passing vehicles.

• Vincent Culotta, a judge in Painesville, Ohio, rejected a leniency request and sentenced Gina Miller, 42, to prison for eight years, saying the self-described psychic who scammed a dozen people out of $1.4 million in cash and valuables by claiming to protect them from "dark forces" deserved to be punished.

• Lynda Wingate, 59, a flower shop owner and former police dispatcher from Riverdale, N.J., told officers that she was merely cleaning up graves when she was arrested on a theft charge after police say she was caught on surveillance cameras taking flowers, plants and other items from a cemetery.

• Roman Romero, a police captain in Clovis, N.M., said two men found dead April 20, also known as 4/20, the marijuana culture's high holiday, were divvying up pot when one shot the other, who retaliated by stabbing the gunman in the neck.

• Barbara Liess, an elementary school principal in Kensington, Md., sent a letter to parents saying the district doesn't condone violent behavior and she regrets setting up a "smash space" where staff members used baseball bats to whack a broken rocking chair as a way to relieve stress.

A Section on 04/29/2017

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