INTERNATIONAL
Kenya foreign minister says West wasting money on anti-piracy ships
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Kenya’s foreign minister said Saturday the millions being spent to fight pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia should be spent instead on helping the country become a functioning state.
 
First rescue capsule arrives for workers at collapsed Chilean mine
 
SAN JOSE MINE, Chile (AP) — The first of three rescue capsules built to lift out the 33 miners trapped since Aug. 5 arrived at the mine Saturday.
The man-size capsule will be used to pull the miners out one by one once one of the three rescue holes being drilled reaches the men. The government says that should happen by early November or earlier if all goes well.
Mining Minister Laurence Golborne showed off the first capsule to relatives of the trapped  miners Saturday.
Golborne and about a dozen family members tried out the capsule, a 924-pound tube made of steel mesh and sheets that is big enough to hold one person.
The capsule is nearly 10 feet tall on the outside. Inside, the space is 6 feet high and about 21 inches across.
 
China says progress made on human rights; international group disagrees
 
BEIJING (AP) — China said Sunday it has made progress on human rights, pointing in particular to improved living standards, but an international rights group quickly described the government’s assessment as unrealistic.
Human Rights Watch said the government failed to mention that since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China has gotten tougher on freedom of speech, has stepped up restrictions on the media and Internet and cracked down on lawyers and activists.
NATIONAL
Georgia megachurch pastor pledges to fight sex-related accusations
 
LITHONIA, Ga. (AP) — The famed pastor of a Georgia megachurch said Sunday he will fight allegations that he lured young men into sexual relationships, stressing he’d be back to lead the church the next week.
 
8 shot, 3 stabbed, 1 dead at east Los Angeles house party
 
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eight people were shot — one fatally — and another three stabbed Saturday during a fight at a birthday party, authorities said.
One man, Steven Lopez, 22, died at the scene and two other gunshot victims were taken to County-USC Medical Center with critical injuries, police said.
A dispute at the late-night house party in the Boyle Heights neighborhood escalated until several people pulled out guns and knives.
STATE/LOCAL
 
Bar owners: Metairie’s Fat City early shutdown ordinance unfair
METAIRIE (AP) — Some bar owners in Fat City, Metairie’s entertainment district, say a new ordinance that will limit hours of operation will unfairly benefit competitors and eventually kill their businesses.
The sweeping ordinance was passed in hopes to clean up Fat City by gradually eliminating strip clubs and rowdy bars and converting the entertainment district into a more family friendly area for shoppers and diners. Parish leaders say there are 16 bars within a few blocks in Fat City, and that the area has been plagued with crime for years.
Under the ordinance, Fat City bars would be forced to close at midnight on weekdays and shut down at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The law goes into effect March 31, 2011.
Some bar employees are worried about what will happen to their paychecks when the new law takes effect next year.
BP fund czar promises bigger, faster claims for oil spill victims
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill should start getting bigger payments faster, the administrator of the fund set up to help them said Saturday.
Terrebonne Parish officials tell store adult items are prohibited
HOUMA (AP) — Terrebonne Parish officials want a store in a Houma mall to stop selling sex toys, adult books and bondage kits.
Terrebonne Parish Councilman Billy Hebert asked parish administrators to inspect the Spencer’s novelty store in Southland Mall after receiving complaints. Spencer’s is a national chain with hundreds of stores in the United States.
Parish officials say the Spencer’s in Southland Mall is violating a law that prohibits the sale of adult items within 1,000 feet of a residential district, school or church.
 
 
 
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