gRussian river cruise boat in trouble before fatal sinking Monday
KAZAN, Russia (AP) — An aging cruise ship was severely overcrowded, had a malfunctioning engine and listed to one side before it sank in heavy wind and rain on a river east of Moscow, killing as many as 129 people, Russian officials said Monday.
River cruise boats are highly popular among Russian vacationers, and the Bulgaria was carrying 208 people when it set off in stormy weather Sunday, officials said. It was only licensed to carry 120.
 
Russian neo-Nazis sentenced from eight years to life for 27 murders
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Monday handed down sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison to 12 members of the country’s most vicious neo-Nazi gang convicted of 27 hate killings, which included a videotaped decapitation of one of their own gang members and other crimes.
The Moscow City Court sentenced five members of the group, the National Socialist Society North, to life, giving another seven members between 10 and 23 years. One was handed an eight-year suspended sentence.
 
Julian Assange back in court to fight extradition to Sweden
LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was due back in court today for the latest installation of his fight against extradition to Sweden, where the Australian is accused of rape and molestation.
Assange’s disclosures of classified U.S. documents has infuriated the Pentagon, embarrassed State Department diplomats and energized critics of American foreign policy, but allegations of sexual misconduct during a trip to Scandinavia last year have tarnished his reputation.
 
Minnesota shutdown stirs debate over who gets paid and who doesn’t
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — While thousands of Minnesota employees go without paychecks because the state government is shut down, many lawmakers are still being paid. And the list of workers whose services are deemed “essential” includes the governor’s housekeeper and his personal chef.
As the shutdown entered its second full week Monday, with no end in sight, politicians and public employees traded accusations over who’s getting paid, who isn’t and why.
 
Oklahoma pharmacist sentenced to life in teen robber’s death
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma pharmacist convicted of murder in the shooting death of a teenager who tried to rob the south Oklahoma City pharmacy where he worked was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole Monday.
Jerome Ersland, 59, showed no emotion as District Judge Ray Elliott imposed the sentence recommended by a jury that found Ersland guilty of first-degree murder in the May 19, 2009, shooting death of 16-year-old Antwun Parker during an attempted robbery.
 
Ex-cop says he helped to cover up Danziger Bridge shootings
(AP) — A former police detective testified Monday that he participated in a plot to fabricate witnesses, falsify reports and plant a gun to make it seem police were justified in shooting unarmed residents on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina.
Jeffrey Lehrmann, a government witness in the federal trial of five current or former officers, said he saw Sgt. Arthur Kaufman retrieve a gun from his home several weeks after the deadly shootings on Danziger Bridge. Kaufman later turned the gun in as evidence, claiming he found it under the bridge a day after the 2005 shootings that left two dead and four others wounded.
 
Man arrested after he left a child in car while at Boomtown Casino
(AP) — A New Orleans man has been accused of leaving a 7-year-old child in a hot car so he could gamble at a casino.
The Jefferson Parish sheriff says 26-year-old Irone Hilton was booked with child desertion and cruelty to a juvenile and jailed in lieu of $21,000 bond.
Authorities said the child was noticed Saturday afternoon by a passerby who notified security at the Boomtown Casino in Harvey.
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