Arabs said to be alarmed by prospect of nuclear-armed Iran
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Leaked U.S. diplomatic memos have exposed a depth of alarm across the Middle East over the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran that has never been expressed publicly: Arab leaders said to be urging that Iran be attacked if it refuses to concede to international demands.
Rio de Janeiro slum dwellers caught in battle to pacify city
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Jose Pereira’s hand shook as he sat on a sidewalk and took a deep drag on a cigarette, trying to calm down after taking a stray bullet in the leg while police and drug dealers fought over the shantytown where he lives.
“They fight, but we’re the ones who suffer, the residents,” the 33-year-old bricklayer said just after police captured the slum amid heavy fire.
Connecticut man accuses officer of swiping sex videos
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A man who was arrested by police has accused an officer of confiscating his cell phone and forwarding sexually explicit personal photos to himself and at least one other person.
A lawsuit filed in federal court alleges Officer Michael Presti forwarded e-mails containing racy photographs and videos of William Vasilakos and his girlfriend.
Presti, reached at his home Monday, said the matter had been resolved internally by police, and he declined to comment further.
Swastika case another race issue for New Mexico town
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — Three friends just finished their shifts at a McDonald’s when prosecutors say they carried out a gruesome attack on a customer: They allegedly shaped a coat hanger into a swastika, placed it on a heated stove and branded the symbol on the arm of the mentally disabled Navajo man.
Authorities say they then shaved a swastika on the back of the 22-year-old victim’s head and used markers to scrawl messages and images on his body, including “KKK,” ‘’White Power,” a pentagram and a graphic image of a penis.
Customer shoves 100-year-old Wisconsin Walmart greeter
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — A 100-year-old greeter at a Milwaukee Walmart was shoved by a customer after the centenarian tried to stop the woman to determine if she’d paid for items that were in the lower part of her shopping cart, police said Monday.
Greeter Lois Speelman fell down and went to a hospital after she was shoved Sunday.
“I’m bruised a little, but I’m able to go back to work Thursday,” Speelman told The Associated Press from her home on Monday.
Man gets five years for beating calf to death with shovel
COVINGTON (AP) — A 22-year-old Gibson man has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing a newborn calf and beating it to death with a shovel after the Saints lost to the Dallas Cowboys last season.
David J. LeBlanc Jr., one of four men convicted in the case, had asked for leniency but state District Judge Martin Coady ignored his pleas, saying LeBlanc used “a dangerous weapon” to cause the “painful death” of a defenseless animal.
The Times Picayune reports during Monday’s sentencing hearing the judge ordered LeBlanc to undergo psychiatric evaluation and said LeBlanc could not be near animals for the duration of his sentence.
Sitter arrested for stealing $10,000 from elderly woman
SHREVEPORT (AP) — Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator says a sitter for an 89-year-old Shreveport woman has been arrested for stealing over $10,000 from the woman’s bank account.
Prator said 48-year-old Jennifer Hall was arrested following an investigation by detectives. Hall was booked on a charge of felony theft.
Deputies say Hall is accused of using the victim’s checking account number to pay her personal bills without the victim’s knowledge.
Officials reveal death of elderly Norco woman as homicide
NORCO (AP) — St. Charles Parish sheriff’s deputies say the death of a 78-year-old Norco woman found in her home has been ruled a homicide.
Investigators tell The Times-Picayune at Mary N. Mule Arico was found on the kitchen floor of her home Friday.
Police estimate Arico was dead for more than two weeks before her body was discovered. An autopsy revealed the cause of death was a blow to the head.