Hezbollah rise in Lebanon gives Syria, Iran sway in the Middle East
BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah and its allies rose to a position of unprecedented dominance in Lebanon’s government Monday, giving its patrons Syria and Iran greater sway in the Middle East.
Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced a new cabinet dominated by the militant group and its allies after the country has operated for five months without a functioning government. The move caps Hezbollah’s rise over decades from resistance group to political force.
 
Behind barbed wire, Syrians find refuge in Turkey, fear Assad
GUVECCI, Turkey (AP) — Syrians streamed across the border Monday into neighboring Turkey, finding sanctuary in refugee camps ringed by barbed wire and offering a frightening picture of life back home where a deadly crackdown on dissent is fueling a popular revolt.
Turkey’s prime minister has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime of “savagery” but said he would reach out to the leader to help solve the crisis. Still, many of the nearly 7,000 refugees in Turkey say they expect their government to inflict only more violence and pain.
 
Syrian blog hoaxer apologizes, hoped to draw attention to conditions
LONDON (AP) — A 40-year-old American man living in Scotland said Monday he’s sorry for posing as a Syrian lesbian blogger who offered vivid accounts of life amid revolt and repression in Damascus, a hoax that has exposed the difficulty of sifting truth from fiction online.
Tom MacMaster said he created the fictional persona of Amina Arraf and the “Gay Girl in Damascus” blog to draw attention to conditions in a Middle East convulsed by change.
 
Ex-Army major pleads guilty to two water deal bribes with contractors
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A retired U.S. Army major pleaded guilty to accepting $250,000 in bribes for contracts to supply water to American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Derrick Shoemake served at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait in 2005 and 2006, he was in charge of delivering bottled water to troops.
Two government contractors paid him to award them water contracts. The Justice Department says some of the money was delivered to his wife in Moreno Valley, Calif.
 
Man dies while raping elderly South Texas woman at knifepoint
REFUGIO, Texas (AP) — Investigators say a man has died while in the act of raping an elderly South Texas woman.
The Refugio County Sheriff’s Office identifies the man as 53-year-old Isabel Chavelo Gutierrez. Sheriff’s Sgt. Gary Wright says the incident happened June 2 in the tiny coastal community of Tivoli.
He says the man, weighing between 230 and 250 pounds, sneaked into the woman’s house and raped her at knifepoint. During the attack, he said he wasn’t feeling well, rolled over and died.
 
Monty Williams promotes Randy Ayers to lead Hornets assistant
(AP) — New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams says current assistant Randy Ayers will be his lead assistant next season.
Ayers fills a void created by Mike Malone’s decision last week to join the staff of new Golden State coach Mark Jackson.
Williams says Ayers has spent a season in New Orleans and has been both a head coach and a lead assistant before.
Ayers was Philadelphia 76ers coach for part of the 2003-04 season.
 
Senate rejects bid to open Jindal’s records to the public Monday
(AP) — Senators have overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to open more of the governor’s office records to public view.
The Senate voted 22-14 Monday against the bill by Republican Sen. Robert Adley. Lawmakers sided with Gov. Bobby Jindal, who pushed to keep his records secret.
Adley’s bill would keep communications between the governor and his staff confidential. But it would remove a provision that keeps secret those records pertaining to the governor’s “deliberative process.”