■ United States
Boy Scouts man charged
A longtime Boy Scouts of America official who directed a national task force to protect children from sexual abuse has been charged in Dallas with possession and distribution of child pornography. Douglas Sovereign Smith, 61, was accused of receiving images over the Internet in February of children engaging in oral sex, intercourse and other sexually explicit conduct. According to court documents, Smith possessed and distributed computer images of children engaged in "sexually explicit conduct, including the lascivious exhibition of the genitals, oral-genital intercourse and genital-genital intercourse."
■ United Kingdom
Brits bid on balcony views
Bidding is intensifying, albeit slowly, on the Internet for a clear balcony view on the wedding of Prince Charles to his longtime partner Camilla Parker Bowles. Real-estate agency Nelson Bakewell put the corner balcony in Windsor, west of London, up for auction on eBay last Friday with a starting bid of just ?1 (US$1.88). By 9:30am yesterday the bidding had gone up to ?26, but a higher price is expected before the auction winds up tomorrow -- exactly one week before the nuptials. "The package includes a private room that can accommodate up to 20 people. The balconies [sic] provide excellent views to The Guildhall where the royal couple will be married," said the description on eBay (www.ebay.co.uk). "To enhance your viewing experience, we advise that you may want to bring binoculars," it said.
■ United States
O.J. Simpson lawyer dies
Johnnie Cochran, the charismatic attorney famed for his successful defense of football star O.J. Simpson on murder charges, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles of a brain tumor, a representative said. Cochran, 67, was a longtime crusader against police abuses, often in cases involving black clients. He is best known for his role in the controversial acquittal for Simpson on murder charges in 1995. Simpson was accused in the June 12, 1994, stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
■ United States
Chemical arms destroyed
The Pine Bluff Arsenal began destroying its stockpile of 3,850 tons of chemical weapons, incinerating two rockets laced with sarin nerve gas. ``We are making chemical weapons history by destroying weapons stored here more than 60 years,'' Dale Ormond, deputy assistant secretary of the US Army, said on Tuesday. Another 28 rockets were scheduled to be destroyed yesterday. Twelve percent of the US' chemical weapons are stored at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, and the military plans to incinerate all of them by 2010.
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