■ United States
Gun-nut-backed law vetoed
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has vetoed a bill that would have let people bring their guns into bars and restaurants as long as they weren't drinking alcohol, and the businesses didn't prohibit firearms. Arizona law bans firearms in bars and restaurants that sell alcohol. Bill supporters said current law deprives citizens of protection -- and subjects their guns to the risk of theft if they're left in vehicles parked outside bars or restaurants. The new bill was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Critics said the measure would lead to confrontations in bars and hikes in insurance premiums for the businesses.
■ Chile
Pinochet must pay taxes
A Chilean judge partially lifted a freeze on assets of former dictator Augusto Pinochet on Monday so he can pay five years of back taxes. A court clerk said that Judge Sergio Munoz ruled in favor of a defense request to free US$2.7 million, so Pinochet can pay back taxes from 1999 to last year, but kept frozen another US$3 million in assets. Pinochet is being investigated on accusations of tax fraud and corruption related to millions he stashed in secret bank accounts. Munoz said in a recent court filing that he has found US$17 million that Pinochet and his family stashed in more than 100 accounts in foreign banks and never reported to Chilean tax authorities.
■ Russia
Putin visits Middle East
Vladimir Putin set off yesterday on his first visit to the Middle East as Russia's president, becoming the first Russian or Soviet leader in 40 years to make an official state visit to Egypt, a one-time close ally of the former Soviet Union. Topping the agenda for talks with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak are efforts to revive the tenuous peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Putin will later head to Israel amid hopes that Moscow can play a larger role in the search for a solution to the stalled peace process.
■ United States
Real `Norman Bates' caught
A man told police he kept his mother's corpse in a basement freezer for more than four years while he collected her pension benefits, authorities said Monday. A body was found encased in ice, in a sitting position. Philip Schuth, 52, told police his elderly mother, Edith, died of natural causes in August 2000, but that he didn't tell anyone because he was afraid police would blame him, according to documents filed in court Monday. He said his mother years beforehand was attacked by a cat and her blood was on the walls in the house they shared, and he feared police would think he killed her, according to the documents. Police recovered a chest-type freezer in Schuth's basement, and after chipping away at a block of ice, discovered a human knee.
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