■ United States
Local folks bemused by Brit
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw joined US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a weekend tour of her home state to promote the Anglo-American alliance, but Alabamans struggled to name him. "You're the English guy," Joyce Delahoussaye said as she shook hands with the foreign minister. "I've seen you on TV and they said you were from England." "He's Mr. England," she said, introducing Straw to her son, Randy, as the two diplomats met displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina in Pelham. At a ceremony to unveil statues in Birmingham, speakers variously called the visitor Mr. Shaw and Mr. Snow. They also mangled his title, appointing him secretary of state to the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom.
■ United States
Miers so far lacks votes
Harriet Miers, nominated by President George W. Bush to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court, currently lacks the votes for her confirmation by the Senate, despite an intense White House campaign to sell her candidacy. "I think, if you were to hold the vote today, she would not get a majority, either in the Judiciary Committee or on the floor," Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said on Sunday. "I think you have concern on these three areas -- qualification, independence, judicial philosophy -- by people of both parties and all political stripes," Schumer said.
■ United States
Adopted kids kept in cages
An insurance agent said he warned child welfare officials last year that he saw cage-like beds in the home of 11 adopted special-needs children more than a year before authorities intervened. County Prosecutor Russ Leffler confirmed that authorities had been alerted, but didn't know why child welfare officials didn't intervene until last month. The children, ages 1 to 14, suffer from ailments such as autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, HIV and eating disorders. They were taken from Michael and Sharen Gravelle's home and placed in foster homes while authorities investigate why the couple put some of the children in homemade wooden cages to sleep and occasionally as punishment. No charges have been filed, and the couple denies harming the children.
■ United Kingdom
Teen killed near riot scene
A teenager was shot dead in the central England city of Birmingham close to the scene of weekend rioting, but it was unclear whether the killing was related to the disturbances. The 18-year old youth suffered fatal gunshot wounds shortly after midnight, about a mile from where the worst of the weekend violence occurred. Two men have been arrested. The violence broke out after a public meeting to address community concerns over an alleged sex attack on a teenage girl. Up to 50 youths rampaged through the area and several men were stabbed, one 23-year-old fatally.
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