■ United States
Rams sign up Denzel's son
The son of actor Denzel Washington was signed by the St. Louis Rams after his impressive performance as a running back on his college team, according to US press reports on Tuesday. John David Washington played in Division II for Morehouse College last year and had a school record of 1,095m, leading the league in rushing. He also ended his collegiate career as his university's career and single-game leading rusher. Rams Coach Scott Linehan said he was unaware of Washington's Hollywood connection until after the team became interested in him.
■ United States
Brazilian fugitive caught
A Brazilian fugitive convicted of two murders including the assassination of a union leader was arrested in Massachusetts, federal authorities said on Tuesday. Jose Serafim Sales, 40, also known as Barrerito, was apprehended without incident near Boston on April 25 following an investigation by US and Brazilian authorities, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said. Sales, who escaped prison in March 2000, was convicted of shooting in 1991 Expedito Ribeiro de Souza, who defended rural workers against rich landowners in the remote Amazon. Sales was also convicted of another murder in the Rio Maria area and charged with a third.
■ United States
Study says English healthier
White middle-aged Americans, aged 55 to 64, are not as healthy as their English counterparts, according to a new study released on Monday which examined US and British health and aging surveys. Comparing self-reports of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease between the two, the Anglo-US research team found that Americans reported significantly higher levels of disease than the English. The healthiest Americans in the study, those in the highest income and education levels, had rates of diabetes and heart disease similar to the least healthy in England, which included English people in the lowest income and education brackets, the study found.
■ United States
Court favors students
Members of a high school basketball team can sue over their suspensions after they protested a verbally abusive coach, an appeals court ruled on Monday. Eight students on the Clatskanie High School basketball team in Clatskanie, Oregon, during the 2000-2001 season signed a petition seeking the removal of coach Jeff Baughman because of what they described as his intimidation tactics. The players were suspended after they refused to board a bus to their next game, and in 2003 they filed a lawsuit claiming school officials violated their First Amendment rights to free speech. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the lower court erred in dismissing the students' free speech claims.
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