■ United States
Note sounds alarm bells
A note found on Monday in a customer's coat at an Ann Arbor dry cleaners read "You have committed a murder, but no one believes it. All I can do is kill myself, then everyone will see what you have done." It was signed: "Your wife, Alice." Employees called police, fearing the note described a murder-suicide plot. But it turns out the owner of the coat is an actor involved in a play. The note was a prop, city police Detective Brian Zasadny told the Ann Arbor News. Zasadny tracked down the customer on Wednesday. The man explained he is involved in the play Retreat from Moscow.
■ United States
Ho released from hospital
Don Ho was released from a hospital in Honolulu following a two-week stay after having a new pacemaker installed. "I'm recuperating from the hospital! I feel great," the 76-year-old Waikiki crooner said on Thursday as he had lunch at one of his favorite restaurants. Ho, known for his signature tune Tiny Bubbles, had the pacemaker installed Sept. 16. In December, he underwent a new heart treatment in Thailand that hasn't been approved in the US. The procedure involved taking multiplying stem cells from his blood and injecting them into his heart in hopes of strengthening it. Ho said Thursday he has not decided when to resume his show at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber hotel.
■ United States
Map thief jailed
A dealer in antique treasures who admitted stealing more than US$3 million in rare maps was sentenced on Wednesday to three-and-a-half years in prison after a judge ruled that he deserved leniency for cooperating. Edward Forbes Smiley III, once one of the country's most respected dealers in rare maps, must also pay US$1.9 million in restitution for stealing 98 of the world's most precious maps, US District Judge Janet Bond Arterton said. Smiley had faced up to six years in prison under federal guidelines but was handed a lighter sentence after helping authorities recover most of the stolen maps, Arterton said. "I'm deeply ashamed," Smiley told the court. Several libraries said he got off too lightly.
■ Brazil
Bishops criticize Lula
On Thursday, Catholic bishops said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government had fallen short of expectations, just days before an election in which he is expected to win a second term. Members of Brazil's National Bishops Conference also condemned an attempted smear campaign against the opposition by members of Lula's Workers' Party. "What's saddest of all is that instead of debating the election, we're talking about [corruption]," said Antonio Celso de Queiros, vice president of the conference.
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