■ UNITED STATES
Mass murder case solved
A convicted burglar pleaded guilty to the deaths of five people who were abducted from a fast-food restaurant in one of Texas' most notorious mass murder cases. Romeo Pinkerton, 49, admitted to the deaths on Monday as part of a plea bargain offered by the Texas Attorney General's Office. In exchange for the plea, Pinkerton received a life sentence for each of the five deaths. Pinkerton and his cousin, Darnell Hartsfield, were accused of abducting the victims during a holdup of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore on Sept. 23, 1983. The victims were found dead the next morning along a remote road about in nearby Rusk County.
■ UNITED STATES
Activists protest float
Human rights activists packed a Pasadena, California, city council meeting on Monday to object to the Rose Parade's decision to include a float honoring the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Some of them included Chinese-Americans who claimed they were victims of persecution in China. They said that Beijing should not be represented in the New Year's Day parade because of its human rights record. One man testified that he had been tortured in a Chinese prison, showing his bruised arm to council members. The US$400,000 float is being paid for by wealthy Chinese-American donors and a Pasadena-based label maker with business ties to China.
■ UNITED STATES
Oprah begs forgiveness
A tearful Oprah Winfrey has begged forgiveness from parents of girls at her school in Henley-on-Klip, South Africa, following allegations of sexual and physical abuse by staff members. In a meeting Winfrey told families: "I've disappointed you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy is intended for children from poor families. According to reports, a matron had grabbed one student by the throat and thrown her against a wall. Other students have said they were sworn at and assaulted. The allegations were said to be especially painful for Winfrey, who has said she suffered abuse as a child.
■ VENEZUELA
US envoy meets Chavez
The new US ambassador to Venezuela met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday, calling it a positive start toward improving tense relations. US Ambassador Patrick Duddy said they discussed expanding cooperation in areas such as counter-drug operations. In a photograph released by the government the two appeared smiling as they chatted. Duddy, a former senior official in the state department's Latin America bureau, replaced William Brownfield, who left in July to become the top US diplomat in neighboring Colombia. Despite growing hostility between Chavez and the Bush administration in recent years, the US remains the top buyer of Venezuelan oil.
RSS