■ BRAZIL
Father finds son, son dies
A teenager lost in the Amazon rain forest for more than 40 days was found by his father, only to die in his arms shortly after, rescue officials said on Tuesday. Jonathan dos Santos Alves, 18, had been lost in the forest since mid-May, when he became separated from two friends he was hunting with in an area 117km north of the city of Manaus. The official search was called off a month ago but his father, Edilson, continued looking with his brother and two other men. On Saturday, they found Jonathan lying next to a river, dehydrated, emaciated and covered in insect bites. I held him in my arms and got the insects away from his mouth,” his father, a 40-year-old farmer, was quoted as saying by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper. “When I tried to revive him, he gritted his teeth and died.” The teen was found about 45km from where he went missing.
■ MEXICO
Woman arrested for murder
Police say a woman arrested in Hildago state on suspicion of killing a 16-year-old mother and her infant son told investigators she did it because she thought the victim was using witchcraft against her and her family. The killing and dismemberment of Beatriz Sanchez Lopez outraged inhabitants of the tiny hamlet of Coyuco. Villagers detained 23-year-old suspect Rosa Rodriguez Olvera on Monday and threatened to lynch her before a local official stepped in and persuaded them to turn her over to police. Sanchez Lopez’s dismembered body was found in a sack near a sawmill on Monday, and the body of her three-month-old son was found near a stove, a police report said.
■ UNITED STATES
Tongue steering possible
A new device that uses a tiny magnet can help disabled people steer a wheelchair or operate a computer using only the tip of the tongue, US researchers reported on Monday. The magnet, the size of a grain of rice, lets people direct the movement of a cursor across a computer screen or a powered wheelchair around a room.
■ UNITED STATES
’Shrooms impact longlasting
The “spiritual” effects of psilocybin from so-called sacred mushrooms last for more than a year and may offer a way to help patients with fatal diseases or addictions, US researchers reported on Tuesday. The researchers also said their findings show there are safe ways to test psychoactive drugs on willing volunteers, if guidelines are followed.
■ UNITED STATES
Trans-fat-free test in NYC
One New York City chef spent a year mastering a trans-fat-free version of his sfogliatella pastries. Boston Market restaurants have introduced a trans-fat-free chicken pot pie in New York before taking it to other US cities. All that work was in preparation for the city’s ban on trans-fats in restaurants, which took full effect on Tuesday, and is the first of its kind among major US cities.
■ UNITED STATES
Nowthen now official
Residents of Nowthen, Minnesota, know it’s a funny name, but they’re proud to officially become a city. The community changed its name on Monday from Burnsville Township to Nowthen, which was the name the first local post office was given by mistake. During the 1890s, a community leader created a list of possible names for the post office and wrote, “Nowthen, one of these ought to do.” Nowthen plans a city incorporation celebration in September.
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