■UNITED STATES
Trial offers details of camp
The trial of a man convicted of plotting to help recruit for al-Qaeda has provided the fullest account yet of what went on a decade ago at a terrorism training camp in Oregon that never came to fruition. According to the trial record, Oussama Kassir was enraged after arriving at the Dog Cry Ranch near Bly, about 370km southeast of Portland, in December 1999, the Oregonian reported. He expected to be welcomed by Muslim recruits eager to learn the ways of war. Instead, he got an Islamic leader from Seattle, a mentally impaired 18-year-old and two women interested in canning jars. Kassir was recently sentenced to life in prison.
■UNITED STATES
Elvis’ hair auctioned
A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley’s head when he joined the Army in 1958 has sold for US$15,000 at a Chicago auction house. Also among the 200 Elvis-related items up for grabs at the Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago on Sunday was a shirt that once belonged to the King that sold for US$52,000. Other items on offer included scarves, photos from the reception of Presley’s 1967 wedding to Priscilla and lots of records. The items belonged to the late Gary Pepper, who ran a fan club and was a friend.
■PUERTO RICO
Eight killed in bar attack
An attack on a bar left eight people dead and 20 injured, media reported on Sunday. Two attackers opened fire in the La Tombola bar in Toa Baja on the north coast shortly before midnight on Saturday, the Nuevo Dia newspaper said. An eight-month pregnant woman was among those shot, killing the baby in her womb. The woman was in critical condition in hospital. The motive for the attack remained unclear, but media said it may have been drug-related, with the recent arrest of drug boss Angel Ayala Vazquez sparking a possible a gang war.
■UNITED STATES
Chimp dies at Ohio zoo
One of the oldest female chimpanzees in the North American zoo population has died at the zoo in Toledo, Ohio. Fifi, a 49-year-old chimp, died on Friday. Fifi came to the Toledo Zoo in 1963 at the age of three and was easily identified by a small white toy alligator she carried for nine years. The zoo said on Sunday that Fifi’s keepers noticed on Thursday morning that she seemed stiff and tired. After improving early on Friday, she appeared disoriented in the afternoon and then deteriorated rapidly until she died. A necropsy revealed possible blood vessel abnormalities in her brain.
■UNITED STATES
Producer Melnick passes on
Daniel Melnick, the producer who brought gutsy, smart movies like Straw Dogs, Network and Midnight Express to the big screen, has died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 77. His son, Peter, told the Los Angeles Times that Melnick died on Tuesday of multiple ailments. He had recently undergone surgery for lung cancer. Melnick was head of production at MGM and Columbia, where he helped develop the divorce drama Kramer vs. Kramer and the nuclear suspense thriller The China Syndrome. Melnick also produced the 1960s spy-spoof television series Get Smart that starred Don Adams as bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart. In addition to his son, Melnick is survived by his daughter, Gabrielle Wilkerson-Melnick, and two grandchildren.
RSS