h Doctor is 1st woman to become leader of Chile

h Doctor is 1st womanto become leader of Chile
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Michelle Bachelet, the socialist presidential candidate in Chile's run-off presidential election, shows her inked thumb after voting. Bachelet, a doctor and former political prisoner, was elected Sunday as the country's first female president, with her conservative multimillionaire opponent conceding defeat in a race that reflected Latin America's increasingly leftward tilt. The victory of Bachelet -- a political prisoner during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and defense minister in the current administration -- extends the rule of the center left coalition that has governed since the end of Pinochet's 1973-90 rule. With 97.5 percent of some 8 million votes counted, Bachelet had 53.5 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Sebastian Pinera. Sunday's runoff was necessary after a Dec. 11. election involving four candidates failed to produce a winner with a majority.
Family, friends gatherat vigil for slain teenager
LONGWOOD, Fla. -- Family and friends attended a candlelight vigil Sunday for a 15-year-old boy who died two days after being shot by police at his middle school. Christopher Penley was officially pronounced dead at 4:57 a.m. Sunday, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said in a statement posted on its Web site. The boy had been described as clinically brain dead Saturday, and was kept alive so his organs could be harvested, said Mark Nation, a lawyer for Christopher's parents. On Friday, Christopher was at school with a pellet gun that closely resembled a 9mm handgun when another boy scuffled with him for control of the gun inside a classroom. Christopher was later cornered by deputy sheriffs and a SWAT team in a school bathroom, authorities said. Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said the boy was suicidal and couldn't be talked into surrendering the weapon. The teenager was shot after he raised the gun at a deputy, Eslinger said. The sheriff said it wasn't until after the incident that authorities realized the weapon was only a pellet gun. No one else at the 1,100-pupil school in suburban Orlando was injured.
Capsule containing dustfrom comet returns
DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah -- After a seven-year journey, a NASA space capsule returned safely to Earth on Sunday with the first dust ever fetched from a comet, a cosmic bounty that scientists hope will yield clues to how the solar system formed. The capsule's blazing plunge through the atmosphere lit up parts of the western sky as it capped a mission in which the Stardust spacecraft swooped past a comet known as Wild 2. About a million comet and interstellar dust particles -- most smaller than the width of a human hair -- are believed to be inside a sealed canister. The particles are thought to be pristine leftovers from the birth of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. The next stop for the capsule is the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where scientists will unlock its canister later this week. After a preliminary examination, they will ship the particles to laboratories all over the world for further study to analyze their composition.
Emir of Kuwait is buriedin unmarked grave
KUWAIT CITY -- Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the emir of Kuwait and one of the United States' closest Mideast allies, was buried in an unmarked grave Sunday in a ceremony attended by thousands of weeping citizens who mourned the death of an admired ruler. The crown prince, Sheik Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah -- in his mid-70s and ailing himself -- assumed the throne. But he was expected to leave control of day-to-day government affairs to the veteran prime minister, and no major policy shifts were expected. Sheik Jaber, who was restored to power by American forces after Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny, oil-rich country in 1990, was 79 when he died after 27 years in power. He was one of the few Arab rulers who supported the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam. He allowed his country to be used as a launching pad for the American drive to Baghdad.
Associated Press