Bush grants 7 pardons, first of his presidency

Bush grants 7 pardons,first of his presidency
WASHINGTON -- President Bush granted his first pardons Monday when he excused seven men for minor offenses from long ago, including an Indiana man who stole $10.90 from a postal employee in 1971 and a Tennessean who made some untaxed whiskey in 1962.
The chief executive's action wipes away the criminal record of the men, who have served their time behind bars or paid fines for their offenses.
Bush's sparing use of the pardon power stands in sharp and deliberate contrast to President Clinton's rush of last-minute pardons for 176 criminal offenders, including fugitive financier Marc Rich.
Administration officials stressed that all the men pardoned Monday had applied for a pardon and were screened by the Justice Department. And none were said to be personal friends of the president or political donors.
"These men were convicted of minor offenses, admitted their crimes, completed their sentences and have gone on to lead exemplary lives," said Mark Corallo, a Justice Department spokesman. "They all went through the normal review process. The president's pardon power is a wonderful thing, but it must be exercised with great care and great caution."
Positively identified
LOS ANGELES -- The county coroner positively identified a body found in a Beverly Hills condominium last week as the mother of radio host "Dr. Laura."
The identity of Yolanda Schlessinger, 77, was established by examining body X-rays taken of her earlier, coroner's spokesman David Campbell said Monday. Tests were continuing to determine the cause and date of death.
Beverly Hills police said Friday that the woman had been dead for some time before her body was discovered Dec. 16. The case was being investigated as a homicide.
Laura Schlessinger announced at the end of her radio program Friday that her mother's body had been found. At the time, police did not publicly release Yolanda Schlessinger's name, pending the coroner's confirmation.
Police have not revealed why they are treating the death as a homicide.
'Potbellied Bandit'sentenced to prison
OWENSBORO, Ky. -- The "Potbellied Bandit" was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday and ordered to repay more than $86,000 for a string of bank robberies in seven states.
The 5-foot-11, 260-pound Douglas Lee Poling got his nickname after a surveillance video showed him with his belly bared during a holdup in Kentucky.
Poling was captured a year ago after on a 100-mph chase on Interstate 65. He admitted robbing 17 banks and credit unions in Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee and South Carolina.
The Newport, Mich., man pleaded guilty to bank robbery and other charges.
Thousands in Venezuelamarch against Chavez
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Tens of thousands of Venezuelans waved flashlights and candles outside the headquarters of the state oil monopoly in support of managers staging a strike to oust President Hugo Chavez
Twinkling lights surrounded the headquarters of Petroleos de Venezuela SA on Monday night as protesters sang, waved flags and chanted "He's leaving!"
Also Monday, a grenade exploded outside the offices of the Fedecamaras business chamber, one of the groups leading a nationwide strike. There were no injuries, and police had no suspects.
Business, labor and opposition political parties called the strike on Dec. 2 to demand Chavez resign or submit to early elections. Many businesses have reopened, but the strike has closed down Venezuela's oil industry -- the world's fifth-largest and a top supplier to the United States. Strike leaders say most of PDVSA's 40,000 employees have joined the stoppage.
Drug mule convicted
NEW YORK -- A 13-year-old boy who arrived in New York with 87 packets of heroin in his stomach faces up to 18 months in a juvenile facility after being found guilty of felony drug possession.
Prince Nnaedozie Umegbolu was convicted Monday of criminal possession of a controlled substance for smuggling drugs while entering the United States from Nigeria.
Authorities said Prince swallowed heroin-filled condoms a few days before beginning his trip to New York on April 10, but became sick before meeting someone who had promised him $1,900 to act as a courier.
Prince, an American citizen, had been living with his grandparents in Abuja, Nigeria. The boy's father is imprisoned in the United States for recruiting drug mules to smuggle heroin into Georgia.
Combined dispatches