Searchers find anchor, not missing woman

Searchers find anchor,not missing woman
MODESTO, Calif. -- The submerged object found by sonar in a marina turned out to be a boat anchor, not the body of a missing pregnant woman as feared, her sister-in-law said Saturday.
"I have to laugh," said Susan Caudillo as volunteers applauded and cheered. "It's a very common thing to have in a marina. We just knew it wasn't going to be Laci."
Laci Peterson, 27, of Modesto, has been missing since Christmas Eve. She's eight months pregnant and her baby shower had been planned for Saturday.
Instead of celebrating, her family and friends gathered to post flyers. About 100 miles away, divers searched by hand along the floor of the Berkeley Marina for the object which had been spotted Thursday with sonar equipment.
"The dive teams located ... an anchor that was sunk down into the bottom part of the bay," Modesto Police Sgt. Ron Cloward said. "We rechecked with sonar ... to confirm the area was clear of any other objects."
Scott Peterson, the woman's husband and the father of the unborn child, said he was fishing at the marina the day his wife went missing.
Scott Peterson said he last saw his wife on the morning of Dec. 24. A neighbor found her dog later that day walking alone through the neighborhood; her car was still parked in her driveway.
Italian rightists attackoutspoken Muslim
VERONA, Italy -- Members of an far-right group burst into a television studio and attacked a controversial Muslim activist while he was on the air. The altercation was his second televised fight in a week.
About 25 members of the extreme-right group Forza Nuova stormed into the studio of the local TeleNuovo channel in Verona, about 75 miles east of Milan, on Friday night, where Adel Smith of the Italian Muslim Union was appearing on a talk show.
They began throwing eggs at him, then attacked him and his assistant, beating Smith and giving his assistant a broken cheekbone and a black eye. Police arrested six of them.
Smith got into another TV punch-up last Sunday, with conservative editorialist Carlo Pelanda. That fight broke out after Smith questioned Israel's right to exist and said that some criticism of Osama bin Laden was invented by the CIA.
Moderate Muslim groups have distanced themselves from Smith, saying he makes offensive statements that go against the teachings of the Koran.
Court subpoenasClonaid executive
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- An executive with the company that claims to have produced a human clone was subpoenaed Saturday to appear in court, and the company was ordered to disclose the whereabouts of the baby girl and her mother.
The witness subpoena and summons were approved by a court at the request of attorney Bernard Siegel, who has filed a lawsuit asking the state to appoint a guardian for the child, the attorney said.
The papers were delivered to Thomas Kaenzig, a Clonaid vice president, before he spoke at the Money World 2003 conference in Fort Lauderdale, Siegel said.
If Kaenzig fails to appear at the hearing Jan. 22, he could be held in contempt of court.
Kaenzig would not speak about the papers and Clonaid spokeswoman Nadine Gary also declined comment.
Kaenzig said the girl's parents feared losing her through government or court action. "They have been waiting many, many years for this baby to be here and they are very happy that the baby is here," he said.
Royal 'panic rooms'
LONDON -- Fears of an Al-Qaida terrorist attack prompted Queen Elizabeth II to install "panic rooms" at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, a newspaper reported today.
The high-security rooms are encased in 18-inch-thick steel walls and are designed to protect senior members of the royal family from poison gas, bomb attacks or assassination by terrorists, The Sunday Times reported.
The shell of each room is bullet-resistant and fire-retardant, and the rooms themselves could withstand a mortar attack and possibly a direct hit by a light aircraft, the newspaper said.
Windsor Castle lies on the flight path for London's Heathrow Airport.
The rooms are equipped with secure communications, beds and washing facilities, and are stocked with enough food and hot water for the royals to survive at least a week, the newspaper said.
Associated Press