June Carter Cash dies

June Carter Cash dies
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- June Carter Cash, the Grammy-winning scion of one of country music's pioneering families and the wife of country giant Johnny Cash, died Thursday of complications from heart surgery. She was 73.
She died at a hospital with her husband of 35 years and family members at her bedside, manager Lou Robin said. She had been critically ill after May 7 surgery to replace a heart valve.
A singer, songwriter, musician, actress and author, June Carter Cash performed with her husband on record and on stage, doing songs like "Jackson" and "If I Were a Carpenter," which won Grammy awards in 1967 and 1970, respectively. Their duets included "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1964 and "If I Had a Hammer" in 1972.
"People talk about Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette when it comes to pioneering women in country music. But they very seldom mention June, somewhat because she got married to Johnny Cash," said Ed Benson, executive director of the Country Music Association. "I think people should think of her more often when they think of the pioneering women in country music."
She was co-writer of her husband's 1963 hit "Ring of Fire," which was about falling in love with Cash. In his 1997 autobiography, Johnny Cash described how his wife stuck with him through his years of amphetamine abuse.
Texas Dems return
AUSTIN, Texas -- Runaway Texas Democrats boarded two buses and returned home, arriving at the Capitol early today after their self-imposed weeklong exile in Oklahoma that succeeded in killing a redistricting bill they opposed.
The 51 state lawmakers departed late Thursday from the Holiday Inn in Ardmore, Okla., 30 miles north of the state line, just before the redistricting bill died in Austin. A midnight deadline passed with no vote -- due to a lack of House quorum caused by the absent lawmakers.
Helping troops readjust
FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A series of slayings of soldiers' wives at Fort Bragg last summer shocked the nation, triggering fears that troops returning from Afghanistan were having difficulty readjusting to being home.
The Army, hoping to ensure soldiers who served in Iraq don't face similar stresses, has implemented a new mandatory program designed to ease the transition to spouses and Stateside life.
Under the new Deployment Cycle Support program, soldiers who used to get two weeks' vacation upon returning home must now remain on duty for another four or five days, during which they must complete certain tasks.
Those include attending meetings to get tips on how to manage the transition and discussions on how to reconnect emotionally with spouses and children who may not remember the absent parent. Spouses are encouraged to attend some meetings.
Charges in hazing
CHICAGO -- A dozen girls and three boys accused of participating in the brutal hazing of junior girls from a suburban Chicago high school will face misdemeanor battery charges, prosecutors announced Friday.
John Gorman, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney, said the students -- all 17- and 18-year-old seniors -- will be charged as adults in the May 4 incident.
The students are accused of participating in a melee in a Cook County park that was captured on videotape.
Glenbrook North High School senior girls are shown on the tapes beating junior classmates and covering them with mud, paint, feces and garbage. Five girls ended up in the hospital.
Roman ship unveiled
DE MEERN, Netherlands -- Archaeologists have unveiled the oldest shipwreck ever recovered in the Netherlands, an astonishingly well-preserved Roman military transport that sank along the banks of the Rhine 18 centuries ago.
Although other ships have been found in what was the sprawling Roman Empire, the flat-bottomed barge displayed Thursday is one of the few found north of the Alps. It was built about 180 A.D., when Marcus Aurelius passed the throne to the emperor Commodus.
Lunar eclipse
LOS ANGELES -- As the moon moved through the shadow of the Earth, 6-year-old Parker Sydnam peered up at the phenomenon through a 6-inch telescope.
"It didn't look really like the moon, just a pink cloud," Parker said.
Skygazers across the nation were treated to the first lunar eclipse visible from North America in three years -- if they were lucky enough to have the weather cooperate.
Initially, it was difficult to make out the darkened moon as it rose through haze hanging over Los Angeles.
The moon remained totally eclipsed for 53 minutes as seen from North America, appearing darkest around 9 p.m. PDT or midnight on the East Coast.