h2 Brazilians convicted in killing of American nun

h2 Brazilians convictedin killing of American nun
BELEM, Brazil -- Margaret Stang touches an image of her sister, Dorothy Stang, after two Brazilian men were convicted Saturday of killing the American nun, who spent decades trying to save the Amazon rain forest. In a trial many saw as a test of Brazil's commitment to prosecuting land-related killings, Rayfran das Neves Sales and Clodoaldo Carlos Batista were found guilty of killing Stang on Feb. 12 in the heart of the Amazon rain forest. The seven-member jury sentenced Salas, who shot Stang six times with a .38-caliber revolver on a muddy road, to 27 years in prison. Batista, charged as an accomplice, was sentenced to 17 years. Stang, 73, was killed in Para state, which is notorious across Brazil for corruption and land-related violence that in the past 20 years has claimed the lives of some 534 people.
Polish premier ordersCIA secret-prison probe
WARSAW, Poland -- Poland's prime minister said Saturday he has ordered an investigation into whether the CIA ran secret prisons for terror suspects in the country -- an allegation the government repeatedly has denied. Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said a "detailed" probe would be conducted to "check if there is any proof that such an event took place in our country. It is necessary to finally close the issue because it could be dangerous to Poland." Marcinkiewicz's spokesman, Konrad Ciesiolkiewicz, said he did not know who would carry out the investigation. More than a half-dozen investigations are under way into whether European countries may have hosted secret U.S.-run prisons in which Al-Qaida suspects were allegedly tortured, and whether European airports and airspace were used for alleged CIA flights transporting prisoners to countries where torture is practiced.
Cop dies, actor is hurtin gunfire exchange
NEW YORK -- A young police officer dying from a bullet to his chest shot two suspects early Saturday, one of them identified as an actor who played a misfit mobster on "The Sopranos." Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, collapsed in the driveway of his Bronx home and died shortly afterward. The wounded suspects were quickly captured. Investigators identified one as Lillo Brancato Jr., an actor who got his break in the Robert De Niro-directed film "A Bronx Tale" in 1993, and played doomed mob wannabe Matt Bevilacqua during the 1999-2000 season of "The Sopranos." Brancato, 29, of Yonkers, was also arrested in June for alleged heroin possession. The alleged gunman, Steven Armento of Yonkers, was shot four times and was in serious condition. Brancato, who police said was unarmed, was shot twice and was in critical condition.
At least 103 die in crashof Nigerian jetliner
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria -- A Nigerian jetliner filled with schoolchildren going home for Christmas crashed Saturday while landing during a lightning storm in this delta oil port. At least 103 people were killed, officials said. A spokesman for President Olusegun Obasanjo called the disaster "a national tragedy." Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Sam Adurogboye said early reports indicated that seven people survived the crash of the Sosoliso Airlines' McDonnell Douglas DC-9. Flight 1145 left the capital, Abuja.
Singers Garth Brooks,Trish Yearwood marry
CLAREMORE, Okla. -- Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood said "I do" on Saturday in a private ceremony at their Oklahoma home. Brooks, an Oklahoma native, and Yearwood exchanged vows before family members, said Nancy Seltzer, a publicist for the couple. "They said it is the perfect Christmas gift to each other and they couldn't be happier," Seltzer said. She declined to provide any other details. Brooks, 43, got down on one knee and proposed to Yearwood, 41, in May in front of 7,000 fans at the "Legends in Bronze" event at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, Calif. Ten larger-than-life bronze statues honoring country stars were unveiled during that event, including one of Brooks. The marriage is the second for Brooks, who has three children, and the third for Yearwood.
Associated Press