hMonaco's Prince Albert takes over the throne

hMonaco's Prince Alberttakes over the throne
MONACO -- A solemn Prince Albert II formally ascended to Monaco's throne Saturday in ceremonies that mixed royal pomp with an emotional remembrance for his late father, Rainier III. The festivities started with a Mass in the cliff-top cathedral where Rainier married Hollywood beauty Grace Kelly in 1956 and where he was buried beside her in April when he died at age 81, ending a 56-year reign. Wearing a royal ceremonial military uniform, Albert blinked back tears after kneeling to receive a blessing at the end of the Mass, which was led by the archbishop of Monaco, Monsignor Bernard Barsi. His sisters, Caroline and Stephanie, sat beside him and cried. "By rising to the Grimaldi throne, Prince Albert finds his place in the continuity of this dynasty and with the help of God, carries forward the destiny of the principality dating more than seven centuries," Barsi said between strains of organ music and Handel's "Messiah."
Powerful earthquaketriggers tsunami alert
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 6.2 struck off the coast of Sumatra on Saturday, triggering a tsunami alert and prompting some residents to flee their homes, officials said. There were no immediate reports of a tsunami, damages or casualties. The quake's epicenter was located off Simeulue island, about 160 miles southwest of Medan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck just after 9 p.m. local time. Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency put the quake's magnitude at 6.2, but the USGS said the magnitude was 6.5. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
Suspect, 27, is capturedin shootings of 4 people
RUBIDOUX, Calif. -- A man suspected of shooting his girlfriend, her mother and her two young children was arrested early Saturday in Phoenix, authorities said. Maximilliano Romero, 27, was taken into custody during a traffic stop, said Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Juan Zamora. Investigators were interviewing him in Arizona, Zamora said. Early Friday, deputies responding to an emergency call in Rubidoux found Romero's girlfriend and her mother shot multiple times, a young girl with a bullet wound to the head and a toddler with unspecified gunshot injuries. All four victims were hospitalized Saturday, and the young girl was critically injured, Sheriff Bob Doyle said. Friends and family identified them as Manuela Sepulveda, 24; her daughter Megan Fajardo, 5; her son Andy Albidrez, 1; and her mother Wanda Darkes, 48. On the 911 tape, obtained by The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, the young mother can be heard pleading for help. "My boyfriend just shot me and my kids," the woman screamed to a 911 dispatcher. "Oh my God, he killed my kids."
Workers fix parts to go onwith destruction of toxin
NEWPORT, Ind. -- Workers fixed faulty gaskets on a chemical reactor built to neutralize the Newport Chemical Depot's stockpile of VX, a substance so toxic that a single droplet can kill a human, and restarted destruction of the deadly nerve agent Saturday, the Army said. A gasket failure on Oct. 29 caused 490 gallons of caustic wastewater to spill at the facility. It was in an area where the wastewater is sampled to ensure it contains no measurable amounts of VX. "At no time did the leak cause any danger to the work force, the community or the environment," said Rick Rife, project manager for contractor Parsons Technology Inc. All 88 gaskets in the two chemical reactors being used to destroy VX were being replaced after the failure, and the second reactor tank was expected to be take another three weeks to complete.
Ex-Aristide security chiefreceives prison sentence
MIAMI -- The former security chief of ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was sentenced to about three years in prison for his involvement in a cocaine smuggling operation. Oriel Jean, 40, apologized to prosecutors, his family and U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez during his sentencing Friday on a money laundering charge. He had faced up to 20 years in prison, but was given a lighter sentence in exchange for testimony in other cases. A three-year investigation resulted in the arrests of 14 Haitians who held top government and private jobs during the Aristide administration.
Associated Press