2 arrested after chained teen shows up at gym

2 arrested after chained teen shows up at gym

TRACY, Calif. — A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.

Police were also seeking the boy’s aunt and had an outstanding felony warrant against her for an earlier reported assault against the teen.

The boy, who authorities said ran away from a Sacramento foster home last year, came into the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy on Monday wearing only boxer briefs and covered in what appeared to be soot, gym manager Chuck Ellis said. Tracy is about 70 miles south of Sacramento.

Obama to tap Richardson as commerce secretary

CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama plans to name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his choice for commerce secretary today, adding another former campaign rival to his Cabinet, Democratic officials said.

The incoming chief executive has chosen another adversary-turned-ally, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to be his secretary of state. Obama has moved quickly to fill out his Cabinet, having named more than half of it in the month since he was elected the country’s 44th president.

Richardson’s nomination has been all but announced for several weeks.

The Democratic officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement hasn’t been made, said Richardson will join Obama at a news conference in Chicago today.

U.S. cruise ship escapes pirates’ hijack attempt

NAIROBI, Kenya — The luxury American cruise ship steaming across the Gulf of Aden with hundreds of well-heeled tourists just might have been too much for Somali pirates to resist.

But the six bandits, riding in two skiffs and firing rifle shots at the gleaming ship, were outrun in minutes when the captain of M/S Nautica gunned the engine and sped away, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday.

Still, the implications had the pirates hijacked the ship added a new dimension to the piracy scourge, as NATO foreign ministers groped for solutions at a meeting in Brussels and the United Nations extended an international piracy-fighting mandate for another year.

Thai airports to reopen after ouster of official

BANGKOK, Thailand — Anti-government demonstrators in Thailand declared victory and said they would end their occupation of the country’s two main airports today after a court decision forced the country’s prime minister from office.

While an estimated 300,000 travelers stranded by last week’s airport takeovers breathed a bit easier, the question of who will hold power in a democratic Thailand remained unanswered after Tuesday’s verdict.

The protesters — who seek to eliminate the one-person, one-vote system — left open the possibility of more unrest saying they will return to the streets if political change does not occur. At least six people have been killed and scores injured in clashes in recent months.

Also unclear was the extent of damage the weeklong airport blockade inflicted on the country’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism.

Hudson’s brother-in-law charged in shooting deaths

CHICAGO — Jennifer Hudson’s brother-in-law was charged with murder Tuesday in the shooting deaths of three of the actress’s family members, including the 7-year-old son of his estranged wife.

William Balfour had been in custody since Oct. 24, when the bodies of Hudson’s mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were discovered in their South Side home. The body of Julian King, Balfour’s stepson and Hudson’s nephew, was found in a sport-utility vehicle three days later.

Until Balfour’s arrest in the murder case Monday, police had publicly identified him only as a “person of interest” in the investigation. Balfour, 27, who previously was held on a parole violation, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony home invasion.

Associated Press