Boy needing chemo returns with mother

Boy needing chemo returns with mother

NEW ULM, Minn. — A 13-year-old cancer patient and his mother, who fled Minnesota last week to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy for him, returned voluntarily Monday, and the boy was being evaluated by a doctor and a sheriff, the family’s attorney said.

Daniel Hauser was “immediately checked over medically” when he and his mother arrived on a charter flight at 3 a.m., Brown County Sheriff Rich Hoffmann said.

He did not say where the pair have been since they missed a court hearing last Tuesday, or whether Daniel received medical treatment for his Hodgkin’s lymphoma while they were gone.

“It is a good day as Daniel and Colleen Hauser have been safely returned to Minnesota,” Hoffmann said.

Because Colleen Hauser returned voluntarily, a warrant for her arrest was lifted. Hoffmann said he could not comment on whether there could be possible charges against her.

Daniel Hauser was being evaluated at a hospital in the Twin Cities on Monday, according to Tom Hagen, an attorney at the law office representing Daniel’s parents

Italian leader in hot water over ties with 18-year-old

ROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi has promised to further explain his relationship with an 18-year-old woman at the heart of a political and personal scandal.

In an interview aired Monday with CNN, Berlusconi denied that he lied about his relationship with Noemi Letizia and said he merely tried to protect her and her family’s privacy.

Berlusconi’s wife, Veronica Lario, cited the premier’s presence at Letizia’s 18th birthday party in Naples in announcing a few weeks ago that she would divorce the 72-year-old.

The conservative premier has denied any scandalous relationship with the woman and said he knows her father through decades-old Socialist Party circles. He has said he attended the birthday party because he happened to be in Naples that day.

Berlusconi told CNN there was nothing “negative” about the relationship.

Former reporters explain Times’ lapse on Watergate

NEW YORK — Two former New York Times journalists say the paper could have broken the story of Watergate if they hadn’t let a hot tip fall through the cracks.

Former reporter Robert Smith tells the Times that the FBI’s acting director hinted at White House involvement in the 1972 break-in over lunch two months after it happened.

Smith says he shared the information with Times editor Robert Phelps but had to hand off the story because he was quitting to attend law school.

Smith says he decided to come forward after learning that Phelps planned to reveal what happened in a memoir that was published last month.

Phelps says he has “no idea” what happened. He says it’s probably his fault that the Times didn’t pursue the story and got beaten by The Washington Post.

Chicago area reports 1st swine-flu-related death

CHICAGO — A Chicago-area resident has died of swine flu, the first death in Illinois and the 12th nationally, from the illness, health authorities said Monday.

Authorities in Mexico, where the swine flu outbreak was identified in April, announced three more deaths, raising its total to 83, and Canada reported its second death.

“With as many cases of H1N1 influenza that have been reported in Illinois, we have been concerned that there would be fatalities,” said Dr. Damon Arnold, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. The state lists 896 confirmed cases.

Before the latest reports, the World Health Organization tallied at least 91 deaths around the globe from more than 12,500 swine flu cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 10 deaths and 6,700 cases in the U.S., most of them mild.

CAW approves deal with General Motors

TORONTO — Canadian Auto Workers members voted 86 percent in favor of a cost-cutting deal with General Motors Canada as the automaker bids to qualify for more government loans and assure its future in Canada.

Union leader Ken Lewenza said Monday in a release that the new deal should provide a much-needed sense of security.

Lewenza has said the deal allows GM Canada to meet the cost benchmarks set by the Canadian government, namely making cuts to become competitive with non-unionized Toyota Canada. The deal also stipulates that GM’s car assembly and parts plants in Ontario will stay open.

Associated Press