World digest || Condemned woman in Iran confesses

Condemned woman in Iran confesses

TEHRAN, Iran

An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery confessed to helping a man kill her husband and re-enacted the alleged crime in an interview broadcast Friday by Iranian state television — an apparent effort by the government to deflect international criticism over the case.

It was the fourth time Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani has been shown on TV as Tehran has faced an international outcry over the announcement that she would be stoned to death, the latest source of friction between Iran and the West.

Authorities announced her conviction in the murder case only after the uproar over the stoning sentence erupted last summer, and her lawyer — who has since been arrested — said she was never formally put on trial for the killing and was tortured into confessing. Iranian authorities could use the murder charge to justify executing Ashtiani by hanging instead of stoning.

Leader of drug ring believed to be dead

MEXICO CITY

The eccentric leader of the brutal La Familia drug cartel is believed to have been killed in a shootout during two days of fighting between federal police and gunmen that terrified civilians across a western Mexican state, the government said Friday.

The death of Nazario Moreno Gonzalez — nicknamed “The Craziest One” — would be a major blow to a drug cartel that burst into national prominence four years ago by rolling severed heads into a nightclub and declaring that its mission was to protect Michoacan state from rival gangs and petty criminals.

Police have received information that the 40-year-old Gonzalez — also known as “El Chayo” or “The Doctor” — was killed in clash Thursday between cartel gunmen and federal police, said Alejandro Poire, the government spokesman for security issues.

‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ fight to continue

WASHINGTON

Advocates of a bill that would overturn the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy say their fight for repeal this year is far from over despite failing to pass the Senate with only days left in the lame-duck session.

Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked the legislation, which would have lifted the military’s 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops. The measure was tucked into a broader defense policy bill and had passed the House last spring.

It failed in a 57-40 test vote, falling three votes short of the 60 needed to advance.

GOP senators mostly united in defeating the measure on procedural grounds, insisting that the Senate vote on tax cuts first. Maine Sen. Susan Collins was the only Republican to support moving to debate the bill.

Collins and Sen. Joe Lieberman are now pushing standalone legislation they insist could be considered before the Senate’s target adjournment next week. Its prospects are uncertain, although Reid indicated he was open to bringing it up before the holiday break.

Flag sold for $2.2M

BILLINGS, Mont.

The only U.S. flag not captured or lost during George Armstrong Custer’s Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn in southeastern Montana sold at auction Friday for $2.2 million.

The buyer was identified by the New York auction house Sotheby’s as an American private collector. Frayed, torn, and with possible bloodstains, the flag had been valued before its sale at up to $5 million.

VINDICATOR WIRE SERVICES

The 7th U.S. Cavalry flag — known as a “guidon” for its swallow-tailed shape — had been the property of the Detroit Institute of Arts, which paid just $54 for it in 1895.

“We’ll be using the proceeds to strengthen our collection of Native American art, which has a rather nice irony to it I think,” said the Detroit museum’s director, Graham Beal.

Custer and more than 200 troopers were massacred by Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors in the infamous 1876 battle. Of the five guidons carried by Custer’s battalion only one was immediately recovered, from beneath the body of a fallen trooper.

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Colorado exterminator suspected of stealing cash, jewelry, guns from customers for 3 decades

DENVER (AP) — A southwestern Colorado exterminator is suspected of earning the trust of his customers — and their dogs — to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of items and cash over the course of nearly 30 years.

Charles Trogdon was arrested Nov. 1, days after one of his customers, who was hiding, said she saw Trogdon open a nightstand where money previously had been stolen. La Plata County sheriff’s investigator Dan Patterson said other customers began calling and wondering if Trogdon was responsible for missing cash and items over the years — everything from tools and jewelry to a custom-made rifle.

Patterson said many of Trogdon’s customers gave him their security codes or keys; a bag of 50 keys was found in his truck along with a box of dog bones. Authorities believe Trogdon returned to customers’ homes after spraying for bugs to take an item or, in the case of cash, partial amounts of what he found.

“Never too much at a time though, just enough to keep people confused,” Patterson said.

Some alleged victims were snowbirds who allowed Trogdon to spray their homes while they were in Arizona for the winter.

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Colo. police scramble to protect informants after database leak containing 200,000 names

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado sheriff’s online database mistakenly revealed the identities of confidential drug informants and listed phone numbers, addresses and Social Security numbers of suspects, victims and others interviewed during criminal investigations, authorities said.

The breach potentially affects some 200,000 people, and Mesa County sheriff’s deputies have been sifting through the database to determine who, if anyone, is in jeopardy.

“That in itself is probably the biggest concern we have, because we’re talking about people’s personal safety,” Sheriff Stan Hilkey said.

The FBI and Google Inc. are trying to determine who accessed the database, the sheriff said. Their concern: That someone may have copied it and could post it, WikiLeaks-style, on the Internet.

“The truth is, once it’s been out there and on the Internet and copied, you’re never going to regain total control,” Hilkey said.

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’Survivor’ star Richard Hatch accused of violating probation on tax evasion sentence in RI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Reality TV star Richard Hatch is accused of violating probation on his tax evasion sentence, which he received for failing to pay taxes on his $1 million prize from the first season of “Survivor.”

Hatch, who became reality TV’s first villain in the 2000 season of “Survivor,” is scheduled to appear Wednesday in federal court in Rhode Island to answer charges he violated terms of his three-year probation, which began after he was released from prison last year following more than three years behind bars.

Hatch was convicted in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on his “Survivor” winnings, as well as other income. He received extra prison time because the judge found he lied on the stand. His probation requires him to find work, complete a mental health program, refile his 2000 and 2001 tax returns and pay all his back taxes.

It was not immediately clear which of the terms Hatch is accused of violating. His public defender did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Barry Weiner, who oversees federal probation in Rhode Island, would not release details of the complaint. But he told The Associated Press the probation office goes through a review of its cases every year to ensure people are complying with the terms of their release. He said Hatch was not being detained before Wednesday’s hearing.