Massive floods flatten town

June 24, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

RIO DE JANEIRO

Torrential waters flattened a small town as floods raged through two states in northeastern Brazil, and the death toll was expected to surpass 44 as rescuers searched Wednesday for hundreds of people reported missing.

Mayor Ana Lopes said the entire town of Branquinha, population 12,000, will have to be rebuilt in a different location

Stem cells reverse blindness

LOS ANGELES

Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells — a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday.

The treatment worked completely in 82 of 107 eyes and partially in 14 others, with benefits lasting up to a decade so far. One man whose eyes were severely damaged more than 60 years ago now has near-normal vision.

Pakistan releases bin Laden hunter

DENVER

An American on a solo mission to hunt down Osama bin Laden is headed back to the United States, 10 days after authorities found him in the woods of northern Pakistan with a pistol, a sword and night-vision equipment.

Gary Faulkner, who has been detained since June 13, left Pakistan early Wednesday and will arrive in Denver later in the day, his brother Scott Faulkner said.

The 50-year-old Gary Faulkner, of Greeley, told officials he was out to kill the al-Qaida leader. He was then moved to Islamabad, and his brother told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was being released by the Pakistani government without charges.

Famous photo subject dies at 91

LOS ANGELES

Edith Shain, who claimed to be the nurse who was smooched by a sailor in Times Square in the famous Life magazine photograph marking the end of World War II, has died. She was 91.

Shain died Sunday at her home in Los Angeles of liver cancer, said her son, Michael Shain, of Conifer, Colo.

Another son, Robert Shain of Malibu, said his mother had just gotten off her shift at a hospital when she and a friend took the subway to Times Square on Aug. 15, 1945, to join a celebration of what became known as V-J Day (short for Victory over Japan).

The enduring photo shows a sailor in a dark uniform kissing a white-uniformed nurse he has bent backward in a clinch. Their faces are partially obscured.

Gore accused of sex misconduct

PORTLAND, Ore.

A Portland massage therapist accused former Vice President Al Gore of “unwanted sexual contact” at a hotel during an October 2006 visit, but no charges were filed due to lack of evidence, law officials said Wednesday.

An attorney representing the woman contacted police in late 2006, said Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk. Schrunk said the woman — who has not been identified — refused to be interviewed by detectives and did not want the investigation to proceed.

The woman, however, contacted police in January 2009 and gave a statement, saying Gore tried to have sex with her during an appointment.

Associated Press