Nation & World Digest || Oldest man dies in Montana at 114

hOldest man dies in Montana at 114

GREAT FALLS, Mont.

Officials at a Montana retirement home say the world’s oldest man has died.

Walter Breuning was 114, making him the oldest man and the second-oldest person in the world.

Breuning was born Sept. 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minn., and moved to Montana in 1918.

The Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group lists Besse Cooper of Georgia as the world’s oldest woman at 114. Breuning was 26 days younger than Cooper. Breuning lived at the Rainbow Senior Living retirement home in Great Falls.

US worried about Iranian support

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration said Thursday that Iran appears to be helping Syria crack down on protesters, calling it a troubling example of Iran’s meddling in the region and an indication that Syria’s authoritarian president, Bashar Assad, isn’t interested in real reform.

The accusation came as Assad ordered the release of hundreds of people detained during a month of demonstrations in an attempt to quell public anger toward his regime. Tens of thousands are seeking greater political freedom from his government, one of Middle East’s most repressive, and pro-democracy activists say more than 200 people have been killed in a resulting crackdown.

Troubled dam still threatens ND town

BURLINGTON, N.D.

The Des Lacs River in northwest North Dakota began a slow drop Thursday, but authorities continued to monitor a weak and leaky dam protecting a neighborhood of about 30 homes.

Water levels had fallen more than a foot, and the river had retreated from overflowed banks by about 3 feet compared to a day earlier, state and local officials said. Water behind the troubled Burlington Dam No. 1 was down by about a half-foot, said Todd Sando, North Dakota’s state engineer.

Judge dismisses suit against union law

MADISON, Wis.

A judge on Thursday dismissed one of three lawsuits challenging Wisconsin’s divisive law restricting union bargaining rights but left open the possibility it could be filed again with slightly different plaintiffs.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi dismissed the lawsuit filed on behalf of the county by Democratic County Executive Kathleen Falk. The judge said Falk can’t sue because state law forbids an agency or arm of government — such as a county — from challenging the constitutionality of state laws.

Ex-UN inspector convicted in sex case

STROUDSBURG, Pa.

A former U.N. weapons inspector nabbed in an online sex sting was convicted Thursday on six counts, including unlawful contact with a minor, for exchanging explicit messages with a 15-year-old girl in a chat room and then performing a sex act on himself.

Jurors in Monroe County convicted 49-year-old Scott Ritter, of Delmar, N.Y., on six of seven counts. He was acquitted on a criminal-attempt charge.

Associated Press