Commander removed at Guantanamo base
The commanding officer of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was relieved of his duties Saturday after he was accused of inappropriate management practices, a Navy spokesman said.
Capt. Leslie J. McCoy, who had commanded Guantanamo since March 2003, was the subject of an investigation into inappropriate personnel and administrative practices unrelated to the base’s detention camp for terrorism suspects.
“His release and reassignment are in no way related to the detainee operations taking place in Guantanamo,” said C. Patrick Dooling, spokesman for the Navy Southeast Region based in Jacksonville, Fla.
Dooling would not elaborate on the allegations against the officer. McCoy was relieved of his duties Saturday by Rear Adm. Annette E. Brown, the region commander, who had “lost confidence in his ability to effectively lead,” Dooling said.
Fire, anti-gay graffiti discovered at church
A small fire and anti-gay graffiti were found Saturday at a church belonging to the United Church of Christ, a denomination that endorsed same-sex marriage last week.
The exterior of St. John’s Reformed United Church of Christ in Middlebrook, Vt., also included a message that United Church of Christ members were sinners.
A member of the congregation discovered the graffiti when he stopped by to mow the grass. He found a small fire within the sanctuary. The fire was put out in a few minutes, Lt. Tim McCray said.
Stopgap spending bill ends state furloughs
The first partial government shutdown in Minnesota history ended early Saturday as Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a temporary spending plan and lawmakers agreed on the outline of a two-year budget.
“I’m pleased to announce agreement has been reached by the legislative leadership to put Minnesota back to work,” Pawlenty announced about 2 a.m. The shutdown began July 1.
The Legislature overwhelmingly approved the “lights on” measure to send 8,900 furloughed state employees back to their jobs by restoring funding until Thursday.
Lawmakers have until Wednesday night to hash out the final details of the two-year budget or risk another shutdown – but that’s considered unlikely.
Bearing good news: Baby panda arrives
The National Zoo’s giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth early Saturday to a squealing, vigorous cub that was conceived through artificial insemination.
The typical cub weighs 3 ounces to 5 ounces and is about the size of a stick of butter.
It was too early to determine the gender and exact weight of the cub, zoo officials said, because veterinarians kept their distance, not wanting to interrupt the mother-cub bonding.
Youth Day eyed for John Paul II sainthood
Pope John Paul II’s closest aide said Saturday that he hoped the late pontiff would be made a saint during World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, next month.
“Everything is possible, but I don’t know if it would be opportune,” Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz said. But he said the Cologne setting would be perfect because “no one loved young people like the pope, and they loved him.”
“It would be wonderful for a German pope to canonize a Polish pope in Cologne,” he said.
Denver hosted World Youth Day in 1993.
Search for Ala. teen moves to sea caverns
Forensic divers from Florida State University probed an underwater cavern Saturday on the northern tip of Aruba for any sign of a missing Alabama teenager.
Dale Nute, a forensic scientist with the university, said the cavern was one of several sites identified by local authorities that the team will search.
Natalee Holloway, 18, vanished in the early hours of May 30, hours before she was to catch a flight home after a five-day vacation celebrating her high school graduation with 124 classmates. Numerous searches by Dutch marines, Aruban investigators and volunteer rescue groups have failed to turn up any trace of the honor student.
Settlers given until Aug. 17 to leave Gaza
The forced evacuation of Gaza Strip settlements will begin Aug. 17 and settlers who refuse to leave by then will lose out financially, a senior Israeli official said Saturday, giving a starting date for the first time.
Settler leaders have accused the government of trying to undercut resistance to the evacuation of settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank with what they say are empty threats.
The senior official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said settlers who leave before the Aug. 17 deadline will get a better financial package, including special government grants and aid programs to help them resettle.
2nd officer dies from Wednesday attack
A city police officer has died days after being wounded in an attack that killed another officer and left a third injured in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, across the U.S. border from Laredo, Texas.
Gunmen opened fire late Wednesday on a private vehicle carrying three police officers, killing Martin Gonzalez and wounding Guillermo Martinez and Roberto Alexander, officials said. Alexander died Friday.
Wednesday’s deadly attack came as newly appointed Nuevo Laredo Police Chief Omar Pimentel took control of the embattled border city, promising to rebuild confidence in the city’s corrupt police force. His predecessor had been shot to death hours after taking office.
