Israel withdraws sea blockade
Israel lifted its sea blockade of Lebanon on Friday, ending the country’s two months of isolation as the task of preventing the entry of Hezbollah weapons falls to international warships patrolling offshore.
The sea blockade’s end, which came a day after Israel dropped its restrictions on air travel into Lebanon, lifts a barrier that has stifled Lebanon and cost the country tens of millions of dollars as it tries to rebuild from the devastating 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Santa Monica, Calif.
Schwarzenegger apologizes
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger apologized Friday for saying during a closed-door meeting that Cubans and Puerto Ricans are naturally feisty and temperamental because of their combination of “black blood” and “Latino blood.” He said the tape-recorded comments “made me cringe” when he read them in Friday’s Los Angeles Times.
“Anyone out there that feels offended by those comments, I just want to say I’m sorry, I apologize,” Schwarzenegger said.
The statements were captured on a six-minute tape made during a March 3 speechwriting session between Schwarzenegger and his advisers. On it, Schwarzenegger speaks affectionately of state Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia and speculates about her nationality.
Cape Canaveral, Fla.
NASA cancels Atlantis launch
For the fourth time in two weeks, NASA nixed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, this time for a faulty fuel tank sensor – the same glitch that has thwarted two other missions.
A fifth liftoff attempt will be made at 8:15 a.m. PDT today to get the spacecraft headed on a mission to resume construction of the international space station.
Snyder, Okla.
Nude photos cause three resignations
The police chief, the mayor and a councilman in this small town resigned Friday amid an uproar over nude photos of the chief’s 300-pound, tattooed wife that she posted on a Web site.
Dozens of residents of the town of 1,500 had demanded Police Chief Tod Ozmun resign, and the district attorney recommended an obscenity investigation, but the City Council decided last week that the pictures were protected by the First Amendment.
On Friday, Ozmun, Mayor Dale Moore and Councilman Clifford Barnard said they were stepping down because they were fed up with the public attention and criticism of the chief. Another council member resigned earlier over the council’s support of Ozmun.
The police chief defended his 43-year-old wife, saying, “People in this country do what she does on a daily basis.”
He said he has had long discussions with his wife about the photos but does not tell her what to do.
“My wife is 6-foot-3 and weighs 300 pounds,” Ozmun said. “If there is somebody that thinks they can control her, have at it. I have tried for 11 years and haven’t been able to.”