In the news

Julio Calzada, Uruguay’s drug czar, told a local newspaper, El Pais, that the country will combat drug-trafficking with its plans to sell legal marijuana for $1 per gram, an eighth or less of what marijuana costs at legal medical dispensaries in some U.S. states.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, will not meet Pope Francis on a trip to Italy this week in a change of plans that an Israeli official attributed to “logistical reasons.”

David Cerny, a Czech artist known for his anti-communist stance, floated a huge statue of a purple hand extending an oversized middle finger on Prague’s main river, days before parliamentary elections that could give the communists a taste of power almost a quarter-century after they were ousted.

Mikhail Gorbachev, 82, the former Soviet leader, skipped an annual meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates held this year in Poland because he was receiving treatment at a German hospital.

Laura Trickle, a breastfeeding Missouri mother who says her 7-month-old son doesn’t take a bottle and has to be with her to eat, was charged with contempt of court after refusing to leave her son behind for jury duty.

Glenn Taylor and Dave Hall, who already were facing possible criminal charges for purposely toppling an ancient rock formation in a Utah state park while leading a group of teenage Boy Scouts on a trip, were removed from their posts as Boy Scout leaders.

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, 24, a California man charged with attempting to join al-Qaida and lying on a passport application in an effort to aid international terrorism, faces a Dec. 3 trial date set by a federal judge in Los Angeles.

Dennis Lalime, 64, a Pittsfield, Maine, man who was returning from a Halloween party while wearing makeup like Batman’s nemesis the Joker, was charged with drunken driving after crashing his car and was still sporting his villainous makeup in his booking photo.

Casey Anthony, who was acquitted two years ago of murder in her 2-year-old daughter Caylee’s death, reached a settlement in her bankruptcy case with a Texas search group that helped look for her missing child in 2008.

Jaiden Newcomer, 9, a York, Pa., boy who won a 100-pound pumpkin at an Oktoberfest celebration that was later stolen off his family’s porch, has it back along with a note of apology from the thief.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 10/22/2013

Upcoming Events