Globe Trotting

Couple born same day, wedded 75 yrs, die day apart
Long Beach (US) : A Southern California husband and wife who were born on the same day and celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary last year have died just a day apart. The couple’s son Les Brown Jr. tells the Long Beach Press-Telegram yesterday that 94-year-old Helen Brown died July 16 and 94-year-old Les Brown died July 17. She had stomach cancer. He had Parkinson’s disease. The Browns were born on New Year’s Eve, 1918. Their son said his parents met in high school and eloped in 1937 at age 18 because their parents thought the marriage between a wealthy man and a working-class woman would never last. They celebrated their 75th anniversary last September. The couple moved to Long Beach in 1963. He was a photographer, she sold real estate. They’ll have a joint memorial service on Saturday.

Lincoln Memorial vandalised
Washington
The Lincoln Memorial, an iconic landmark in the US capital, was vandalised on Friday, forcing authorities to shut down the popular tourist attraction until it was cleaned up. The Lincoln Memorial was vandalised and will remain closed until it is cleaned up, US Park Police Capt. Steven Booker said. Police were alerted to the scene just before 1:30 a.m. and found green paint splattered on the leg and base of the statue of America’s 16th president, he said. There were no discernible letters or markings. Abraham Lincoln, president from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, led the northern states to victory against the South in the American Civil War. Police said no words or symbols had been painted or written on the memorial, only splatters of green paint.

Osama’s AK-47 on display
Washington
Osama bin Laden’s AK-47 rifle, found next to his body after he was killed in a daring midnight raid by US Navy SEALs in Pakistan, is on display at an ultra-secret CIA museum. The AK-47 is a recent addition to a collection housed at a museum inside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The museum displays the artifacts and trophies of 70 years of spycraft, from World War II through to the War on Terror. The museum is closed to the public and is only visited by employees and invited guests

Ohio kidnapper pleads guilty
Cleveland (US)
A US man who kidnapped three women and held them as sex slaves for a decade, Ariel Castro, pleaded guilty to his crimes today and accepted a life sentence. The Cleveland native told the court that he had also agreed to a prison term of more than 1,000 years on top of the life sentence, and that he knew he would never be released. The deal allows him to avoid the death penalty.