In the news
Michelle Obama, the first lady, will be accompanied by her two daughters and her mother during a June 15- 21 trip to Europe that will take in events focusing on her initiatives, including helping girls attend and stay in school and combating childhood obesity.
Tony Blair, Britain’s exprime minister, is taking a new role in combating antiSemitism as chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, days after he stepped down as the international community’s Mideast envoy.
Walter Thomas, 91, a suburban Chicago man who said he always wanted to know what it would be like to smash through a garage door, checked that activity off his bucket list with the help of a donated SUV and a garage that was scheduled to be torn down.
Stephen Colbert selected New Orleans musician Jon Batiste, who has collaborated with artists including Prince, Wynton Marsalis and Lenny Kravitz, as the new bandleader of CBS’ The Late Show, which returns Sept. 8 with Colbert at the helm.
Anthony Perosi, 56, a Staten Island, N. Y., plumber who left his March 14 Powerball ticket pinned to the wall behind a basement pipe for six weeks, emerged as the winner of the $ 136 million jackpot and said he wants to keep working but also plans to “relax a little more.”
Ingmar Guandique, the man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy, was formally granted a retrial, a move largely expected after prosecutors dropped their opposition to the bid by Guandique’s attorneys, who say a key witness gave false or misleading testimony.
U. S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R- Ill., is donating to charity a $ 10,000 campaign contribution he received from former U. S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who was indicted on one count of evading bank regulations.
Mitzi Nelson, 23, who was distracted by her cellphone when her car struck and killed bicyclist Jill Byelich, 35, in Michigan, has been barred from using any portable communication device for two years and must spend at least 90 days in jail over staggered periods and speak to new drivers about the dangers of distracted driving.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada said ahead of his trip to Ukraine and the Group of 7 meeting in Germany this week that Russia should never be allowed back in the G- 7 as long as Vladimir Putin is president.