The World

THURSDAY

Former Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann sought to withdraw her Swiss citizenship. Bachmann became eligible for dual U.S.-Swiss citizenship in 1978 when she married her husband, who is Swiss. Bachmann activated that citizenship in March.

Venezuelan crossword-writer Neptali Segovia was accused of hiding a coded message to assassinate President Hugo Chavez’s brother in a puzzle. Answers to clues included “Adan”, “asesinen” (meaning “kill”) and “rafaga” (which can mean either a burst of gunfire, or a gust of wind).

Our Lady of Sorrows Academy in Phoenix forfeited a shot at a state baseball championship rather than compete against the Mesa Preparatory Academy which fielded 15-year-old girl Paige Sultzbach at second base.

The Postal Service said its loss widened to $3.2 billion in the first three months of 2012.

FRIDAY

A federal lawsuit was brought against General Mills, claiming the company deceived consumers into believing its Fruit Roll-Ups and Fruit by the Foot snacks are made with real fruit. Litigant Annie Lam of Daly City, Calif., claims the company’s strawberry-flavored Fruit Roll-Ups contain “pears from concentrate,” but no strawberries.

Mica Craig of Salmon, Idaho, grabbed what he though was a stick off some mulch in the garden section of the Clarkston Walmart, only to have it turn and sink its fangs into his hand. The stick was actually a rattlesnake. Craig, 47, may lose feeling in two fingers.

Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara surfed the largest wave ever ridden, a towering 78-foot wall of water he caught off the coast of Portugal.

Luigi “Louie” Manocchio, 84, also known as “The Old Man,” “The Professor” and “Baby Shacks,” was sentenced to 5-1/2 years in prison for terrorizing and extorting protection payments from strip clubs around Providence, R.I.

WEEKEND

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden honored 34 police officers at the White House on Saturday for “extraordinary acts of bravery,” including two cops from Los Angeles who halted a shooting and one from Chicago who intervened during an armed robbery.

A bride still dressed in her wedding gown was found stabbed to death in the bathtub of her suburban Chicago apartment. Estrella Carrera, 25, was married on Friday. No arrests have been made. Police said her husband is not a suspect.

James Peterson, a 34-year-old unemployed man from Ohio, attempted to set a Guinness World Record over the weekend by fist pumping for 17 hours straight.

MONDAY

BP restarted its 225,000 barrel per day Cherry Point refinery near Ferndale. The refinery has been shut since a February fire.

The MS Turanor PlanetSolar became the first solar-powered boat to complete a voyage around the world. The 115-foot-long ship dodged pirates and clouds in its 584-day, 37,286-mile trek while traveling at five knots.

Long Island Republican Mark Schimel announced a campaign to unseat his estranged Democratic wife, New York State Assembly woman Michelle Schimel. Mark’s mother, Irma, told the New York Daily News she expected him to lose soundly and was “going to talk to him.”

TUESDAY

General Motors announced a second shift to start in July with 600 workers at the Lansing, Mich., plant that will make the new Cadillac ATS sedan. The car will sell for between $33,990 and $42,090.

Princess Cruises was sued for “outrageous conduct” and “callous disregard for human life” for failing to rescue three young men aboard a disabled Panamanian fishing boat in the open Pacific Ocean, two of whom later died at sea. After 15 days adrift, the boat was spotted by three cruise ship passengers and a crew member, who all reported it to the ship’s bridge.

A federal grand jury indicted two Mexican nationals on charges they confined 115 undocumented immigrants inside a cluster of three houses in Edinburg, Texas. They reportedly greeted each newcomer by saying, “Welcome to Hell.”

San Antonio resident Michael Washington, 31, was fatally stabbed in the back with a kitchen knife after he was caught in the middle of an egg-throwing fight between his neighbors. Juan Antonio Rivera, 32, pleaded guilty to murder charges in court. Washington was escorting one of the participants home when he was attacked. Though some jurisdictions regard egging as assault, many tend to only press vandalism charges.

WEDNESDAY

Greek top judge Panagiotis Pikrammenos was put in charge of an emergency government to lead the country through a new set of elections on June 17. The May 6 parliamentary election in the bankrupt nation left the state with no elected cabinet in place to satisfy lenders of loans it needs to stay afloat.

Compiled by Gazette staff from a variety

of sources.