Saturday News

• Boy, 15, admits to killing girl, Fort Lauderdale police say

  One was a pudgy 15-year-old boy with an anger problem. The other, a 14-year-old girl abandoned by her parents.

• Palm Beach County sheriff leads in campaign donations among county candidates

  Far outpacing any other county politician, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw hauled in $465,000 as he prepares for an August re-election bid against a little-known challenger.

• South Florida pilots take pride in their home-built aircraft

  A pilot and professional juggler, Eddy Fernandez often piles his knives, stilts and other props into his Van's RV-9a airplane for gigs in Orlando or Tallahassee.

• Forest fires force tourists to evacuate

  Raging forest fires sent smoke billowing into hotels on the island of Rhodes, prompting the evacuation of more than 2,000 tourists, the Fire Service and municipal officials said.

• Defeat in Scotland bodes ill for Brown

  In one of its worst electoral setbacks in years, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labor Party suffered a huge defeat in a Scottish by-election whose result was announced Friday, raising new questions about Brown's ability to hold the job he has had for barely 12 months.

• Chavez and Spanish king hug and make up

  Hugo Chavez laughed and smiled his way through a hug-and-make-up visit to Spain on Friday, his first since a notorious exchange in which Spain's normally reserved monarch told the voluble Venezuelan leader to "shut up" at a summit in Chile last year.

• Sound of Music family returns

  Seventy years after fleeing the Nazis, a woman whose family was immortalized in The Sound of Music has returned to Austria to visit her former home.

• Sound of Music family back in Austria

  Seventy years after fleeing the Nazis, a woman whose family was immortalized in The Sound of Music has returned to Austria to visit her former home.

• More change coming for Cuba?

  When Raul Castro returns to the birthplace of the Cuban revolution Saturday for the 55th anniversary of a historic rebel assault, many Cubans will be listening to his speech for hints of change.

• Attack traffic agent, get ticket to N.Y. jail

  It would be an understatement to say traffic agents aren't well-liked on the congested streets of New York.

• Bush critics talk impeachment at hearing

  The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Friday it insisted was not about removing President Bush from office. But critics of Bush's policies couldn't pass up the chance to charge the president with a long list of impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors."

• At 29,000 feet, hole opens in floor of jet

  The 346 passengers were cruising at 29,000 feet Friday when an explosive bang shook the Qantas jumbo jet. The plane descended rapidly. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling as debris flew through the cabin from a hole that had suddenly appeared in the floor.

• Another stage for Jerry Seinfeld

  Toward the end of his stand-up set in April in Chicago, Jerry Seinfeld opened the floor to questions. Talk about tossing raw meat into the piranha tank.

• No shortage of Hannah/Miley

  The 3-D film of her sold-out concert tour grossed more than $65 million. It cashes in again with the TV premiere of Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (Disney, 8 and 9:30 p.m.). How could it be more exciting for kids? The Jonas Brothers open. The 3-D glasses, which enhance the view but are by no means necessary to watch, are available at Wal-Mart and in TV Guide.

• On this date: July 26

• Disco, baby: Some shake, some rattle

  You'll find them in da club.

• Happy Birthday, July 26

  Blake Edwards, director, 86

• In France, Obama tells Iran to end nuclear plan

  Sen. Barack Obama on Friday warned Iran not to wait for a new American president and accept an international proposal now to stop enriching uranium.

• McCain urges China to release Tibetan prisoners

  Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday called on China to release Tibetan prisoners as he met with the Dalai Lama.

• Only Mexican peppers suspect in outbreak

  Only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico are implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak, the government announced Friday in clearing the U.S. crop.

• Jury finds former Haitian strongman guilty of fraud

  A former Haitian paramilitary leader who has been branded a ruthless killer by human rights groups was convicted Friday of helping to hatch a mortgage fraud scheme that cheated lenders out of $1.7 million.

• Former mayor gets probation for war lies

  A judge ordered former Atlantic City Mayor Robert Levy on Friday to serve three years' probation and pay a $5,000 fine for lying about his Vietnam War service to pad his benefits check.

• Colombian party leader accused of militia ties

  The leader of a major governing party was arrested Friday on suspicion of ties with far-right paramilitaries, compounding a scandal that has battered Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's congressional coalition.

• Impatient crowd snaps up Olympic tickets

  A crowd of 30,000 people, baking in the heat and waiting for up to two days, swarmed a ticketing center Friday as the final batch of Olympic tickets went on sale. Police shoved and kicked them and used metal barricades to prevent a stampede.

• U.S. adds pressure on Zimbabwe after U.N. vetoes

  President Bush expanded sanctions against Zimbabwe on Friday, two weeks after failing to win U.N. support for them because of vetoes by Russia and China.

• Key votes for the week ending July 25

  Yes: Y, No: N, Not voting: X