World/nation briefs
Key immigration law provisions get OKA federal judge refused to block key parts of an Alabama law that is considered the strictest state effort to clamp down on illegal immigration, including measures that require immigration status checks of public school students and make it a felony for an illegal immigrant to do business with the state. U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn temporarily blocked provisions that make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to solicit work and make it a crime to transport or harbor an illegal immigrant.
ARIZONA
Loughner treatment extended by 4 monthsA federal judge gave prison officials four more months to try to restore the competency of accused gunman Jared Lee Loughner, whom a psychologist said has shown remorse for killing six people and wounding 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
FLORIDA
Man executed for killing police officerStarke Manuel Valle was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison for fatally shooting a police officer and wounding another one 33 years ago during a traffic stop. His execution came after the Supreme Court reviewed -- and ultimately reject -- his last-ditch petition.
IRAN
Al-Qaida ridicules Ahmadinejad claimAl-Qaida has a message for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Enough with the conspiracy theories about 9/11. In an article in the English-language magazine, Inspire, the terror network lashed out at Ahmadinejad for indulging in the claim that the U.S. government, and not Al-Qaida, was responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. It asked: "Why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?"
Iran announces mass production of missileIran announced the mass production of a new cruise missile -- with a range of about 125 miles -- that is designed to destroy warships and coastal targets, officials said. The announcement coincided with front-page headlines in Iranian newspapers quoting the head of Iran's navy, Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, as saying he intended to deploy Iranian warships close to the Atlantic coast of the United States to reciprocate for the patrols in the Persian Gulf by the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Obama administration officials played down the remarks, saying they do not "reflect Iran's naval capabilities."
SOUTH AFRICA
Visa for Dalai Lama still up in the airThe African National Congress government, wary of irritating the country's largest trading partner, China, has refused to indicate if it will grant a visa to the Dalai Lama, who has been invited by fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu to attend Tutu's 80th birthday celebrations next week and deliver the Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture on Oct. 8. The Desmond Tutu Peace Center complained that the delay in granting a visa has thrown planning into disarray. The Department of International Relations said the request for the Tibetan exile is under routine consideration.
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His political views differed from a transgender classmate’s, but they forged a bond that lasted a decade — until Vance seemed to pivot, politically and personally.