Ohio sniper suspect arrested in Las Vegas:
The suspect in a series of sniper shootings near Columbus, Ohio in the past year
was arrested today in Las Vegas after a tip led authorities to his hotel,
according to the law enforcement authorities in that city. According to a New
York Times article, the suspect, Charles A. McCoy Jr., was picked up at hotel
his room early Wednesday morning. After police received a tip-off of McCoy’s
whereabouts, authorities set up surveillance in Las Vegas and identified McCoy
as the suspect. McCoy was apprehended without incident, and local authorities
are now awaiting the arrival of Ohio police officials. Police say that McCoy is
the prime suspect in 24 shootings, one of which was fatal, that have been fired
mostly at vehicles on highways but also at homes, at a school and at parked
vehicles. The shootings have taken place on Interstate 270 and Route 23 in
central Ohio.
Madrid bombing suspect scrutinized by other countries: It now appears
that a lead suspect in the Madrid train bombings has been under investigation by
intelligence and law enforcement officials in two other countries. According to
the New York Times article, “Officials said Jamal Zougam, a suspect in the train
bombings last Thursday in Madrid, had been investigated and questioned last
summer by law-enforcement officials in Spain, who received requests for
information about him from both Morocco and France, the officials said.”
Zougam, 30, was arrested last Saturday, along with two other Moroccans and two
Indians after remains from a cell phone connected to an unexploded bomb were
found in the wreckage. Zougam has been linked to key al Qaeda figures before,
but two Spanish officials said there was not enough evidence to charge him with
any crime in Morocco last May. The bombing of the Madrid commuter trains
resulted in 201 deaths.
Passion could become highest-grossing film in history: According to an
article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Passion of the Christ, the movie
personally financed by Mel Gibson because no studio thought it commercially
viable, could become the highest-grossing film in history. By the end of
business Sunday, the subtitled story of Jesus’ final hours had grossed $264.5
million in the United States and Canada since its opening on Feb. 25. “If The
Passion continues on this trajectory, it’s possible for it to surpass Star Wars
($461 million) and even Titanic ($600.8 million) as the domestic box-office
champion of all time,” said Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations Inc.,
which tracks film revenue. Hollywood’s historic rankings are tabulated in
non-inflation-adjusted dollars. More conservative estimates have The Passion
topping out at $325 million to $375 million domestically, putting it in the
elite company of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which thus far
has earned $371.1 million.
-Information compiled by J. Ann Tipton and Paige E. Wassel with information
from The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer