Cleveland: Charges filed in priest death

A man recently dropped from a training program to become a Franciscan brother was charged Monday in the slaying of a Roman Catholic priest who was shot to death and burned in a rectory fire, police said.

Daniel Montgomery, 37, had been training to be an assistant at the priest’s parish but not to conduct religious rites. He was charged with murder and arson, Police Chief Edward Lohn said.

Investigators have not given a motive for Saturday’s killing of the Rev. William Gulas, 68, pastor of St. Stanislaus Church for nine years.

Montgomery was in the seventh year of an internship to become a Franciscan brother, or parish assistant, when he was told last week that he was being fired, said the Rev. Thomas Luczak, an official with the Franciscans.

Washington, D.C.: Aircraft carrier named after first president Bush

The Navy named a new aircraft carrier Monday for former President Bush. The current president’s father, who created the international coalition that defeated Iraq and liberated Kuwait in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, said at a Pentagon ceremony he was “overwhelmed by this and very grateful.”

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said he didn’t know what, if any, role President Bush had in securing the honor for his father. “I know that he’s honored that his father was honored,” Fleischer said.

The former president and Navy Secretary Gordon England said it was England’s decision to name the carrier.

California: Dentist aids tree-sitter

The tree-sitter who has lived in an old oak tree for 39 days saw a dentist Monday who shimmied up his tree and put a temporary cap on a molar he broke eating an energy bar.

“Instead of a house call this is a tree call,” said Dr. Ana Michel as she stood near the oak in Santa Clarita prior to John Quigley’s appointment.

Quigley perches 46 feet up in the tree he’s trying to save from a developer’s road-widening project. Michel met Quigley at a section of tree that provided a level setting for a dental consultation.

Quigley broke the upper left molar last week. Michel said she couldn’t install a permanent crown while in the tree. Instead she applied a sedative substance that hardened over the break and soothed the pain.

Afterward, Quigley said, “It feels a lot better.”