Washington, D.C.: Gore’s son ticketed for drunken driving

The 19-year-old son of former Vice President Al Gore has been ticketed for driving under the influence near a military base, a Gore family spokesman confirmed Saturday.

Albert Gore III, who attends Harvard University, was pulled over and ticketed by military police in the early hours of Sept. 5 just outside Fort Myer in suburban Virginia. He was not taken into custody.

He is to appear in federal court later, a Fort Myer spokesman told the Daily News of New York.

“The family is relieved that no one was hurt,” said Gore family spokesman Jano Cabrera. “Beyond that they are dealing with the situation privately as a family.”

The younger Gore was cited by the North Carolina Highway Patrol in the summer of 2000 for driving 97 mph in a 55-mph zone. He was fined $125 for speeding and his driving privileges in the state were suspended.

New York: Sailboat armada honors 9-11 victims

The waters off ground zero came alive with more than 1,000 sailboats Saturday at a New York Harbor gathering that paid tribute to those killed one year ago at the World Trade Center.

The armada was overseen by former fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who lost 343 firefighters in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. He is the father of Pamela Keller, a lecturer in Kansas University’s law school.

In what was billed as New York’s symbolic rebirth, flotillas of boats converged in the harbor after sailing from the East River, the George Washington Bridge and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Aboard the boats, more than 3,000 memorial flags were flown each bearing the name of a victim from the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The flags will eventually be presented to the victims’ families.

Minneapolis: Fugitive surrenders to Nader running mate

A wanted anti-war protester drove 1,500 miles to an American Indian reservation in northwestern Minnesota to turn himself in to former vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke.

Niklan Jones-Lezama of Blacksburg, Va., had been ordered to report Tuesday to the federal prison in Beckley, W.Va., for a six-month prison term for participating in a protest at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Ga. Activists claim the school has trained Latin American soldiers to murder priests, nuns and political dissidents.

Instead, Jones-Lezama, 38, drove to the White Earth Indian Reservation. He turned himself in to LaDuke, an American Indian activist who was Ralph Nader’s running mate on the Green Party ticket in 2000.

LaDuke, who has no legal authority to accept surrenders, drove Jones-Lezama to Minneapolis on Thursday so he could surrender to authorities.

North Carolina: Campaign workers get NRA escorts

A Republican candidate for Congress is offering campaign volunteers extra protection for their forays into immigrant neighborhoods escorts from the National Rifle Association.

Democrats said the offer by incumbent Rep. Robin Hayes’ campaign is an insult to residents, and they staged a rally Saturday.

In an e-mail sent Thursday to Republicans in the county about a campaign gathering, Hayes’ campaign managers said volunteers need not fear.

“NRA members will cover neighborhoods that might be uncomfortable for some volunteers,” the e-mail said.

Hayes campaign manager Richard Hudson later conceded the message may have been insensitive and “could have been worded better.”

He said the campaign’s main concern is fast-moving traffic and not crime.