San Antonio: Miss USA 2003 crowned

Miss Massachusetts Susie Castillo was crowned Miss USA 2003 in the 52nd annual staging of the pageant Monday night.

Castillo, 23, of Lawrence, Mass., replaces Shauntay Hinton, who represented the District of Columbia in last year’s event.

Castillo will be America’s candidate in the Miss Universe pageant in June in Panama City, Panama.

Michelle Arnette, Miss Alabama, was first runner-up, and home state favorite Nicole O’Brian of Texas was second runner-up.

Colorado: Leadership change sought for Air Force Academy

Sens. John Warner and Wayne Allard have asked the Air Force to put a woman in charge at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, saying it would bring a much-needed change amid investigations of a sexual assault scandal.

In a letter sent Monday to Air Force Secretary James Roche, the senators accused the academy’s current leadership of not dealing with sexual abuse at the school. “Despite warnings and clear indications that remedial action was needed, these officers failed to take effective action to correct these problems,” Warner, R-Va., and Allard, R-Colo., wrote in the letter.

The Air Force has two investigations under way into allegations that female cadets were reprimanded or ostracized for reporting sexual assaults. The Defense Department’s inspector general plans to start another investigation by the end of March.

Nigeria: More oil facilities evacuated

Oil giant Shell evacuated four oil facilities Monday, joining ChevronTexaco in a massive pullout from the Niger Delta, where ethnic violence has killed dozens of people and destroyed villages.

The pullout from Royal Dutch/Shell’s oil pipeline pumping stations at Ogbotobo, Opukushi, Tumo and Benisede raises the number of closed Shell facilities to 14.

Shell Development Petroleum Co. has shut down 370,000 barrels a day in crude output after evacuating facilities in the area, company spokeswoman Kate Hill said Monday.

In all, oil multinationals have cut 800,000 barrels in daily oil production.