Mexico: Fugitive U.S. ex-priest jumps to his death from balcony

A former priest who fled to Mexico to escape U.S. sex abuse charges died after jumping from the third-story balcony of a Mazatlan hotel as police closed in, authorities said Monday.

Siegfried F. Widera, 62, faced dozens of child molestation charges in California and Wisconsin.

Police surrounded the beachside hotel and planned to arrest Widera in this resort city on Mexico’s Pacific coast, the Mexican judicial authorities said.

Minutes after authorities arrived, Widera ran to the balcony of his room and jumped, said Marta Gutierrez, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office in Sinaloa state. She said it was unclear why he jumped, saying that he might have been trying to escape.

He died of head injuries Sunday on his way to a hospital, she said.

London: British explorer reportedly stranded on North Pole

A British explorer who reportedly reached the North Pole a week ago has become stranded with his food running low, according to his Web site.

Pen Hadow, 41, claimed to become the first person to reach the geographic North Pole unsupported from Canada on May 19, but a plane has been unable to retrieve him because of broken ice and thick clouds.

Hadow, who started his 478-mile trek March 17 from Ward Hunt Island in northern Canada, has been waiting in a tent.

The temperature has been about 21 degrees but his food has been running low. He put himself on half rations that should last through Wednesday, his team said on the expedition’s Web site.

Georgia: Fiery spat at gas station leads to critical injuries

A woman has been charged with aggravated battery for allegedly dousing another woman with a half-gallon of gasoline and setting her on fire during an argument at a Marietta gas station.

Anjail Durriyyah Muhammad of Gadsden, Ala., was charged with aggravated battery, a felony punishable with up to 20 years in prison. She was held Monday in the Cobb County jail.

Authorities identified the victim as Nodiana Antoine, who was hospitalized in critical condition Monday with burns over more than 60 percent of her body.

The arrest warrant said Muhammad maliciously caused bodily harm by seriously disfiguring Antoine’s feet, arms and torso by pouring gasoline on her and lighting her on fire Sunday morning.

Virginia: Navy continues on-ship search for missing sailor

The Navy ended its search Monday of the Atlantic Ocean for a sailor reported missing a day earlier but was still searching the ship where he was last seen. The Navy said it was not ready to consider him lost at sea.

Petty Officer 1st Class Shaun Dale failed to appear at a Sunday roll call aboard the USS Nassau, and a search of the ship and the Atlantic waters began. Days earlier, another sailor fell overboard from the same ship and is presumed dead.