Virginia

Senator’s wife reports abduction, robbery

The wife of Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., was abducted at knifepoint from her home on Tuesday morning, but later released unharmed, said suburban Virginia police and spokesmen for the senator.

Police said that 52-year-old Kathleen Gregg arrived at her house about 8:30 a.m. CDT to find two men waiting inside. One drew a knife and demanded cash, said Jacqi Smith, a spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police Department.

One of the men then drove her to a bank while the other followed in another car, Smith said, reporting that after the men received an undisclosed amount of cash from a teller, they fled in a car and the woman called police.

Alaska

Bear attack kills 2

A self-taught bear expert who once called Alaska’s brown bears harmless was one of two people fatally mauled in a bear attack in the Katmai National Park and Preserve.

The bodies of Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, Calif., were found Monday at their campsite when a pilot arrived who was supposed to take them to Kodiak, state troopers said Tuesday.

Treadwell was known for his confidence around bears. He often touched them and gave them names.

Over the years, Park Service officials, biologists and others expressed concern about his safety and the message he was sending. “At best he’s misguided,” Deb Liggett, superintendent at Katmai, said in 2001. “At worst he’s dangerous. If Timothy models unsafe behavior, that ultimately puts bears and other visitors at risk.”

Virginia

Government to appeal ruling on Moussaoui

With a military tribunal possibly looming for al-Qaida defendant Zacarias Moussaoui, the government served notice Tuesday that it will ask an appeals court to salvage a civilian prosecution that was nearly gutted by a trial judge.

Prosecutors notified the trial judge in Moussaoui’s case that they will appeal to the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond.

The key issue is the government’s refusal to make three al-Qaida prisoners available to Moussaoui. The government defied two court orders that gave Moussaoui the right to question the captives because they might help his defense.

To sanction the government for its defiance, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema on Thursday barred the government from seeking the death penalty or presenting any evidence that could link Moussaoui to the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings.

Baltimore

‘Inadvertent’ comment made on Britney Spears

The wife of Gov. Robert Ehrlich made an “inadvertent figure of speech” when she said she would shoot pop singer Britney Spears if she had the chance, the first lady’s spokeswoman said Tuesday.

While speaking at a domestic violence conference at Hood College in Frederick, Kendal Ehrlich said it was important for women to get as much education as possible to avoid becoming dependent on anyone else.

“It is incredibly important to get that message to young women. You know, really, if I had an opportunity to shoot Britney Spears, I think I would,” Ehrlich said Friday.

Her spokeswoman, Meghann Siwinski, said Ehrlich made an inadvertent comment while expressing her concerns about the influence of pop culture on children.

Washington, D.C.

Nearly 11 million visit Air and Space museum

Nearly 11 million people visited the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in the fiscal year just finished, the museum reported Tuesday.

Attendance of 10,797,259 was about equal to the populations together of Ireland, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Andorra, Antigua and the Bahamas, the museum boasted. The reporting period ended Sept. 30.

The museum, long listed as the most popular in the world, has averaged around 9 million visitors a year.

Washington, D.C.

Claims to 9-11 fund likely to pass estimates

Nearly 3,000 more people than first expected are likely to file personal injury claims related to the Sept. 11 terror attacks, a government audit of the $5.1 billion victim compensation fund said Tuesday.

Even so, the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund will have a projected $27 million surplus after paying all anticipated claims, auditors said.

The fund was created by Congress to protect airlines and other entities from being hit with huge lawsuits in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. People who accept awards forfeit their right to sue.