MEXICAN PRESIDENT-ELECT STEPS INTO US MURDER CASE: McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Mexico's president-elect asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to evaluate the murder case of a Mexican woman who was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the death of a Texas boy.
Enrique Pena Nieto filed a brief in his personal capacity supporting the appeal of Rosa Estela Olvera Jimenez. He argued that Jimenez was denied due process because she wasn't given funds to hire expert witnesses and had ineffective counsel.
Pena Nieto was governor of the state of Mexico when Jimenez, a native of that state, was sentenced in 2005 for the death of a nearly 2-year-old boy she had been babysitting in Austin. The boy died three months after choking on five paper towels lodged in his throat.
Jimenez said the boy ate the paper towels, but prosecutors argued that she stuffed the towels into the boy's mouth.
PRIVATE NEIL ARMSTRONG SERVICE PLANNED FOR FRIDAY: CINCINNATI (AP) — A private service is planned in Cincinnati on Friday for astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, and President Barack Obama has ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff.
The Ohio native died Saturday in Cincinnati at age 82. No other information was released immediately about the service.
Obama on Monday issued a proclamation calling for U.S. flags to be lowered the day of Armstrong's burial, including at the White House, military posts and ships, U.S. embassies and other public buildings "as a mark of respect for the memory of Neil Armstrong."
ROMNEY SAYS ABORTION LEGAL FOR MOTHER'S HEALTH: TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney says he is in favor of abortion in cases of rape, incest and the health and life of the mother.
The presidential candidate's addition of the health of the mother is certain to raise questions about Romney's position among conservatives. Health can be broadly defined and, in fact, running mate Paul Ryan has challenged the health exception as a major loophole.
Romney commented in an interview Monday with CBS News.
Romney's position on abortion rights has evolved. When he ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, he backed abortion rights. As a presidential candidate, he has opposed abortion rights and says the Supreme Court should reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
NTSB: TRIM TAB FAILURE CAUSED 2011 RENO RACE CRASH: RENO, Nev. (AP) — The World War II-era P-51 Mustang hurtled over the race course in Nevada at more than 500 mph, its skin wrinkling and canopy separating from the sheer force of the flight. A crucial tail control fluttered, its screws loosening.
At the stick was 74-year-old pilot Jimmy Leeward who had listed his age as 59 on a race entry form and made changes to his plane to make it fly faster than it ever had before. It did for several seconds before taking a deadly plunge into spectators.
Nearly a year later, and just weeks before organizers stage the race again on Sept. 12, federal investigators on Monday blamed Leeward and his aircraft modifications for the crash.
