NEW YORK – Shakira's smoldering “La Tortura,” a duet with Alejandro Sanz, won song of the year honors at the Latin Grammys, while Argentine rocker Gustavo Cerati had a leading two wins at last night's ceremony.
Cerati won best rock song for “Crimen” and best rock vocal album for “Ahi vamos.”
Other winners included Mexican singer/accordion player Julieta Venegas, who was nominated for four awards. She won best alternative album for “Limon y sal.”
Triple nominee Calle 13 picked up the short music video Grammy for its reggaeton song “Atrevete te, te!”
Under the Mexican regional award categories, Joan Sebastian took away the best banda album award for “Mas alla del sol.”
The self-titled disc by Cafe de los Maestros won best tango album. The recording's Argentine producer, Gustavo Santaolalla, already won an Oscar this year for best original score on the movie “Brokeback Mountain.”
Associated Press
Testing is lagging
on nuclear warheads
WASHINGTON – “Significant backlogs” in surveillance testing of several types of nuclear warheads in the aging U.S. stockpile have created gaps in information needed to ensure that the weapons remain reliable, according to a report released yesterday by the Energy Department's inspector general.
Every year, a small number of missile warheads and bombs from the nation's nine nuclear weapons systems are dismantled and parts are subjected to both laboratory and flight tests to make certain they remain safe, secure and reliable.
“The surveillance program's role in assessing and ensuring confidence in the reliability of the weapons stockpile is increasingly important as the nuclear weapons stockpile ages,” Inspector General Gregory Friedman wrote in a memo to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.
But Friedman added: “As a result of the continuing backlog of surveillance tests, the department lacks vital information about the reliability of the stockpile . . . (and) as a result of testing delays, important operating anomalies or other defects could go undetected.”
The Washington Post
Indiana girl, 10, dies
of rabies from bat
INDIANAPOLIS – A 10-year-old girl who was diagnosed with Indiana's first confirmed case of rabies in nearly half a century died yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Shannon Carroll had been bitten by a rabid bat in June and had been hospitalized since early October, said Jo Ann Klooz, spokeswoman for Riley Hospital for Children.
Rabies is a viral disease transmitted to humans and other animals through saliva, usually in a bite. It attacks the brain and nervous system and typically leads to death once symptoms appear. Human-to-human transmission of rabies is possible through direct contact with saliva.
Associated Press
Libby is denied use
of a memory expert
WASHINGTON – Former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby will not be allowed to use a memory expert at his perjury and obstruction trial, a federal judge ruled yesterday, blocking a key tactic in Libby's defense strategy.
Libby, who is accused of lying to investigators in the CIA leak case, wanted an expert to testify that memory is unreliable, especially during times of stress. Libby says he had national security issues on his mind and that any misstatements he made about the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's name were mistakes, not lies.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said that allowing a memory expert would be a waste of time and would only confuse the jury. Walton said jurors, like everyone else, understand that memory sometimes falters and can judge for themselves whether witnesses are reliable.
Associated Press
