Hoffman will be revealed

Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died earlier this month of a suspected drug overdose, has left the bulk of his estate to his long-term companion Marianne O'Donnell, according to a will filed in New York court on Wednesday. O'Donnell, known as Mimi, is the mother of the couple's three young children, Cooper, Tallulah and Willa. She was also named executor of the estate. The exact value of Hoffman's estate is not known. In the will dated October 2004, the late actor also set up a trust fund for his then only child, Cooper, and requested that he be raised in New York, Chicago or San Francisco. If that was not possible, Hoffman requested that his son visit the US cities at least twice a year. "The purpose of this request is so that my son will be exposed to the culture, arts and architecture that such cities offer," the will said. Although Hoffman, 46, was found in his Greenwich Village apartment with a syringe in his arm, the cause of his death was still undetermined pending the results of further studies.

Giving human rights to dolphins

A Romanian activist politician introduced a bill in parliament last week that would recognize dolphins as "non-human persons", on account of their highly developed intelligence, personalities and behavior patterns. Remus Cernea, 39, said the aim of the bill to be debated in the Romanian upper house in the coming weeks would make humans and dolphins equal before the law. Dolphin killers would be given the same sentences as murderers of human beings. The bill would also ban the use of dolphins in live entertainment shows. The aim of the bill is to help protect Romania's indigenous dolphins in the Black Sea, Cernea said.

Biker leads police on merry chase

Police in San Antonio, Texas, are going all out to apprehend a motorcycle rider who posted a video on Facebook that shows him zooming through interstate traffic at speeds up to 160 km/h with a message: "Catch me if you can." The police, who are calling the biker a "high-priority suspect", have posted clips on their own Facebook site showing him weaving in and out among cars on a busy San Antonio highway. "When we catch him, he has a lot more to answer to, but we want to get him off the street," said police spokesman, Sergeant Javier Salazar. Police believe the cyclist is a man facing two felony warrants and a misdemeanor warrant for family violence. The video, apparently taken by a helmet-mounted camera, shows the motorcyclist on Interstate 35, zipping close to oncoming cars and nearly side-swiping others.

Statue of Mary 'weeps' in Israel

Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say "weeps" oil. Members of a Christian family from Tarshiha, near the Lebanon border, say they have witnessed a miracle in their living room. Osama Khoury said on Tuesday that his wife Amira found the statue "covered with oil" recently. Amira said the statue "spoke to her" and told her not to be afraid. After a neighbor witnessed the oil, word soon spread. Parts of the statue appear to be slick with moisture, even after it is wiped off. The family says it is most striking when a "tear" seems to roll down the statue's cheek.

Charlie Sheen engaged

Anger Management star Charlie Sheen is engaged and plans to get married for the fourth time. US entertainment website TMZ was first to break the announcement that Sheen had asked former porn actress Brett Rossi to marry him. Sheen, 48, reportedly got down on one knee to propose during a Valentine's Day trip with Rossi to Hawaii in a private jet. Sheen was previously married to Donna Peele, which was annulled, actress Denise Richards, with whom he has two young girls, and Brooke Mueller, with whom he has twin boys. Sheen also has an adult daughter with his onetime high school girlfriend.

Craigslist killer suspect 'confesses'

A Pennsylvania woman charged along with her newlywed husband in the murder of a man they met through Craigslist in the United States admitted to the slaying in a jailhouse interview with a newspaper last weekend and said she has killed more than 20 others across the country. In an interview with The Daily Item in Sunbury, 19-year-old Miranda Barbour said she wants to plead guilty to killing Troy LaFerrara in November. She also said in the interview that she has killed at least 22 people from Alaska to North Carolina in the past six years as part of her involvement in a satanic cult. "When I hit 22, I stopped counting," Barbour told the newspaper for a story published last weekend.

'Gold' not bomb found on plane

A suspicious package, first thought to be a bomb, onboard a flight from Singapore to Chennai in India on Thursday turned out to contain 'gold' bars. The IndiGo budget airline flight was diverted to Malaysia after a crew member found the package in the plane's toilet. A Malaysian fire and rescue team that inspected the package at Kuala Lumpur International Airport found it contained three bars weighing less than a kilogram combined. They were believed to be gold but authorities did not confirm that. After evacuating the more than 100 passengers, a search found nothing dangerous. The airliner later resumed its flight to India. The case is being investigated.

Agencies

(China Daily 02/23/2014 page4)