Combined briefs

Man fights to keep front-yard grave

A northeast Alabama man said Tuesday he wants to set up a church in his home in hopes of avoiding a court order to remove his wife’s grave from the front yard. James Davis said he plans to be the minister of the Stevenson Bible Church. Davis said his wife, Patsy Davis, died in 2009 and it was her wish to be buried outside the log cabin they shared for decades. The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday refused to overturn a lower court order requiring the grave to be removed. Work could begin this week on disinterment, a city attorney said.

CONNECTICUT

Woman sentenced in Newtown fraud case

A New York City woman who posed as the aunt of a boy killed in the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting massacre has been sentenced to eight months in prison. Nouel Alba pleaded guilty in June to federal charges of wire fraud and making false statements. Authorities say Alba made up details to solicit donations for a funeral fund on behalf of 6-year-old Noah Pozner’s family and the families of other victims of the shooting.

ARIZONA

Supremecists arrested on weapons charges

Two members of a notorious family that authorities say once tried to set up a whites-only nation in America were arrested this week in Arizona on federal firearms charges after a raid on a sprawling ranch netted dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Kirby Kehoe and his 37-year-old son, Cheyne, had an initial court appearance Tuesday in Flagstaff. Agents who raided the property seized dozens of guns, including shotguns and semi-automatic rifles and pistols, according to the ATF.

MYANMAR

Blast linked to small time bomb

An explosion that injured an American guest in one of the ritziest hotels in Myanmar’s main city was caused by a small, homemade time bomb placed in her room, police said Tuesday.The attack in Yangon was part of a series of low-intensity explosions. Officials said the attacks appear to be organized, with a restaurant, two bus stops, Buddhist temples and a market all targeted within the last week. No one has claimed responsibility.

BRAZIL

Officials want to question Snowden

Brazil’s Federal Police and a Senate investigative panel said Tuesday they want to question National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden to learn more about the spying program that targeted Latin America’s biggest country. According to information leaked by Snowden, President Dilma Rousseff’s communications with aides were intercepted, the computer network of state-run oil company Petrobras was hacked and data on billions of emails and telephone calls flowing through Brazil were monitored by the NSA. Snowden received asylum in Russia in August.

MEXICO

Search continues for missing plane

Mexican authorities are searching for a second day for a small plane carrying 14 people that went missing in northern Mexico. The plane was operated by a small local carrier and all those aboard are believed to have been Mexican citizens. The small, single-engine propeller plane disappeared shortly after taking off from Loreto on Monday morning amid bad weather caused by Tropical Storm Octave, which has since weakened to a tropical depression.

VENEZUELA

Texas company expects ship’s release

The Texas company that chartered an oil research ship seized last week by Venezuela said it expects the vessel and its international crew to be released soon. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. spokesman John Christiansen said Venezuelan authorities treated those aboard the Panamanian-flagged ship in a “respectful manner” and said the vessel “will reportedly be released in the near future.” He declined to provide additional details on Tuesday. The ship and its 36-man crew have been anchored since Sunday off Margarita Island in the Caribbean. The crew includes five Americans and workers from Russia, Indonesia and Brazil.