Sean Penn unhappy with results of article
NEW YORK – Sean Penn says his article on Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman “failed” in its mission.
Speaking to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the actor said his intention in tracking down the escaped drug kingpin and writing about him for Rolling Stone was to kick-start a discussion of the U.S. government’s policy on the War on Drugs.
But the public’s attention has instead been focused on the fact that Penn found and met with Guzman for seven hours in a mountain hideout last October while he was still evading Mexican officials. He was apprehended only last week after six months on the run.
Excerpts from the interview with Penn were released Friday. The interview airs on “60 Minutes” Sunday.
Penn has been drawn into a controversy over whether he may have assisted in the recapture effort, or, prolonged the search by keeping silent until the article was published last week.
Powerball winners plan to keep working
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Tennessee couple that won a share of the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot says they plan to return to their jobs after winning the mammoth prize.
John and Lisa Robinson said they plan to pay off the mortgage on their small house in Munford, Tennessee, pay off their daughter Tiffany’s student loans and go back to work.
When an incredulous news reporter asked why return to work, Lisa Robinson replied, “Why not?” Her husband added, “That’s what we’ve done all our lives.”
The Robinsons appeared at a news conference Friday at the Tennessee lottery headquarters after their winning ticket was verified by lottery officials. The couple’s lump sum payout is about $327 million.
Man brain dead after French drug test
PARIS – One man is brain dead and three others are facing possible permanent brain damage after volunteering to take part in a drug test that went awry, French authorities said Friday.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into what French Health Minister Marisol Touraine called “an accident of exceptional gravity” at the private Biotrial clinical lab in the city of Rennes.
The drug trial, which was testing a new painkiller compound, involved 90 healthy volunteers who were given the experimental drug in varying doses at different times, she told reporters Friday at a news conference in Rennes.
Six male volunteers between 28 and 49 years old have since been hospitalized, including one man now classified as brain dead, Touraine said, adding that all the other 83 volunteers are being contacted.
Associated Press
