The death toll from the Minneapolis bridge collapse has risen to five, and authorities' tensions are easing as the number of missing--once thought to be as many as 30--has dwindled to eight. President Bush will visit the city on Saturday to express his condolences to the victims' families. Congress, in the meantime, began packaging together $250 million in federal funds to assist the city and state with replacing the bridge.
As a Van Gogh, the painting Head of a Man was appraised at $21 million. Not so fast, said art experts recently. The piece seems to have actually been painted by one of Van Gogh's peers, not the master himself. The artwork belonged to Australia's National Gallery in Victoria. Its authenticity came into question when it was on display in Scotland last year. Once the exhibit concluded, the Australian museum shipped the painting to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for verification. Experts said it wasn't a real Van Gogh but also that it wasn't created in an effort to be a fake. The matter was simply a case of mistaking the artist's identity.
Christine Levinson is going to travel halfway around the world to find her husband. Robert Levinson, an ex-FBI agent who was working for a security firm, disappeared while traveling in Iran in March. He was on business on Iran's Kish Island and had met with Dawud Salahuddin, an American fugitive who was living in Iran and wanted for the 1980 Maryland assassination of a former Iranian diplomat. During the meeting, Salahuddin was taken into custody by police, and when he returned, Levinson had disappeared. No one has reported seeing Levinson since, and Iranian officials have denied knowing what happened to him. Christine Levinson is convinced that her husband is still alive. She is applying for visas and making flight reservations to go to Iran to find him. U.S. News reported in June about four Iranian-Americans who have disappeared while visiting the country. Levinson is not of Iranian descent.
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