Jury holds former general responsible for torture

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Daniel Alvarado said he was kidnapped by government agents in El Salvador, hung blindfolded from a ceiling, shocked with electrical wires and repeatedly beaten. More than two decades later, a federal jury in Tennessee has held a former Salvadoran Army colonel responsible for the torture. Nicolas Carranza, 72, failed to stop crimes against humanity when he was a top commander of El Salvador's security forces, the jury found Friday. He was held responsible in civil claims by Alvarado and three others who said they were tortured or that their family members were killed by soldiers under Carranza's command.

Kevorkian's lawyer seeks commutation or pardon

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- "Dr. Death" wants a pardon because he may be dying. Jack Kevorkian is serving a 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder for giving a fatal injection of drugs to Thomas Youk in 1998. Kevorkian is eligible for parole in 2007, but attorney Mayer Morganroth says he might not live that long. Kevorkian suffers from a number of ailments, including high blood pressure, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis and hepatitis C, he said.

Exhibition presents life and work of Darwin

NEW YORK -- Charles Darwin figured he would end up in the clergy, his love of the sciences just a hobby. Then came the invitation to go on a voyage as naturalist on the HMS Beagle in 1831. It was on that trip that Darwin collected the specimens and notes that led to his theory of evolution by natural selection, the foundation of modern biology. A new exhibition examines that pivotal work, as well as the man himself. The exhibit opened Saturday at the American Museum of Natural History and runs until May 29. The exhibit includes some of Darwin's own papers, samples he collected, his magnifying glass, as well as fossils and a recreation of Darwin's study at his English countryside home.

-- From wire reports