Eco-activist Mark Knapp sought by authorities for identity theft

The former Green Party candidate is caught up in a gold scheme

Comments (0) By Hart Van Denburg Wednesday, Dec 16 2009

Pine City native Shane Bauer, his girlfriend Sarah Shourd, and friend Josh Fattal are going to stand trial in Iran, according to news reports out of Tehran.

The three were arrested by Iranian authorities in July while hiking on the Iraq-Iran border and accused of spying. Their detention is being seen as a possible bargaining chip in Iran's international negotiations over nuclear power, or in Tehran's effort to win the release of Iranians held by the U.S.

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Speaking to the Associated Press, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki did not specify the charges, and didn't say when the trial would begin.

A U.C. Berkeley graduate, Bauer is a freelance writer and photographer based in the Middle East.

This St. Nick Is Too Jolly

Santa and one of his little helpers helped themselves to a little too much Christmas cheer in Sparta, Wisconsin, and ended up in trouble with the law.

It all started with a phone call to police about a man in a Santa suit who "stumbled from the vehicle, approached several children playing in a yard, and began to hug them, demanding to know where his reindeer were," police told the La Crosse Tribune.

It didn't take long for the cops to find the errant sleigh; arrest Kevin Arnold, the driver, on suspicion of drunken driving; and cite Santa—Thomas Arnold—for open intoxicants.