Val Kilmer ponders running for governor of N.M.

Gov. Kilmer?

Actor Val Kilmer, 49, is pondering running for governor of New Mexico in 2010, when two-term Democrat Bill Richardson will be forced from office by term limits. "I'm just looking for ways to be contributive," he said last week. Kilmer grew up in Los Angeles but has called New Mexico home for more than 20 years. His screen credits include Batman in "Batman Forever"; fighter pilot Lt. Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in "Top Gun"; and rock icon Jim Morrison in "The Doors."

Woman swims Atlantic

Jennifer Figge pressed her toes into the Caribbean sand, exhilarated and exhausted as she touched land this week for the first time in almost a month. Reaching Trinidad, she became the first woman on record to swim across the Atlantic. Figge, 56, left the Cape Verde Islands off Africa's western coast Jan. 12, swimming 19 out of 25 days and battling waves of up to 30 feet. The distance from Cape Verde to Trinidad is roughly 700 miles. "I was never scared," Figge said.

Stefani hoodies recalled

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling kids' hooded sweatshirts from Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers line. The hoodies, which sell for about $75 at department stores, have a drawstring through the hood that can pose a strangulation hazard, the organization said. The jackets were voluntarily recalled by their Southern California-based distributor last week. No injuries have been reported.

Oops

Lesson learned

Macomb County, Mich., Circuit Judge Peter Maceroni said he's learned a lesson about locking his car after a 16-year-old prisoner who escaped from a courthouse cell was found hiding in the vehicle's trunk. The Macomb Daily reported the teen had vanished Friday after appearing in juvenile court in Mount Clemens on a probation violation. Sheriff's deputies searched for about an hour until finding the boy in the trunk. Maceroni said the teen likely used a button inside the unlocked car to open the trunk.

Today in history

1587: Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate her cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

1910: The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.

1924: The first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City as Gee Jon, a Chinese immigrant convicted of murder, was put to death.

1968: Three black college students were killed in a confrontation with highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, S.C., during a civil-rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley.

2007: Model, actress and tabloid sensation Anna Nicole Smith, 39, died in Florida of an accidental drug overdose.

Birthdays

Composer-conductor John Williams, 77. Former ABC News anchor Ted Koppel, 69. Actor Nick Nolte, 68. Actress Mary Steenburgen, 56. Author John Grisham, 54. Actress Mary McCormack, 40. Actor Josh Morrow, 35. Actor Ryan Pinkston, 21.

Seattle times news services