Freed hostage Ingrid Betancourt thanks Pope Benedict XVI

"A dream come true"

Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt on Monday thanked Pope Benedict XVI, the man whose voice she said reached deep into the Colombian jungle "like a light" to comfort her during captivity. Betancourt, who was rescued in July by Colombia's military after more than six years in the hands of leftist guerrillas, said that her private audience with the pope at the papal summer retreat of Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, was "a dream come true."

No food

Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has lost weight and continues to shun deliveries of food, her lawyer said Monday but declined to confirm if she is on a hunger strike. Her doctor last saw her on Aug. 17 and said afterward that she was well. The thin, 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been held in detention by the ruling military junta for 13 of the past 19 years, most of the time under house arrest.

One for the record books

Michigan's governor celebrated Labor Day by shattering her personal record for running across the state's five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was among thousands of people observing the holiday by walking or running across the span that stretches between Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. The governor crossed the span in 35 minutes and 27 seconds — about five minutes off her previous time.

Nuptials

Mortuary marriage

It generally has flowers, and a clergyman is often present, but this was a first for a local St. Joseph Township, Mich., funeral home. Jason and Rachael Storm held their wedding Saturday at Starks and Menchinger Family Funeral Home, where he is a funeral director. Their reception, including dinner and dancing, also was held at the funeral home. Jason Storm, 24, doesn't see much difference between getting married in a church or the funeral home. "I look at it as, if you go to a church and get married, how many caskets do you think have been rolled down that aisle?" he said.

Passages

Michael Pate, 88, an Australian actor who appeared in more than 50 films and was a regular guest star on American TV shows in the 1950s and 60s, died of respiratory failure late Monday in New South Wales.

Today in History

1666: The Great Fire of London broke out.

1789: The United States Treasury Department was established.

1864: During the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman's forces occupied Atlanta.

1901: Vice President Theodore Roosevelt offered the advice, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.

1930: The first nonstop airplane flight from Europe to the U.S. was completed in 37 hours as Captain Dieudonne Costes and Maurice Bellonte of France arrived in Valley Stream, N.Y., aboard their Breguet 19 biplane, which bore a large question mark, instead of a name, on each side.

1935: A hurricane slammed into the Florida Keys, claiming more than 400 lives.

1945: Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri, ending World War II.

1945: Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent republic.

Today's Birthdays

Actor Meinhardt Raabe (the Munchkin coroner in "The Wizard of Oz"), 93. Football Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw, 60. Actor Mark Harmon, 57. Actress Linda Purl, 53. Actor Keanu Reeves, 44. Actress Salma Hayek, 42. Actress Cynthia Watros, 40. R&B singer K-Ci, 39. Actor-comedian Katt Williams, 35. Rock musician Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit), 31.

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