Katherine Hepburn dead at 96
HARTFORD, June 29 (UPI) -- Katharine Hepburn, a strong, no-nonsense woman on and off screen, died Sunday at the age of 96.
Hepburn emerged as a movie star in an era when the most admired actresses were glamour goddesses and went on to win great respect in her field and was the only performer to win four "best acting" Oscars.
In a career spanning more than six decades, she did it her way; she could be adorable, she could be arrogant, but to her fans she was simply the greatest actress ever to appear in movies. In their widely-held view, other actresses came close but none quite matched her, or her class.
The American Film Institute, in 1999, chose Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, with whom she starred in 1951's "The African Queen," as the greatest American screen legends.
She won Academy Awards for "Morning Glory," "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" in 1967, "The Lion In Winter" and "On Golden Pond."
Deck collapse kills 12 at Chicago party
CHICAGO, June 29 (UPI) -- A wooden porch crowded with college students collapsed during a party Sunday, killing 12 and injuring nearly 60 others.
Up to 50 young people were on the top porch of a three-story apartment building near DePaul University when it came crashing down around 1:30 a.m. EDT, police said.
"It is a tragic case of overloading the back porches," Chicago Fire Commissioner James Joyce told CNN.
Witnesses told CNN that porches on all three floors were packed with revelers.
A neighbor described the scene as "total mayhem."
Eleven people were dead at the scene and one victim died later at a hospital, officials said. One person remained in critical condition and four others were in serious condition Sunday evening.
Authorities were still trying to identify one young woman who arrived at an area hospital without a pulse but was revived by emergency room medics at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
Israeli soldier attacked despite ceasefire
TEL AVIV, Israel, June 29 (UPI) -- Several hours after Palestinians undertook a cease-fire, militants attacked an Israeli soldier guarding a neighborhood of a West Bank settlement town.
Settlers in Kiryat Arba said a bullet grazed the soldier's helmet. A military source said the soldier complained his ears were ringing and he was evacuated for an examination.
Soldiers returned fire and set out to search for the attackers who disappeared, the military sources said.
The incident was not seen as a serious threat to the new truce and White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice is again inviting Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to visit President Bush in Washington.
Israelis and Palestinians are still working out details of the cease-fire as the White House continues to demand militant groups completely disarm, not just stop shooting. While the Palestinian Authority has pledged to quell violence in areas it takes over from Israel, it is not pushing for a disarmament of Hamas.
Polish prime minister wins second term
WARSAW, Poland, June 29 (UPI) -- Despite charges of corruption and scandal, Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller was re-elected to a second term Sunday.
Miller received 625 votes out of a possible 850 delegates of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance, Voice of America reported.
The prime minister ran unopposed.
The DLA is not widely supported in Poland due to the country's soaring unemployment rate and scandals within the party.
Before the vote, however, Miller vowed to work to improve Poland's economy. He said his controversial plan to replace the country's tax system with an 18-percent flat tax could become a springboard to revitalize the economy.
He also acknowledged the corruption allegations are hurting the party in the public's eyes and promised to strive to regain the the trust of the Polish public.
Miller's government ratings are the lowest of any administration since 1989, when communism fell.
