Briefs

U.S. general got drunk enough to offend Russians

WASHINGTON - An Air Force general in charge of nuclear weapons repeatedly drank too much and behaved like a boor last summer during an official trip to Moscow, where he insulted his Russian hosts and hung out with two suspicious women he met at a hotel bar.

Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, who was commander of the Air Force's arsenal of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, "acted in a manner that exceeded the limits of accepted standards of good conduct" during a four-day visit to Moscow in July, according to an investigation conducted by the Air Force inspector general.

Carey's behavior stunned his aides and other colleagues traveling with him for a nuclear security exercise and meetings with Russian officials. They said he started drinking during a stopover in Zurich and kept it up during three days in Moscow, causing a string of gaffes that led Air Force officials to reassign him.

Western Pa. man wins $1M Picasso in Paris raffle

WEXFORD, Pa. - A Western Pennsylvania man looking for art for his new home has won a $1 million Picasso painting with a $138 raffle ticket.

Jeffrey Gonano, 25, who works for his family's fire sprinkler business, learned Wednesday that his ticket won the Paris raffle. Organizers say nearly 50,000 tickets were sold worldwide, for 100 euros apiece, to benefit a Lebanese charity.

The 1914 work, "Man in the Opera Hat," dates from Spanish master Pablo Picasso's cubist period. Gonano said he wants to keep the artwork.

"Maybe I'll lend it to a museum," he said.

Canada's prostitution laws struck down

TORONTO - The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously struck down three laws against prostitution yesterday, deeming the bans on visiting brothels, living off a prostitute's proceeds and public solicitation "overly broad" and potentially dangerous for sex workers.

While prostitution is legal in Canada, the laws aimed at preventing its practice went far beyond protecting communities from public nuisances associated with the sex trade, the nine justices decided.

While the measure against profiting from a prostitute's income was aimed at criminalizing pimping, it also made it illegal for prostitutes to hire those who can increase the safety of their trade, such as drivers, managers and bodyguards, the decision noted.

- Daily News wire services