In the Nation

UTAH

Man with stolen pass

nearly boarded plane

A man with a stolen boarding pass got through airport security in Salt Lake City and checked in at a gate for a flight to California before he was caught earlier this month, authorities said.

Michael Salata, 61, was arrested on Nov. 5 shortly after checking in to a Southwest Airlines flight to Oakland, the Deseret News reported Wednesday.

Salata, who is on the sex-offender registry in Utah, grabbed a boarding pass that a woman accidentally left at a check-in kiosk and used it to get through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, said Craig Vargo, chief of airport police.

"He tried to make it seem like it was a mistake, that the boarding pass printed incorrectly, or that he grabbed the wrong boarding pass," Vargo told the newspaper.

It's unclear why the incident was not disclosed at the time it happened. - AP
LOUISIANA

Ex-governor ailing

Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards is spending Thanksgiving in the hospital.

Edwards' wife, Trina, said in a text message that her 88-year-old husband would not be discharged Thursday from a hospital where he is being treated for pneumonia.

But he didn't have to eat hospital turkey. Trina Edwards said her mother brought turkey and trimmings for lunch

- AP
CALIFORNIA

'John letters' at issue

A Los Angeles City Hall proposal to send "john letters" to the owners of cars seen in areas known for prostitution has drawn criticism from a California civil liberties group. The City Council voted Wednesday to have the city attorney's office analyze the proposal to use license numbers to determine who owns the vehicles. The collection of license-plate data is opposed by the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation. - AP