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Tuesday's intriguing people
Abdullah Abdullah
The former Afghan foreign minister, considered the chief opposition leader to President Hamid Karzai, is in Washington to speak at the 2011 U.S.-Islamic World Forum, which begins Tuesday. Appearing on NPR on Tuesday morning, Abdullah repeated his allegation of rampant corruption in the Karzai government. He withdrew from the 2009 Afghan presidential election in protest over his accusations of a fixed vote for Karzai. On April 21, Abdullah will appear at the National Press Club in Washington.
Maikel Nabil
The Egyptian blogger, 25, faces three years in prison for criticizing Egypt's ruling military council with allegations of brutality. It is the first trial of a blogger held by the military leaders who took charge in February after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. The ruling stands as a warning for all journalists, bloggers and human rights activists who dare to dissent, attorney Adel Ramadan told The New York Times. "Maikel is the first prisoner of conscience in Egypt after the revolution," Ramadan told the Times.
Wednesday's intriguing people
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The Florida congresswoman will be named chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, replacing Tim Kaine, who is running for the Senate from Virginia. Two women have previously been the chairs of the DNC: Jean Westwood in 1972 and Debra DeLee in 1994 and 1995. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has risen in the ranks of the Democratic Party since she took office in 2005. The congresswoman is a breast cancer survivor and the mother of three children. Many Americans may recognize her as one of the friends present at the hospital when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords first opened her eyes after being shot in January.
Rep. Curt Weldon
The former Pennsylvania congressman has arrived in Libya to meet with Moammar Gadhafi. Weldon wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece, "I've met him enough times to know that it will be very hard to simply bomb him into submission." Weldon wrote that he's going on the invitation of Gadhafi's chief of staff and called for an immediate U.N.-monitored cease-fire, "with the Libyan army withdrawing from contested cities and rebel forces ending attempts to advance."
Roxy Kurze
The Warren, Michigan, native found a kidney donor for her husband on Facebook. Though an infrequent user of the popular social networking site, Kurze wrote a post lamenting her husband's deteriorating condition, according to the Detroit News. She wrote, "I wish a kidney would fall out the sky," and "If someone knows a living type O donor, let me know." Not long after, Ricky Cisco replied, offering up his kidney.
Cliff Forrest
The 10-year-old from Pittsburgh gave the Super Bowl ring he bought with his college savings for $8,500 back to retired Chicago Bears player William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Perry had to sell the ring several years ago after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and falling on hard times. Forrest wanted to buy the ring and give it back to Perry, and the avid sports memorabilia collector told ESPN on Monday, "When I Googled Mr. Perry after I got the ring, I saw he had the disease and went through rough times. And I thought he needed it more than I did."
Friday's intriguing people
Kelly Gneiting
The 40-year-old sumo wrestler, who weighs 405 pounds and has a 60-inch waist, is training to run 26.2 miles in the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday. Should he manage it, Guinness World Records is prepared to recognize him as the heaviest person ever to finish a marathon.
Gneiting took up sumo wrestling in the late 1990s and has won three U.S. championships. Running a marathon has been his goal since grade school, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.
Gneiting lives on an Indian reservation in Arizona, the Times says, and has a master's degree in geography from the University of Idaho, according to a bio at nostringsattachedenews.com. His wife and five children live in Idaho.
"I honestly think I'm one of the best athletes in the world," he says.
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