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Father admits locking up daughter wrong

VIENNA, Austria - Josef Fritzl said he knew it was wrong to hold his daughter captive in a locked cellar for 24 years, but said he tried to care for her and their children by bringing them flowers, toys and books, according to comments published Thursday.

"I constantly knew, during the entire 24 years, that what I did was not right, that I must have been crazy because I did something like this," the Austrian magazine News quoted Fritzl as saying through his lawyer.

The lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, confirmed Thursday to The Associated Press that Fritzl made the remarks during a series of conversations with him at a prison in St. Poelten, west of Vienna, where he is being held in pretrial detention. Since the case came to light last month, Fritzl has confessed to locking up daughter Elisabeth in 1984, repeatedly raping her and fathering her seven children. He said three of the children were raised in a cellar in his home in Amstetten, never seeing the light of day; three were raised above ground by him and his wife, and one died in infancy.

Charges have not yet been filed against him.

Woman who won $5M found dead in her home

DUBLIN, Ga. - A woman who won $5 million in the Georgia lottery a year ago has been found stabbed to death in her home, and her former boyfriend has been charged with murder, authorities said.

The Laurens County sheriff said Doris Murray's family called police saying they had seen her former boyfriend leaving her home with blood on his face. Derrick Lorenzo Stanley, 51, was caught after he led police on a car chase, authorities said.

Stanley was being held without bail Wednesday in the county jail, Sheriff Bill Harrell said.

Sheriff's investigator Sgt. Stan Wright said he believed Murray and Stanley may have argued over a break-up.

President's daughter to tie knot in Texas

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush headed to Texas on Thursday to get ready for the weekend wedding of his daughter, Jenna.

Bush has been joking for weeks about the daunting role of "Father of the Bride" and now he gets to start playing the part.

The outdoor wedding will take place in the cool of the evening Saturday at the Bushes' ranch outside Crawford.

The ceremony and reception are closed to news cameras.

Parliament makes Putin prime minister

MOSCOW - Russia's parliament has overwhelmingly voted to make Vladimir Putin the prime minister.

Putin's confirmation in the State Duma comes a day after he handed the presidency to his protege Dmitry Medvedev.

Thursday's 392-56 vote caps months of manoeuvring by the popular leader to maintain influence after stepping down from the presidency due to term limits.

Medvedev nominated Putin shortly after he was sworn in Wednesday. Confirmation was certain because Putin's United Russia party holds more than two-thirds of the Duma's seats.

Russia's president formally has more power than the prime minister, but Putin's unprecedented move has left Russians wondering who will really be in the driver's seat.

Source: The Associated Press