Nation briefs

SOUTH CAROLINA

NAACP ends boycott

The NAACP has passed a resolution lifting its 15-year economic boycott of South Carolina, a day after that state took down a Confederate battle flag flying near its Statehouse. The civil rights group approved the measure yesterday at its national convention in Philadelphia to end the boycott of tourism and other economic activity. The boycott began in 2000 during debate over the flying of the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's Statehouse dome.

RHODE ISLAND

Mysterious blast probed

Officials yesterday morning were trying to determine what caused a blast that knocked a Rhode Island beachgoer to the ground, but left behind no obvious evidence of an explosive device. Salty Brine beach in Narragansett was evacuated after witnesses reported a possible explosion that knocked a woman into a rock wall. State Department of Environmental Management spokeswoman Rayne Maguire tells the Providence Journal the woman was taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported. DEM Associate Director Larry Mouradjian said the beach would remain closed as the investigation continues.

Minnesota

$1M to bring slippers home

An anonymous donor has offered a $1 million reward for credible information leading to the pair of Judy Garland's sequined, ruby red slippers stolen from a museum in her Minnesota hometown. The late actress wore the slippers in "The Wizard of Oz." Three other pairs still exist, including one on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. John Kelsch, executive director of the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, says the donor is from Arizona and is a huge fan of Garland and the 1939 movie. The reward offer requires the exact location of the slippers and the perpetrator's name. The 10-year anniversary of the theft is in August. The slippers were insured for $1 million. Kelsch says they could be worth $2 million to $3 million now.