Queen Back in the Saddle Again

--Just as she has done for decades, Queen Elizabeth II paraded on horseback before thousands in the annual Trooping of the Color to mark the monarch’s birthday. Brushing aside calls that she ride in a bulletproof car because of the threat of a terrorist attack, the queen rode her black mare Burmese sidesaddle for the parade on The Mall leading to Buckingham Palace. Armed police watched from rooftops and two troopers on horseback flanked the queen as Prince Philip and Prince Charles followed. The Trooping of the Color, which has its origins in the 18th Century, officially marks the birthday of the queen, who turned 60 on April 21. Thousands of cheering subjects and tourists lined the route under sunny skies to enjoy the spectacle. Fears that terrorists would strike were heightened by Britain’s support of the April 15 U.S. air raids on Libya.

--Thousands of Missouri dads received special Father’s Day cards--courtesy of the state, which attached warnings reminding the men to make good on unpaid child support. “We think Father’s Day is a particularly important time to remind fathers the relationship runs both ways,” said Michael R. Henry, director of the Division of Child Support Enforcement. The Missouri Department of Social Services mailed the greeting cards to about 15,000 dads in arrears. Paying child support is “not just a good idea, it’s the law,” the message says. “On this Father’s Day, we wish to remind you that you still have an obligation to support your children. Please help us help them.” Missouri officials said they got the idea for their Father’s Day cards from Texas, which launched a similar campaign with Christmas cards.

--Thirteen folk artists, from a Creole accordionist in Louisiana to a 96-year-old Tlingit blanket weaver in Alaska, were cited by the National Endowment for the Arts for their contributions to America’s cultural heritage. The 1986 winners of the endowment’s $5,000 national heritage fellowships will be honored at an awards ceremony Sept. 11 at the Capitol. “The fellowships honor artists representing the many different cultures, races and traditions that encompass America’s cultural kaleidoscope,” said NEA Chairman Frank Hodsoll. “Through their work, these special artisans and craftsmen continue to enrich this country by preserving our roots.”

--Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work among India’s poor, visited missions in the church’s poorest diocese in the United States. A crowd of about 400 greeted Mother Teresa at the airport in Gallup, a northwestern New Mexico town virtually surrounded by Indian reservations. Mother Teresa promised to send four members of her religious order, the Missionary Sisters of Charity, to work among the Indians. “We want to further the work that the church is doing to help needy Native Americans in this area,” she said.