FORMER PRESIDENT

George H.W. Bush, Wife Hospitalized

Former President George H.W. Bush was in intensive care in a Houston hospital Wednesday, and his wife, Barbara, also was hospitalized, a family spokesman said.

Mr. Bush, 92 years old, entered the intensive care unit of Houston Methodist hospital "to address an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia," said spokesman Jim McGrath. He said doctors performed a procedure to protect and clear Mr. Bush's airway that required sedation. "President Bush is stable and resting comfortably in the ICU, where he will remain for observation," he said.

Mrs. Bush, 91, was admitted to the hospital Wednesday "as a precaution after experiencing fatigue and coughing," Mr. McGrath said, adding that her symptoms are pneumonia-like.

The 41st president was initially admitted to the hospital Saturday for shortness of breath.

--Tawnell D. Hobbs

INTELLIGENCE

Snowden's Permit Is Extended by Russia

Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, whom Russia granted asylum in 2013 after the U.S. charged him with espionage, has had his residence permit extended, his Russian lawyer and a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

The lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, confirmed to Russian news agencies that Mr. Snowden had been granted permission to stay in Russia for a further three years. The U.S. has charged the former National Security Agency contractor with espionage for leaking details of highly classified government surveillance programs.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said in a Facebook post that Mr. Snowden's permit was extended, gave no explanation of why the permit was renewed months before the current one was due to expire.

--James Marson

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2017 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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