Nation/World / News Q & A

Q: Three men were recently sentenced for the 2004 theft of the painting, "The Scream," from a Norway museum. Who were they and were they affiliated with an anti-abortion group?

-- KARYN HUDSON, Atlanta

A: Edvard Munch's masterpieces, "The Scream" and "Madonna," were stolen from Oslo's Munch Museum. The paintings were recovered last year with some damage. The three men are:

• Petter Tharaldsen, driver of the getaway car, sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison, which includes a sentence for an unrelated robbery.

• Bjoern Hoen, theft mastermind, sentenced to nine years. Tharaldsen and Hoen were also convicted of being part of an organized crime group.

• Gunman Stian Skjold was sentenced to 5 1/2 years. In addition to prison, the men were ordered to pay $262,000 to the city of Oslo, which owns the paintings. They were not affiliated with an anti-abortion group. However, a previous art theft was originally linked to an anti-abortion advocate. He was later cleared as a suspect.

Q: An FBI agent was recently shot to death during a bank holdup. Initial reports attributed the death to the robbers, but later stories indicated a likelihood that "friendly fire" was responsible. Is there an update?

-- EARL B. JACKSON, Flowery Branch

A: FBI agent Barry Lee Bush was shot on April 5 as agents swarmed in on a bank robbery in central New Jersey. The shot apparently came from a fellow agent's gun. Authorities have not released other details.

Staff researchers Joni Zeccola and Alice Wertheim contributed to this column.