RENO, Nev. – A wildfire that had threatened an upscale subdivision in the Sierra foothills just west of Reno was 70 percent contained Saturday, officials said. Calmer winds and an all-out air attack allowed crews to gain ground after the fire initially threatened about 50 homes in the Somersett development. No houses had been damaged, but flames came within 100 feet of some homes Friday. The fire that had dashed across more than 9 square miles was expected to be fully containment by tonight. It was largely burning on U.S. Forest Service land, but edged across Reno city lines.
California: Unabomber sale online
A federal judge has ordered personal items seized in 1996 from Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski’s Montana cabin to be sold online. The U.S. District judge in Sacramento ruled Thursday that items belonging to Kaczynski, including books, tools, clothing and two checkbooks, should be sold at a “reasonably advertised Internet auction.” Revenues from the sale will be applied to the $15 million in restitution the judge ordered Kaczynski to pay his victims. Kaczynski, 64, is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for a bombing spree that lasted from 1978 to 1995.
Utah: Conjoined twins recovering
Conjoined twins separated during a 26-hour surgery were breathing on their own Saturday, a milestone just days after the operation. Kendra and Maliyah Herrin, 4, were removed from ventilators about 3:45 p.m., a Primary Children’s Medical Center spokeswoman said. She called it “wonderful progress.” “It’s a little sooner than perhaps we expected, but (doctors) said all along we would listen to how they were responding and follow their lead,” she said. The Salt Lake City doctors also reported no evidence of post-surgery infections, she said.
Colorado: Chinese acrobat dies
A member of the Amazing Acrobats of China who fell during a performance at a theme park died Saturday from his injuries, officials said. The man hit his head after falling Friday while trying to balance on a stack of chairs at Six Flags Elitch Gardens, Denver police said. The theater was full when he fell, a park spokeswoman said. The company canceled its Saturday performance and future shows were on hold. The performer was rushed to Denver Health Medical Center where he died.
Wisconsin: Library toys recalled
A company has recalled thousands of bendable cat and dog toys contaminated with lead that were awarded to student readers by libraries across the country. Highsmith Co. of Fort Atkinson issued the recall after learning that the toy’s exterior paint contained more than four times the safe amount of lead. Libraries in as many as 41 states bought the Chinese-made toys as part of the prepackaged “Paws, Claws, Scales, and Tails” summer reading program, a company spokesman said last week.
Montana: Redbone counterfeit
A band that headlined a fair last weekend is accused of masquerading as the rock group Redbone, whose hits included the 1970s song “Come and Get Your Love.” The band at the Butte-Silver Bow Fair performed under the name Redbone, but the real Redbone was playing in Wisconsin, Redbone’s manager said. “I’ve been in the business for 40 years, and I’ve never ran into anything this blatant,” he said Thursday from his office in Burbank, Calif. He said the fair board was conned.
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