TYLER, Texas — A spate of recent fires that destroyed or damaged several churches in eastern Texas were intentionally set, likely by the same person or group, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Fires that broke out at two churches near Tyler on Monday have not yet been ruled arson, but authorities are investigating them as such. They were reported within an hour of one another and there were signs that at least one of the churches had been broken into.
Since Jan. 1, eight churches — seven in eastern Texas and one in the central part of the state — have been set ablaze deliberately, authorities have said, not counting the two on Monday.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is heading the investigation into the blazes.
“We would just like to find out why this is going on and please stop it,” Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton said.
California: Target pulls toy bears over lead-level fears
Target Corp. said Tuesday it was pulling its Valentine’s Day “Message Bears” from store shelves after California’s attorney general raised concerns that the toys have illegal levels of lead. The products, which were made in China for Target’s in-house brand, were identified as the retailer’s two “Message Bears” — one a pink stuffed bear with “XOXO” across the chest and the other a brown stuffed bear with “I Love U” across the chest, with “love” represented by a heart. Investigators from the Center for Environmental Health, a nonprofit watchdog, found that the bears’ inflated vinyl letters contained well over federal limits for lead in products for children under the age of 12. The bears were sold exclusively by Target stores, the center’s report stated.
Florida: Shuttle appears to have no launch damage
The space shuttle Endeavour apparently is free of any serious launch damage, space officials said in Cape Canaveral, but the analysis is continuing, and a few hundred photos taken from the space station during Endeavour’s final approach will yield more data. Endeavour, which blasted off erly Monday morning, and its crew of six are due to arrive at the International Space Station early today. The shuttle is delivering a new space station room as well as a domed lookout.
Connecticut: Workers smelled gas an hour before plant exploded
Some workers building a New Haven power plant shattered by a gas explosion had been spending more than 80 hours a week there before the blast killed five Sunday, the Associated Press has learned. Plant employee Paul Gaskins said workers had expressed concerns less than an hour earlier about a natural-gas smell in the Kleen Energy Plant and were told only to open nearby doors a bit wider to let in more air. The state Department of Labor declined to comment on the long hours because of the investigation and Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s call for a committee to investigate such issues.
Maryland: Suspect indicted in girl’s Christmastime slaying
A registered sex offender has been indicted on murder charges in the death of an 11-year-old Maryland girl whose body was found on Christmas Day, and prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty. Thomas Leggs Jr., 30, has been charged in the killing of Sarah Foxwell, whose body was found in a wooded area. Leggs was initially charged with kidnapping and burglary after the girl was abducted from her home on the night of Dec. 22.
Massachusetts: Mother convicted in child’s overdose death
A Brockton woman was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder in the prescription drug overdose of her 4-year-old daughter. Carolyn Riley was accused of overmedicating her daughter, Rebecca, on powerful drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder by the time she was 3. Prosecutors said Riley and her husband, Michael, concocted symptoms of mental illness in their daughter in an attempt to collect federal disability benefits.
From Herald news services
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