SAN ANTONIO — Texas authorities have dropped custody cases concerning more than 30 children from a polygamous group in west Texas. A spokeswoman for the child welfare department says the state filed paperwork Thursday indicating it no longer needed court oversight of the 10 families involved. A judge agreed. The spokeswoman said the action doesn’t necessarily end the agency’s involvement with the families, but it does mean the agency believes the children can be safe without court oversight.
Boy, 3, dies in his mother’s truck
A 3-year-old boy was left in his mother’s truck in 90-degree heat as she worked her shift at a hospital, then wriggled free from his car seat and even tried to start the ignition or open the windows before he died, officials said. The mother of Cameron Thomas Boone told investigators she forgot to drop him off at day care. She returned to the truck about nine hours later to find him unconscious Thursday. No charges have been filed.
N. Dakota: Nuclear improvements
A North Dakota bomber wing that came under scrutiny for mistakenly shipping nuclear missiles across the country is now operating safely, the Air Force said Friday. The Minot Air Force base’s 5th Bomb Wing “can execute its nuclear mission in a safe, secure and reliable manner,” the Air Force said after conducting an inspection. The new Minot Air Force Base commander noted that it been almost a year since that nuclear shipment mistake. “We’ve been steadily improving and we will continue to improve,” he said.
D.C.: Capitol gunman sentenced
A Virginia man convicted of carrying a loaded shotgun near the U.S. Capitol and hiding explosives in his truck has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. Michael Gorbey of Rapidan was arrested Jan. 18 while walking with a shotgun and 3-foot-long sword near the Capitol. At Friday’s sentencing, the judge said it was “plain old dumb luck” that nobody was hurt.
Connecticut: New youth curfew
Police took 16 young people off the streets on the first night of a curfew crackdown in response to escalating violence, officials said. The curfew in Hartford bans anyone under 18 from loitering on the streets after 9 p.m., unless they are with a parent or guardian. The police chief said curfew violators were taken to their homes and enforcement of the long-standing curfew went without incident Thursday night. He said there were no reported shootings in the city of 125,000 residents. Police have said the curfew ordinance will be enforced for 30 days. The announcement followed a violent weekend during which 11 people were shot.
Louisiana: Four months for nooses
A Louisiana teenager who hung nooses off the back of his truck to intimidate a group of black civil rights demonstrators has been sentenced to four months in prison. Federal prosecutors say 19-year-old Jeremiah Munsen displayed the nooses when he drove past people who had attended a massive civil rights march in Jena on Sept. 20. Munsen had faced up to a year in prison after pleading guilty in April to a misdemeanor charge of interfering with the marchers’ federally protected right to travel.
Russia: A warning for Poland
Russia warned Poland on Friday that it is exposing itself to attack — even a nuclear one — by accepting a U.S. missile interceptor base on its soil, delivering Moscow’s strongest language yet against the plan. American and Polish officials stuck firmly by their deal, signed Thursday, for Poland to host a system that Washington says is meant to block missile attacks by rogue nations like Iran. Moscow is convinced the base is aimed at Russia’s missile force. “Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike — 100 percent,” Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff of Russia’s armed forces, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
Trinidad: Emergency 757 landing
American Airlines said a Miami-bound passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Trinidad. An airline spokeswoman said Flight 1818 turned around Friday after the Boeing 757’s pilot detected a hydraulic problem. She said the plane landed safely in Port-of-Spain with no reported injuries to the 188 passengers or seven-member crew. Authorities were forced to close the airport because the hydraulic problem caused the jet’s brakes to lock up after it stopped on the runway.
Kenya: Pirates seize cargo ship
Somali pirates hijacked a Thai cargo ship with 28 crew members onboard, the International Maritime Bureau said Friday. Pirates attacked the Thor Star on Tuesday, a senior analyst said, in the latest of a string of attacks in lawless Somali waters. He was unaware of any demands for ransom. The ship is owned by the Thor Star Shipping Co. Ltd. and managed by Bangkok-based Thoresen and Co. The attackers are usually armed with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades and travel in small, fast speedboats that can be towed more than 100 miles offshore by larger vessels to lie in wait.
From Herald news services
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