APARTMENT SHOOTINGS-FLORIDA
HIALEAH, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities say a man living with his mother in a South Florida apartment complex set their unit on fire and went on a shooting rampage throughout the building, killing six people before being shot to death by police.
As the eight-hour standoff in Hialeah began to unfold Friday night, authorities and witnesses say horrified residents of the aging, five-story apartment building hunkered down in their homes, at times so close to the action they could feel the gunfire or hear negotiations between the gunman and police.
In the final hours of the eight-hour standoff, police say 42-year-old Pedro Vargas held two people hostage at gunpoint for up to three hours in their apartment until a SWAT team entered and killed him. The hostages were not hurt.
HUDSON RIVER BOAT ACCIDENT
PIERMONT, N.Y. (AP) -- The driver of a speedboat that slammed into a construction barge on New York's Hudson River -- hurling a bride-to-be and her fiance's best man into the water -- has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.
Authorities say 35-year-old Jojo John of Nyack was also charged with three counts of vehicular assault at his hospital bedside as he recovers from Friday night's crash.
Rockland County Sheriff's Department Chief William Barbera says John's bail was set at $250,000. He says the man will be transported to jail after he's released from the hospital. Barbera says John is suspected of operating the boat while intoxicated.
Earlier today, authorities pulled a woman's body from the water that matches the description of 30-year-old Lindsey Stewart. The bride-to-be was hurled into the water after the accident near the Tappan Zee Bridge, north of New York City.
Stewart, of Piermont, N.Y., worked for an insurance company. She was set to be married Aug. 10. Her fiance, art teacher Brian Bond, was among four others injured in the crash.
Rescuers are still trying to locate one other passenger, her fiance's best man, 30-year-old Mark Lennon.
Officials say the groom-to-be and three others were hospitalized.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Federal authorities say a rig is being positioned to drill a relief well for a gas leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and a permit is in the final stages of review.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Saturday that it's reviewing Walter Oil & Gas Corporation's permit to drill the relief well off the Louisiana coast.
The relief well could intercept the leaking well and seal it with drilling mud and cement.
The leak is from a gas rig that blew wild Tuesday morning. Spewing gas ignited that night, burning the rig owned by Hercules Offshore Inc.
Authorities believe that sand and sediment clogged the well late Wednesday, shutting off the gas flow in what is referred to as a "bridge over."
NORTH CAROLINA FLOODING
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A series of thunderstorms moving across western North Carolina has triggered major flash flooding, inundating roads, apartments and parts of several counties.
The Charlotte Observer reports that Hickory Mayor Rudy Wright is telling residents to stay indoors and away from flooded roads and washed-out bridges.
No injuries have been reported.
Parts of Catawba and surrounding counties were under water Saturday. Catawba County officials say some of the worst flash flooding in decades followed a nearly stationary weather system that dumped more than 12 inches of rain.
Several miles of Interstate 85 in Cabarrus County was closed for a short time Saturday due to high water.
It is at least the fourth major flash flooding event in the Charlotte region in the past month.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Police Department is seeking help identifying the body of a young girl dubbed Baby Hope, whose naked and malnourished body was found inside a cooler 22 years ago.
Police are offering a $12,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and a conviction.
This week, officers put up posters and handed out fliers with sketches of how the girl looked in 1991 and might look now. Cold-case detective Robert Dewhurst says he hopes someone who knew her will come forward.
The cooler was found in Washington Heights on July 23, 1991, on an embankment off the Henry Hudson Parkway.
The girl was believed to be 3 to 5 years old. DNA testing has yielded no matches with databases of convicted felons or active missing-person cases.
PANTEGO, Texas (AP) -- A swarm of about 30,000 bees has attacked a North Texas couple as they exercised their miniature horses, stinging the animals so many times they died.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports 44-year-old Kristen Beauregard was stung about 200 times and her boyfriend about 50 times.
Beauregard says the swarm chased them down and followed them. She says they were sweeping up piles of bees "like a bad movie."
She says firefighters sprayed a foam substance to clear the bees, and dragged the horses to a pasture to be treated by police and paramedics.
A 6-year-old show horse died before a veterinarian arrived. A Shetland pony spent a night at a veterinary clinic but also died.
The bees are being tested to see whether they are Africanized or "killer" bees.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators say they have certified two types of unmanned aircraft for civilian use, a milestone expected to lead to the first approved commercial drone operations later this summer.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday the drones are Insitu's Scan Eagle X200 and AeroVironment's PUMA. Both weigh less than 55 pounds, are about 4.5 feet long and have wingspans of 9 to 10 feet.
A major energy company plans to fly the Scan Eagle off the Alaska coast starting in August to survey ice floes and migrating whales. The PUMA is expected to support emergency response crews for oil spill monitoring and wildlife surveillance over the Beaufort Sea.
Most nonmilitary use of drones in the U.S. has been limited to police and other government agencies.
US-EGYPT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State John Kerry says Egypt is at "a pivotal moment" more than two years since the uprising ousted the longtime President Hosni Mubarak.
Kerry says the "final verdict" of the revolution that brought Mohammed Morsi to power as Egypt's first democratically elected leader before the military recently toppled him "will be forever impacted by what happens right now."
Kerry says Egyptian officials "have a moral and legal obligation" to respect the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. He says the continued violence sets back efforts of "reconciliation and democratization," and affects regional stability.
Egypt's health ministry says security forces fought with Morsi's supporters Saturday and at least 65 protesters were killed.
Kerry says the U.S. is urging "an independent and impartial inquiry" and says political leaders must help their country "take a step back from the brink."
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- The Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting says the U.S. government is at war with Islam.
Maj. Nidal Hasan released a lengthy statement to Fox News (http://fxn.ws/1cafkA2 ) on Saturday in which he says he regrets serving in the Army and "participating in the illegal and immoral aggression against Muslims, their religion and their lands."
Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 attack at the Central Texas Army post. His trial is scheduled to start Aug. 6.
Hasan is serving as his own attorney and hasn't spoken much in pre-trial hearings or jury selection. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Fox News reports that Hasan didn't directly address the shooting in the statement.
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- One of the nation's largest air shows begins Monday in Wisconsin, and for each of the 10,000 planes flying in, the federal government will collect about $45 for air traffic control services.
The fee is angering pilots, who already pay for air traffic control through a fuel tax.
The Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture draws about 10,000 planes and several hundred thousand people to Oshkosh each year.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory says the event was asked to cover air traffic costs after automatic federal budget cuts went into effect this spring.
EAA board chairman Jack Pelton says paying an unexpected $447,000 for air traffic control means less money will be left for the nonprofit's aviation education programs. It is appealing the fee in federal court.
TERESA HEINZ KERRY-HOSPITALIZED
BOSTON (AP) -- The wife of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has walked out of a Boston rehabilitation hospital after successful treatment for a seizure she experienced earlier this month.
State Department spokesman Glen Johnson said Saturday that doctors expect 74-year-old Teresa Heinz Kerry to complete her recovery at home after some out-patient treatment. She suffered a seizure at the couple's home in Nantucket on July 7.
Johnson previously said the cause of the seizure had not been determined but doctors had ruled out a brain tumor, heart attack or stroke.
Kerry thanked members of the State Department Diplomatic Security Service who first responded when his wife fell ill. She was transferred to two hospitals and ultimately to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for recovery.
The family does not plan to additional comment.
OBAMA-LINDY BOGGS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is remembering late congresswoman Lindy Boggs as a champion of civil rights and women's rights.
Boggs represented her Louisiana district for nearly 18 years in the House. She died Saturday at her home in suburban Washington at the age of 97.
In a statement Saturday night, Obama says Boggs' legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.
OBAMA-FED CHAIR
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says his next Fed chairman should take ordinary people into account when setting monetary policy.
Obama tells The New York Times in an interview on the paper's website Saturday that he wants someone who won't just work abstractly to keep inflation in check and maintain stability in the markets. He says he wants the next Fed chairman to also promote policies that will help make ordinary people's lives better.
The president began a series of speeches this week promoting ideas for easing the burdens on the middle class.
Obama is considering replacements for Ben Bernanke, whose term as Fed chairman expires early next year.
Former Obama economic adviser Larry Summers and Janet Yellen, the Fed's current vice chair, are among the leading candidates for the job.
SOAP BOX DERBY
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- More than 440 racers have given their all in the 76th All-American Soap Box Derby in northeast Ohio.
The Saturday derby in Akron featured competitors from the United States and other countries competing for a share of $30,000 in scholarships.
Fourteen-year-old Ricky Desens of Webster, N.Y., won the Rally Super Stock division. Thirteen-year-old Macaila Ziolkowski of McKeesport, Pa., won the Stock Car division and 14-year-old Bryce Volpe, 14, of Mentor in northeast Ohio won the Super Stock division.
Two 16-year-olds won the Masters divisions. They were Jay Warnick of Drayden, Md., and Melanie Kohout of Geneva, Ill.
Racers were able to qualify for the downhill competition of gravity-powered cars by winning just one race in their local community or by being a rally champion after competing throughout the year.
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