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Vandalism Reported at 5 National Parks

Yosemite National Park (Steve Ryan ("Velo Steve"), Groveland, CA, USA)
Yosemite National Park (Steve Ryan (“Velo Steve”), Groveland, CA, USA)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The National Park Service says vandalism has been found within five western national parks and officials are investigating vandalism reports at five other parks.

Park Service spokesman Jeffrey Olson said Wednesday that he could not disclose the type or extent of the vandalism because the case is under investigation.

Olson says the vandalism has been confirmed in Yosemite and Death Valley National Parks in California; Canyonlands and Zion in Utah; and Crater Lake in Oregon.

Officials are working to confirm vandalism in Joshua Tree, Sequoia and Kings Canyon in California; Rocky Mountain in Colorado; Bryce Canyon in Utah; and Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Olson says a hiking blog flagged the vandalism for park officials.

He says it’s too soon to say what penalty or possible charges could result.

Woman Said She Sold Pot to Help Raise Grandkids

marijuana-budBUTLER, Pa. (AP) — A 65-year-old Pennsylvania woman has admitted selling hundreds of pounds of marijuana from her home but says she needed the money to raise several grandchildren after her daughter died.

Candace Kelly, of Sarver, was originally charged last fall after authorities found 64 pounds of hydroponically grown marijuana and nearly $400,000 in cash at her home in Buffalo Township.

Those charges were withdrawn because of problems with a search warrant. Kelly was charged again in January after a grand jury investigation.

Kelly pleaded guilty Wednesday in Butler County and faces up to 10 years in prison.

She told a judge she sold as much as 100 pounds of marijuana a year for more than four years.

Kelly is also forfeiting $393,000 seized by the state police.

Investigators: Secret Service Use ‘Problematic’

Homeland-SecurityWASHINGTON (AP) — A new government investigation questions a Secret Service mission that pulled agents from their assignment near the White House and sent them to the rural Maryland home of an employee embroiled in a personal dispute with a neighbor.

The report by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general calls the mission “problematic” and says it appears to have been motivated by the employee’s friendship with high-level Secret Service officials.

It says that on two occasions, agents were far from the White House while President Barack Obama was there.

The memo was obtained by The Associated Press Wednesday ahead of its public release. A Secret Service spokesman said the agency was reviewing the findings.

Apple Issues Security Warning for iCloud

AppleSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has posted a new security warning for users of its iCloud online storage service amid reports of a concerted effort to steal passwords and other data from people who use the popular service in China.

The computer maker said in a post Tuesday on its support website that it was aware of organized attacks seeking to obtain user information. It said Apple’s own servers have not been compromised but the company was taking the matter very seriously.

Apple’s post did not mention China or provide any details on the attacks. But several news outlets reported Tuesday that some Chinese Internet users have begun seeing warnings that indicate they had been diverted to an unauthorized website when they attempted to sign into their iCloud accounts.

Super Drunk Woman Arrested, Mistook Jail for Bar

police-lights-redPAW PAW, Mich. (AP) — One is a building with bars. The other is a building with a bar. A very drunk woman apparently had trouble telling them apart and ended up in a southwestern Michigan jail cell.

The Van Buren County sheriff’s department says a 39-year-old woman mistook the Van Buren County jail for the bar where she was trying to pick up her boyfriend.

The department says Deputy Robert Miersma spotted the Hartford-area woman backing into the jail parking lot in Paw Paw about 2 a.m. Sunday and noticed she smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated.

It says a breath test showed her with more than twice the 0.08 percent blood alcohol considered drunk in Michigan. She’s expected to face drunken driving charges.

Paw Paw is about 15 miles west-southwest of Kalamazoo.

Robotic Device Helps Paralyzed Groom Walk Aisle

good-newsDEWITT, N.Y. (AP) — Matt Ficarra has been paralyzed from the chest down since an accident three years ago, but that didn’t stop him from walking down the aisle.

Ficarra was able to stand and walk during the wedding ceremony in suburban Syracuse Saturday with the help of a battery-powered robotic exoskeleton called an Ekso.  He’s been driving to a rehabilitation center in Allentown, Pennsylvania weekly since April to practice walking with the apparatus.

Ficarra has been paralyzed since he broke his neck in a boating accident in 2011. He married Jordan Basile Saturday in the ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel in DeWitt.

The couple leaves Monday for a honeymoon in Jamaica.

3 Daycare Workers Accused of Hanging Boy on Door

child-abuseFRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) — Three day care workers in Massachusetts have been fired, accused of hanging a toddler from a doorknob by his shirt and then taking photos and video.

Another worker at the KinderCare in Framingham told police Tuesday about the incident that occurred on October 10. Framingham Police Lieutenant Stephen Cronin tells The Boston Globe that the 20-month-old boy wasn’t hurt. The state and police are investigating, and officials are looking to see if the photos or video were posted online.

Some parents tell WBZ-TV that the school never informed them of the ordeal and were shocked to hear of it.

KinderCare says in a statement that what happened was “completely inappropriate and out of line” with the standard of care they provide children in its facilities.

Most of California Man’s Body Eaten by Black Bear

black-bearFRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a wild black bear ate most of a Northern California man who likely died earlier of a heart attack.

Humboldt County Deputy Coroner Roy Horton said Friday he believes 65-year-old Marion Williams of Redway, California, died outside his trailer in a remote area before the bear came upon him.

Authorities discovered the remains on Monday. The identity was confirmed using fingerprints.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Andrew Hughan says officials want to trap and kill the bear but have called off their search because it is doubtful the bear is still in the area near Redway, about 75 miles south of Humboldt.

Officials Fear Ebola’s on AIDS Path; Some Disagree

cdcNEW YORK (AP) — Is Ebola the world’s worst infectious disease threat since AIDS?

Comparisons between the two deadly diseases have surfaced in the last few months as the Ebola outbreak has escalated.

Both emerged from Africa and erupted into an international health crisis. And both have been a shocking reminder that mankind’s battle against infectious diseases can take a sudden, terrible turn for the worse.

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden, says the only thing like Ebola he’s seen in his three decades in public health has been the AIDs epidemic.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci says Ebola is not expected to be in the same league as AIDS in terms of infections and deaths. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Authorities: Woman Jumped with Kids, Killing 1

police-lights-redLYMAN, N.H. (AP) — A 29-year-old New Hampshire woman has been charged with murder and assault for jumping out a second-story window with her 4-month-old twins, killing her son and severely injuring her daughter.

Patina Welch, of Lyman, is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon on second-degree murder and first-degree assault counts.

Assistant Attorney General Stacey Pawlik said Thursday that Welch jumped out the window June 18 and landed on top of the boy. His twin sister is recovering.

Prosecutors say police received a 911 call from a couple in Lyman, a town of 550 people in northwest New Hampshire, reporting their son was in medical distress.

Welch does not yet have a lawyer and there is no phone listing for her.

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