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Virginia Man Named Stoner Arrested on Pot Charges

odd-newsORANGE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man with the last name Stoner is facing drug charges after police found more than $10,000 worth of marijuana plants at his home.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says 42-year-old Paul Scott Stoner of Unionville is charged with growing marijuana and having a firearm while in possession of more than a pound of marijuana.

Media outlets report that the charges stem from an ongoing investigation related to the alleged sale of marijuana to children in Orange County. Further charges are pending.

Authorities say they acted on a tip that Stoner was selling to children and during the search last Thursday seized marijuana, marijuana plants, drug paraphernalia, prescription drugs, needles, spoons and guns.

Stoner is free on bond. A hearing is set for Aug. 27.

California’s Drought Stings Bees, Honey Supply

beekeepingLOS BANOS, Calif. (AP) — California’s record drought hasn’t been sweet to honeybees, and it’s creating a sticky situation for beekeepers and honey buyers.

The state is one of the country’s largest honey producers, with abundant crops and wildflowers that provide the nectar that bees turn into honey.

But the lack of rain has ravaged native plants and forced farmers to tear out orchards and plant fewer crops, leaving fewer places for honeybees to forage.

The historic drought is reducing supplies of California honey, raising prices for consumers and making it harder for beekeepers to earn a living.

The drought is the latest blow to honeybees that have been decimated by pesticides, parasites and disease.

The record low rainfall is worsening a worldwide shortage of honey that has pushed prices to all-time highs.

Of 51 Recent Arrests in Ferguson, 1 Is a Resident

Jail-Bars-and-Cuffs_mediumFERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis County police say 51 people were arrested from mid-day Tuesday through early Wednesday in Ferguson — all but one of them from out of town.

Information released Wednesday shows that most of those arrested were cited for refusal to disperse, but a few face weapons charges, disorderly conduct or possession of burglary tools charges. Two men are charged with assaulting a police officer.

Many of those arrested are from nearby communities, but just one woman lists a Ferguson address.

Ferguson has been on edge since the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a city police officer. Hundreds of protesters are crowding West Florissant Avenue every night, resulting in some clashes with police.

UPS Says 51 Retail Stores Breached by Malware

upsssSome customers of The UPS Store may have had their credit and debit card information exposed by a computer virus found on systems at 51 stores.

A spokeswoman for UPS says the information includes card numbers, postal and email addresses from about 100,000 transactions between Jan. 20 and Aug. 11.

United Parcel Service Inc. said Wednesday that it was among U.S. retailers who got a government bulletin about the malware on July 31. The malware is not identified by current anti-virus software.

UPS spokeswoman Chelsea Lee says the company is not aware of any fraud related to the attack.

Atlanta-based UPS says it hired a security firm that found the virus in systems at stores in 24 states, about 1 percent of the company’s 4,470 franchised locations.

School Sorry for Making Special Ed Kids Sort Trash

highschoolJURUPA VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Parents of special education students in a Southern California city say they were outraged to learn their children had been sorting trash as a school activity.

Jurupa Unified Superintendent Elliot Duchon apologized to humiliated students and suspended the activity.

The apology came at a heated school board meeting on Monday night. Parents sounded off over the program at Patriot High School that had special education students sort through campus trash bins for recyclables.

Duchon says the program aims to teach special education students general life skills like budgeting and purchasing groceries.

Parent Carmen Wells complained after learning her autistic son was digging through trash on his first day as a high school freshman.

Man Shows Up to Jail with Mugshot on T-Shirt

bobby-burtMADISON, Maine (AP) — A Maine man who served a 48-hour sentence for drunken driving wore something special for his jail booking photo: a T-shirt featuring his mug shot.

Nineteen-year-old Bobby Burt, of Pittsfield, had the mug shot from his June arrest printed on the orange shirt, along with the words, “Sponsored by Bud Light and Somerset County Sheriff.”

The mug shot is making the rounds online thanks to The Smoking Gun, which posted it Monday.

Sean Maguire, the jail’s compliance manager, said there’s no policy on what inmates can or cannot wear for booking photos.

Burt, who’s using the mug shot for his Facebook profile picture, didn’t immediately return a call left at his place of employment Tuesday.

2 Dead, 2 Injured in Arkansas Union Pacific Train Collision

Union-PacificAuthorities say two Union Pacific train crew members were killed and two were injured when two freight trains collided in northeast Arkansas.

Arkansas State Police said in a statement they were called to the site about 3 a.m. Sunday in Hoxie.

Union Pacific spokesman Brandon Morris says two cars caught fire, one carrying diesel and one carrying an alcoholic beverage. He says the fire was out about 10 a.m.

Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Kendell Snyder said no health hazards had been detected from the fire.

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office said about 500 people were forced to leave their homes, but emergency officials say most were allowed to return by midmorning.

In June 2012, a head-on train crash in the Oklahoma Panhandle killed three Union Pacific crewmembers.

Virginia Deputy Shoots Daughter After Mistaking Her for Intruder

police-lights-redWINCHESTER, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a Virginia deputy sheriff shot his 16-year-old daughter after mistaking her for an intruder, then crashed his car as he rushed her to the hospital.

According to media reports, the teenager was in stable condition at a Winchester hospital.

Capt. Donnie Lang of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office says a security alarm sounded at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Winchester home of Easton McDonald, a sergeant with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. He says McDonald, responding to the alarm, saw the dark shape of a person advancing through the garage door and fired.

Emergency responders took the teenager to the hospital after McDonald crashed into a barricade. McDonald was not injured.

Loudoun sheriff’s spokesman Kraig Troxell says McDonald is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

Robin Williams’ Wife: He Had Parkinson’s, Was Sober When He Died

robin-williamsLOS ANGELES (AP) — The wife of Robin Williams says he was in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease and was sober at the time of his apparent suicide.

In a statement Thursday, Susan Schneider said that Williams was struggling with depression, anxiety and the early stages of Parkinson’s when he was found dead earlier this week.

The wife of the actor-comedian said he had not been ready to share his Parkinson’s diagnosis publicly.

Apple Bans Use of 2 Chemicals in iPhone Assembly

AppleSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple is banning the use of two potentially hazardous chemicals in the final assembly of iPhones and iPads as part of the company’s latest commitment to protect factory workers who build its trendy devices.

The decision announced Wednesday comes five months after the activist groups China Labor Watch and Green America launched a petition drive calling on Apple Inc. to abandon the use of benzene and n-hexane in the production of iPhones.

Apple says a four-month investigation at 22 factories found no evidence that benzene and n-hexane was endangering the roughly 500,000 people who work at the plants.

The Cupertino, California company nevertheless decided the substances should no longer be allowed during the final assembly process.

Benzene can cause leukemia and n-hexane has been linked to nerve damage.

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