Police: Man shot people in church over liberal views

Police: Man shot people in church over liberal views

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church, killing two people, left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday.

A four-page letter found in Jim D. Adkisson’s small SUV indicated he intentionally targeted the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church because, the police chief said, “he hated the liberal movement” and was upset with “liberals in general as well as gays.”

Adkisson, a 58-year-old truck driver on the verge of losing his food stamps, had 76 rounds with him when he entered the church and pulled a shotgun from a guitar case during a children’s performance of the musical “Annie.”

Wildfire near Yosemite destroys 12 homes

MARIPOSA, Calif. — Little relief from hot weather is expected this week as crews fight to contain a wildfire near Yosemite National Park that has destroyed 12 homes and forced the evacuation of about 200 others.

The blaze has charred more than 26,000 acres — over 40 square miles — since Friday as wooded slopes ignited. Besides homes, the fire has engulfed 27 other buildings.

Officials ordered the evacuations of 195 homes under immediate threat, but some residents defied orders and stayed to protect their property. About 2,000 homes faced at least some danger from the fast-spreading flames, said Wayne Barringer, a state fire spokesman on the scene.

Mild mental decline is more common, study says

CHICAGO — A milder type of mental decline that often precedes Alzheimer’s disease is alarmingly more common than has been believed, and in men more than women, doctors reported Monday.

Nearly a million older Americans slide from normal memory into mild impairment each year, researchers estimate, based on a Mayo Clinic study of Minnesota residents.

That’s on top of the half million Americans who develop full-blown Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia — a problem sure to grow as baby boomers age. The oldest boomers turn 62 this year.

University of Florida ranks as top party school

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida can raise a glass to another national title — best party school in the country.

The Gators, known for wild celebrations following national championships in football and basketball, wrested the party title away from West Virginia University and beat out the University of Mississippi and Penn State University in the Princeton Review survey of 120,000 students released Monday.

The university has made the top 20 party school list for the past 15 years, but has never been No. 1.

Ohio University ranked fifth.

Missile strike reportedly kills member of al-Qaida

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Missiles hit a building in a Pakistani village on the border with Afghanistan on Monday, and intelligence officials said they were investigating reports that a senior al-Qaida figure was among six people killed.

Pakistan’s army said it had not confirmed that the strike killed al-Qaida operative Abu Khabab al-Masri, described by Washington as an expert who trained terrorists in the use of poisons and explosives. The U.S. offers a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

A Pakistani military intelligence official said al-Masri’s wife told authorities that her husband died in the attack in South Waziristan. The woman was wounded and hospitalized, he said.

Dolly’s rainfall keeps hundreds from homes

RUIDOSO, N.M. — Flooding caused by torrential rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Dolly kept hundreds of evacuees away from their homes and campgrounds Monday, authorities said. Two people were listed as missing.

The National Weather Service posted flash flood watches Monday across much of eastern New Mexico. The sun broke through Monday morning, but isolated thunderstorms were forecast throughout the week.

The state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said up to 9 inches of rain had fallen since Friday in the mountainous area around Ruidoso, in south-central New Mexico.

Associated Press