No ties to ’80s abductions

No ties to ’80s abductions

ANTIOCH, Calif. — Authorities on Tuesday ended an exhaustive weeklong search on the property where a Northern California girl was reportedly held captive for 18 years.

Police from the cities of Dublin and Hayward, in San Francisco’s east bay area, had been searching the grounds to see if Phillip and Nancy Garrido, the couple charged with kidnapping Jaycee Dugard in 1991, could be tied to two other area child abductions from the late 1980s.

But after an extensive effort in which archaeological experts and employees of multiple law-enforcement agencies combed through more than an acre of land in blistering heat — some on their hands and knees — the search revealed no links to the 1988 abduction of Michaela Garecht or the 1989 disappearance of Ilene Misheloff.

Iran says US has created chaos in Afghanistan

NEW YORK — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expressing interest in cooperating to help stabilize Afghanistan but is blaming the United States for having created chaos in the war-torn country on Iran’s eastern border.

The Iranian leader told The Associated Press on Tuesday that there is no military solution to Afghanistan’s problems. He says the Iranian government is at a loss to determine what it might do to correct the crisis.

He likened the Americans and their coalition partners whose forces are fighting in Afghanistan to “drivers who have chosen to close their eyes” and will not listen to advice from others.

He also says U.S. military action in Pakistan is not going to help Afghanistan.

Beatles still breaking records for album sales

LOS ANGELES — Nearly 40 years after breaking up, The Beatles are still breaking records for album sales.

EMI Group PLC says consumers in North America, Japan and the U.K. bought more than 2.25 million copies of the Fab Four’s re-mastered albums in the first five days after their Sept. 9 release.

On Billboard magazine’s pop catalog chart, the band had 16 titles in the top 50, including all 14 remastered CDs and two box sets.

The Beatles’ original U.K. studio albums were re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London over four years and released to coincide with the sale of “The Beatles: Rock Band” on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii.

88 suspects targeted in raid on LA street gang

LOS ANGELES — A notorious street gang accused of terrorizing a neighborhood for years, killing a deputy sheriff and murdering residents was the target of a coordinated assault by hundreds of law-enforcement officials Tuesday.

About 1,100 local police working with nearly 300 federal agents carried out a string of pre-dawn raids seeking key members of the Avenues street gang.

A federal indictment detailing criminal activity spanning more than a decade named 88 suspects. Forty-six were arrested, 33 were already in custody, and nine remained at large, authorities said.

Standoff in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Baton-wielding soldiers used tear gas and water cannons to chase away thousands who demonstrated outside the Brazilian embassy Tuesday, leaving deposed President Manuel Zelaya and 70 friends and relatives trapped inside without water, electricity or phones.

Heavily armed soldiers stood guard on neighboring rooftops, and helicopters buzzed overhead.

Zelaya, forced out of his country at gunpoint June 28, triumphantly popped up in the capital Monday, telling captivated supporters that after three months of international exile and a secretive 15-hour cross-country journey, he was ready to lead again.

Interim President Roberto Micheletti’s response was terse: Initially, he said Zelaya was lying about being back. Then after Zelaya appeared on national television, Micheletti pressed Brazil to hand him over under a warrant issued by the Supreme Court charging treason and abuse of authority.

16 fired or disciplined for death of Arizona inmate

PHOENIX — Sixteen Arizona corrections employees have been fired, suspended or otherwise disciplined for their role in the death of an inmate left in an outdoor holding cell for four hours in triple-digit heat and a “wait-them-out” practice at the prison where she died.

Marcia Powell, 48, died from heat-related complications hours after she collapsed May 19 in an uncovered outdoor cell at the Perryville prison in Goodyear. She had been in the cell for nearly four hours, despite a policy that set a two-hour limit.

Associated Press