Explosion through grate burns woman

Explosion through grate burns woman

PITTSBURGH

Officials in Pittsburgh say flames from an underground explosion shot up through a metal sidewalk grate, burning a woman who was standing there.

City police Sgt. William Gorman says witnesses report the woman “just burst into flames” while standing on Boulevard of the Allies.

Duquesne Light officials say a cable failure Friday evening caused the explosion, which also shook nearby buildings.

The woman was taken to a hospital, where her condition was not known. Her identity has not been released.

Twin suicide bombs kill 62 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan

A pair of suicide bombings killed 62 people Friday outside a government office in a region along the Afghan border where the Pakistani army and U.S. missiles have had some success in decreasing the number of such attacks.

The assault, which wounded at least 111 people, was one of the deadliest in Pakistan this year.

UN condemns deadly ship attack

UNITED NATIONS

The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned a deadly attack on a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors and pointed a finger toward North Korea but didn’t directly blame the reclusive communist nation.

North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Sin Son Ho called it “our great diplomatic victory,” stressing again that his country had nothing to do with the sinking of the 1,200-ton Cheonan on March 26.

Cops: Teen fugitive may have escaped

MARSH HARBOUR, Bahamas

A fugitive U.S. teenager who has successfully eluded teams of local police and FBI agents may have slipped off the island where he allegedly crash-landed a stolen plane nearly a week ago, police said Friday.

Authorities are investigating a report that Colton Harris-Moore, dubbed the “Barefoot Bandit,” has fled Great Abaco Island and was spotted on Eleuthera, about 40 miles to the south, two police officials said.

It was unclear how the 19-year-old fugitive might have escaped the island, but a powerboat was stolen in Marsh Harbour.

Judge cuts penalty in song-sharing case

BOSTON

A federal judge on Friday drastically trimmed a $675,000 verdict against a Boston University graduate student who was found guilty of illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs online, saying the jury damage award against a person who gained no financial benefit from his copyright infringement is “unconstitutionally excessive.”

Joel Tenenbaum, from Providence, R.I., was sued by some of the largest music companies who said he violated copyright rules. He admitted in court to downloading songs between 1999 and 2007. The jury found him guilty and assessed the damage award last July.

Judge Nancy Gertner on Friday cut the damage award to $67,500.

Drug sweep in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

Roughly 500 U.S. drug agents and Puerto Rican police swept through public housing projects at dawn Friday on the island’s west coast in what officials described as the largest operation of its kind in the American territory.

Authorities had arrest warrants for 158 people and hoped to seize more than $1 million in property in an attempt to dismantle drug trafficking gangs and reduce crime in Mayaguez during the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games, said Special Agent Waldo Santiago, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman.

Associated Press