Man mauled by tiger at Bronx Zoo

Man mauled by tiger at Bronx Zoo

NEW YORK

A visitor to the Bronx Zoo leaped from an elevated monorail train Friday, plummeted over a fence into an exhibit and was mauled by a tiger, police and zoo officials said.

The man was alone with the 400-pound beast for about 10 minutes before being rescued, zoo officials said. He suffered bites and punctures on his arms, legs, shoulders and back and broke an arm and a leg.

Tsunami debris found in Hawaii

HONOLULU

A large plastic bin is the first confirmed piece of marine debris from last year’s Japan tsunamis to arrive in Hawaii, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday.

Japanese consular officials confirmed that the blue bin found earlier this week floating in the ocean is from Fukushima, said Ben Sherman, a NOAA spokesman in Washington, D.C.

It’s the 12th confirmed piece to hit U.S. or Canadian waters, he said.

Afghanistan bans Pakistani papers

KABUL

Afghanistan banned all Pakistani newspapers from entering the country Friday in an attempt to block the Taliban from influencing public opinion via the press.

The order, issued by the Ministry of Interior, adds to the mounting tension between the neighboring countries.

It focuses specifically on blocking entry of the papers at Torkham, a busy border crossing, and directed border police to gather up Pakistani newspapers in the three eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan.

No ethics charges for Democratic rep

WASHINGTON

California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters won’t be charged with ethics violations in the wake of allegations she steered a $12 million federal bailout to a bank where her husband owns stock.

House Ethics Committee members said Friday at a hearing their investigation found no violation by Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. She could become the panel’s senior Democrat next year, or the chairwoman, if Democrats win control of the House.

However, the ethics panel said that Waters’ chief of staff, Mikael Moore, did take actions in Congress in an attempt to help the bank and that he violated House standards of conduct. Moore, who also is Waters’ grandson, likely will receive a letter admonishing him for his conduct but will not face more severe punishment, such as a reprimand, by the full House.

Associated Press