Cops: Men smuggled firearms on buses

Cops: Men smuggled firearms on buses

NEW YORK

A pair of gunrunners smuggled firearms into New York City by hiding them in luggage they carried on discount buses that offered cheap fares and lesser odds of getting caught, authorities said Monday.

An undercover city police officer posing as a gun broker for criminal customers bought 254 weapons from the men in dozens of transactions since last year — the largest gun seizures in the city in recent memory. One of the guns was an assault rifle that was disassembled and transported in a girlfriend’s zebra-striped bag, authorities said.

The alleged smugglers, Walter Walker and Earl Campbell, were among 19 people arrested in New York and in North Carolina and South Carolina — states where the guns originated — as the result of a 10-month investigation. Also charged was an aspiring rapper from Brooklyn.

Flooding continues

MANILA, Philippines

Some of the Philippines’ heaviest rains on record fell on the capital and surrounding areas again today, turning roads into rivers and trapping people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work for a second day except for rescues and disaster response.

Officials reported at least three people dead, 11 injured and four missing. The dead included a 5-year-old boy whose house was hit by a concrete wall that collapsed. His two adult relatives also were injured.

Lawyer: Mayor in settlement talks

SAN DIEGO

An attorney for a woman suing San Diego’s embattled mayor for sexual harassment said Monday the two sides are in settlement talks after the mayor was spotted entering an office building on a day when he was expected to return to work after undergoing therapy.

Lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents Mayor Bob Filner’s former communications director, said a retired federal judge is mediating the negotiations. She added the talks are ongoing and she couldn’t comment further. It wasn’t known if Filner was present for the talks.

Judge OKs inmate force-feeding

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

A federal judge approved a request from California and federal officials Monday to force-feed inmates if necessary as a statewide prison hunger strike entered its seventh week.

Officials say they fear for the welfare of nearly 70 inmates who have refused all prison-issued meals since the strike began July 8 over the holding of gang leaders and other violent inmates in solitary confinement that can last for decades.

They are among nearly 130 inmates in six prisons who were refusing meals. When the strike began, it included nearly 30,000 of the 133,000 inmates in California prisons.

Christie signs ban on conversion therapy

TRENTON, N.J.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed a law Monday barring licensed therapists from trying to turn gay teenagers straight, the latest example of the potential 2016 presidential candidate’s steering a moderate course.

The governor said the health risks of trying to change a child’s sexual orientation, as identified by the American Psychological Association, trump concerns over the government setting limits on parental choice. “Government should tread carefully into this area,” he said in the signing note, “and I do so here reluctantly.”

Associated Press