Skydiver missing after jump found dead in Tenn.

Skydiver missing after jump found dead in Tenn.

SOMERVILLE, Tenn.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Department says a skydiver who was missing after a jump in southwestern Tennessee has been found dead.

WMC-TV in Memphis reports that the 56-year-old California man was found in Fayette County after nearly a six-hour search.

The man, who hasn’t been identified, jumped midday Monday with six others taking part in a high-altitude, low-opening jump. The jump took place from around 28,000 feet.

Halo Jumper owner Kevin Holbrook told the station the skydiver was licensed and qualified to make the jump. He said no one saw what happened to the man because the jumpers move away from each other for safety.

Cherokee child handed over to adoptive parents

OKLAHOMA CITY

A Cherokee girl at the center of a yearslong custody dispute has been handed over to her adoptive parents.

Cherokee Nation spokeswoman Amanda Clinton confirmed that 4-year-old Veronica was handed over to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of South Carolina on Monday night. Clinton did not release any details on the arrangement.

Veronica has been living in the Cherokee Nation with her father, Dusten Brown, and his family since she was 2 years old.

Before that, she lived with the South Carolina couple who had taken custody of her shortly after her birth.

Her adoption to the Capobiancos was finalized earlier this year, but Brown had appealed Oklahoma court orders certifying the adoption.

The girl was handed over to the Capobiancos after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled it would not intervene.

House GOP offers smaller budget cuts on debt increase

WASHINGTON

House Republicans are far less ambitious this week in their demands for spending cuts to erase new debt issued to pay the government’s bills than they were during a budget battle two years ago.

The list of cuts under consideration now tallies up to a fraction of the almost $1 trillion in additional borrowing that would be permitted under a GOP proposal for enabling the government to pay its bills through December of next year.

Two years ago, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, insisted on spending cuts totaling $2.1 trillion over a decade as the price to meet President Barack Obama’s demand for a like-sized increase in the government’s borrowing cap, also known as the debt ceiling.

Deaf man cycling for cause injured in Florida crash

MIAMI

A deaf man’s 175-day bicycle journey to raise awareness about cochlear implants almost ended after a hit-and-run crash on his way to Miami.

Jacob Landis won’t be able to bike Tuesday into Marlins Park Stadium, where his charity bike ride was scheduled to end. But the 24-year-old will still attend the finale party.

Landis was on schedule to complete the 11,000 mile journey to bike to every Major League Ballpark. Jacob was 10 when he received a cochlear implant that allowed him to hear. His goal was to raise $1 million to help others who can’t afford the implant.

His journey started in his hometown of Annapolis, Md. On Saturday, Landis suffered a severe concussion and other injuries in the crash.

Associated Press