5 dead in apartment building fire in Texas

5 dead in apartment building fire in Texas

CASTLE HILLS, TEXAS

Five people died Sunday after a fire broke out at a senior-living apartment building in the San Antonio suburb of Castle Hills, authorities said.

Ten other residents of the Wedgwood Apartments remained hospitalized and others were unaccounted for Sunday evening, according to Bexar County Fire Marshall spokeswoman Laura Jesse.

A total of 150 firefighters from San Antonio and six other fire departments responded to the blaze, which was reported shortly after 6 a.m., San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Christian Bove said.

The cause of the three-alarm fire is under investigation.

Sony: PlayStation online after outage

Sony says its PlayStation Network is back online after three days of disruptions that began on Christmas.

But heavy traffic might continue to cause problems for customers seeking to play their favorite games, the company said Sunday.

A group of hackers called Lizard Squad — or someone claiming to speak for it — took credit for the disruptions. In a blog post Saturday night saying service had been restored, Sony vice president Catherine Jensen added that “PlayStation Network and some other gaming services were attacked over the holidays with artificially high levels of traffic to disrupt connectivity and online gameplay.”

2 purported victims sue when offender wins $3M in lottery

ORLANDO, FLA.

Two purported victims of a registered sex offender have filed a lawsuit seeking damages for pain and suffering after the man won $3 million in a Florida Lottery jackpot.

Timothy Poole purchased the winning ticket earlier this month in Mount Dora, near Orlando. He took a lump-sum payment of about $2.2 million.

Poole was accused of sexually battering a 9-year-old boy in 1999. Poole denied the allegations but pleaded guilty to attempted sexual battery and was sentenced to time served. His probation was revoked in 2003 after he failed to show up for counseling.

The lawsuit was filed by two brothers, who were ages 9 and 5 when Poole was arrested.

Hearse stolen with a coffin inside of it

LOS ANGELES

A pastor’s wife says a hearse was stolen from outside a Southern California church ahead of funeral services with a coffin inside.

The Los Angeles Times reports Sunday that the hearse was idling outside Ebenezer Baptist Church in South Los Angeles while the funeral director arranged flowers for Saturday morning services for 19-year-old Jonti Lee Reed.

Shirley Little, the pastor’s wife, says the director called ministry friends for help when he saw the hearse was missing. Little says family members driving to the funeral had been notified and stopped the hearse four blocks from the church.

KTLA-TV reports that police detained the man, whose mental condition will be evaluated.

Bush still in hospital

HOUSTON

A spokesman for George H.W. Bush says that the former president will remain in a Houston hospital for now but that news of a “possible discharge” could come soon.

Family spokesman Jim McGrath said Sunday the 90-year-old will remain for now at Methodist Hospital for observation after experiencing shortness of breath earlier this week.

Associated Press