Man apprehended after flying drone near White House

Man apprehended after flying drone near White House

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Secret Service apprehended a man who was flying a small drone Thursday afternoon in a park outside the White House, a violation of federal aviation rules.

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said the drone, about the size of an iPad, was flying at about 100 feet over Lafayette Park, which is just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the north fence of the White House.

Leary said the operator was detained and asked to land the device. He said the man complied and that the officers recovered the drone in the park. The Washington Metropolitan Police Department swept the drone and declared it safe.

No charges in police shooting

WAUKEGAN, Ill.

A prosecutor said Thursday that he won’t charge a white northeastern Illinois police officer in the fatal shooting of a black 17-year-old, saying the fleeing teen was holding a loaded handgun and that the officer feared for his life and a fellow officer’s.

Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim told reporters an investigation that included the FBI found Zion police Officer Eric Hill was justified in shooting Justus Howell, of Waukegan, on April 4, despite concerns of racial bias that arose after a coroner reported Howell had been shot in the back twice.

Search continues for US helicopter missing in Nepal

The search for a helicopter from Camp Pendleton carrying six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers missing in Nepal will enter its third day today, military officials said.

The Marine helicopter was on a disaster relief mission in a rugged, mountainous area near Charikot on Tuesday when it disappeared without sending any message indicating trouble.

The search for the UH-1Y Huey involves U.S., Indian and Nepalese aircraft. Also assisting are Nepalese ground troops, a special-forces platoon and a battalion-size unit, officials said.

2 girls shot on school bus in Fla.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.

Authorities are looking for two people suspected of shooting at a school bus in northeast Florida and injuring two female students.

Duval County Public Schools spokeswoman Tia Ford said the shooting occurred Thursday afternoon on the west side of Jacksonville, about 140 miles north of Orlando.

Both victims were taken to a hospital, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the injuries are not life-threatening.

Authorities said they are looking for two male suspects. Ford said it was not clear if the people who fired the shots were students or adults.

Group convicted of assisting suicide

HASTINGS, Minn.

The right-to-die group Final Exit Network Inc. was convicted Thursday of assisting in the suicide of a Minnesota woman who took her life in 2007 after years of suffering with chronic pain, marking the first time the group has been found guilty of such a charge.

Jurors also convicted the group of interfering with a dead body or death scene. It faces a maximum fine of $33,000, its lawyer said, when sentenced in August.

Defense attorney Robert Rivas said he intends to appeal, and called the case a “direct violation of the First Amendment.”

Combined dispatches