Arson was cause of fire at clinic, investigators say

Arson was cause of fire at clinic, investigators say

PULLMAN, Wash.

A pre-dawn blaze that heavily damaged a Planned Parenthood clinic was arson, fire investigators in Washington state determined Friday.

Pullman Fire Department investigator Chris Wehrung also said a task force involving local agencies was investigating with the help of federal agencies. He declined to release other details.

The fire follows a recent wave of protests at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country.

On Aug. 22, some 500 protesters gathered outside the Pullman clinic, waving signs and calling for Congress to defund the organization.

Islamic militants destroy ancient tombs in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria

Islamic State militants destroyed three ancient tower tombs in the central city of Palmyra in the past few days, a Syrian government official said Friday.

Tower tombs, built on high grounds, are a unique feature of the Roman-era caravan city.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of the Antiquities and Museums Department in Damascus, said Friday the militants destroyed the tower tombs, including the Elahbel tower that dates back to A.D. 103, 10 days earlier.

Abdulkarim said his information was based on witness accounts and satellite images provided by the Boston-based American Schools of Oriental Research.

1 jailed, gunman still sought in college shooting

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Police are still seeking the gunman in a shooting on a Sacramento college campus, but they’ve arrested one of the injured victims on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

Sacramento police said in a statement that they arrested 25-year-old Rico Ridgeway on Friday.

Ridgeway is one of three people shot, but suffered only a graze wound. One other 25-year-old man was killed, and a third man was hospitalized but is expected to survive.

Police say Ridgeway was jailed then placed on a parole hold. They did not know if he’d hired an attorney, and did not provide any other information on the arrest.

But police said previously that in addition to the gunman, one man had pulled a knife in the dispute that led to the shooting.

Transgender teen’s bid to use boys’ restrooms denied

NORFOLK, Va.

A federal judge has denied a bid by a transgender teenager to resume using the boys’ restrooms at his eastern Virginia high school.

U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar in Norfolk on Friday denied the preliminary injunction sought by Gavin Grimm.

The American Civil Liberties Union plans to appeal the decision to a federal appeals court.

The ACLU is representing Grimm in the lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board.

Grimm filed a lawsuit in June alleging he has been stigmatized by a policy that bars him from using the boys’ restrooms at Gloucester High School, about 65 miles east of Richmond.

The complaint says Grimm used the communal restrooms without incident until the board, responding to complaints from local residents, adopted a policy in December requiring transgender students to use a private facility.

Associated Press