‘Desperate’ search on for killer inmates

‘Desperate’ search on for killer inmates

ATLANTA

A Georgia sheriff said officers were “desperately” searching Tuesday for two inmates who got through a gate inside a prison bus, killed two guards and got away.

The two men – Donnie Russell Rowe, 43, who serving life without parole, and Ricky Dubose, 24, who has elaborate tattoos on his face and neck – overpowered and disarmed the guards – Sgt. Christopher Monica, 42, and Sgt. Curtis Billue, 58, both transfer sergeants at Baldwin State Prison – about 6:45 a.m. as 33 inmates were being driven between prisons, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told reporters.

One of them fatally shot both guards, and then they jumped out of the bus and carjacked a “grass green,” four-door 2004 Honda Civic with the Georgia license plate number RBJ-6601.

Multiple agencies have contributed to a reward of $60,000 for information leading to their arrests.

Firefighers in London battle massive blaze

LONDON

Two hundred firefighters were fighting a huge blaze at a west London tower block early today, the fire brigade said, with reports that people were trapped inside.

The fire had almost entirely engulfed Grenfell Tower in North Kensington from the second story up to the 27th, with dramatic pictures posted by the fire brigade showing huge tongues of flame licking up the side. Emergency services were first called around 1 a.m.

Witnesses said they could hear screams coming from the building, which according to the local council contains 120 flats, and people reported seeing a person at a window.

George Clarke, a television presenter who lives nearby, told BBC Radio 5 Live he could see people at the top.

“I was in bed and heard ’beep, beep, beep’ and thought, ’I’ll get up and run downstairs as quickly as I could.’ I thought it might be a car alarm outside and saw the glow through the windows. I’m getting covered in ash, that’s how bad it is. I’m 100 meters away and I’m absolutely covered in ash,” he said. “It’s so heartbreaking, I’ve seen someone flashing their torches at the top level and they obviously can’t get out.”

Telenovela has drama, passion, US backing

BOGOTA, Colombia

Colombia’s newest television series will have many of the hallmarks of a classic telenovela. Handsome stock broker from the big city meets mysterious and beautiful country girl. When she disappears, he’s the prime suspect in a shocking crime.

But the biggest twist might be who’s helping finance the project: Uncle Sam. The U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, put $1 million into the RCN Television series, “No Olvidaras Mi Nombre,” or “Don’t Forget My Name,” which was scheduled to begin airing Tuesday.

It is not USAID’s first foray into entertainment. It has also funded children’s shows in Pakistan and Ethiopia, youth debates in Afghanistan, and a reality series, with MTV, in Kenya.

Historian accused of stealing WWII dog tags

COLLEGE PARK, MD.

A historian has been charged with stealing dog tags of World War II U.S. servicemen from the National Archives and selling them on eBay.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland says in a news release that 32-year-old Antonin DeHays of College Park, Md., was charged theft of government records in federal court Tuesday. According to an affidavit, DeHays repeatedly visited the National Archives at College Park, where prosecutors say he stole dog tags and other documents.

Authorities say the tags of a downed Tuskegee airman were taken, and DeHays “donated” them to a museum in Virginia. But, prosecutors say a search of DeHays’ home led to the recovery of missing documents.

Combined dispatches