WORLD DIGEST || Seventh animal dies after jaguar escapes Audubon Zoo habitat

Seventh animal dies after jaguar escapes Audubon Zoo habitat

NEW ORLEANS

A seventh animal has died after a jaguar escaped from its habitat at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

NOLA.com reports the fifth alpaca died overnight Sunday after the male jaguar killed four alpacas, one emu and one fox early Saturday. The jaguar was captured and returned to its night house after being sedated by a vet team.

No people were hurt, and the zoo was reopened Sunday.

The zoo acquired the alpacas in March from farms in Alabama and Mississippi. The alpaca that died overnight was the zoo's last living alpaca.

Two injured foxes survived overnight.

It's not immediately clear how the animal escaped. Zoo officials say inspections found that the roof was "compromised," but initial findings concluded that keeper error was not a factor.

Coast Guard suspends search for missing boaters in Virginia

PORTSMOUTH, VA.

The Coast Guard has suspended its search for two recreational boaters missing since a collision with an oyster barge Saturday on Virginia's James River.

Coast Guard officials announced Sunday that the effort was suspended after searching more than 200 square miles since Saturday morning. Coast Guard boats and helicopters were assisted by the Navy as well as state and local resources.

The Coast Guard and Virginia Marine Resources Commission are jointly investigating the cause of the incident near Portsmouth.

The barge was being pushed by a tug and headed for an oyster bed near the James River Bridge when the collision with the recreational boat occurred. Good Samaritans rescued four of the recreational boaters, but two others could not be found.

Suspect in shooting of three Kansas City cops dies in standoff

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Police shot and killed a man Sunday suspected of shooting and wounding three Kansas City police officers, authorities said.

The suspect died Sunday afternoon after barricading himself in a house in the southeast part of the city. He emerged from the home and was killed in an exchange of gunfire, police Chief Rick Smith told reporters.

All three officers are expected to live.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina said the first two officers were shot during an undercover operation at a motel less than 2 miles from Kauffman Stadium, where the Kansas City Royals baseball team plays. The suspect then fled in a vehicle with another person, who was arrested when officers found the vehicle.

The suspect barricaded himself inside of a home about a mile from the motel. He shot the third officer in the arm during the standoff, Smith said.

The suspect was a person of interest in the fatal shooting of a University of Missouri-Kansas City student during a robbery earlier this month.

"We've been looking for him all week," Smith said. "This is the first time we laid eyes on him."

Average price of US gas slips a penny, to $2.94

CAMARILLO, CALIF.

The average price of regular-grade gasoline in the U.S. fell a penny a gallon over the past three weeks to $2.94.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the average price is 63 cents higher than it was one year ago.

Lundberg says prices at the pump may continue to slip slightly, due in part to weak gasoline demand caused by the higher prices.

The highest average price in the contiguous 48 states was $3.74 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lowest was $2.52 in Baton Rouge, La.

Accodring to AAA, the average cost in Ohio was $2.84, and the average in the Youngstown-Warren area was $2.76.

5 years after declaring bankruptcy, Detroit reborn at a cost

DETROIT

It's been five years since Detroit bottomed out after decades of decline, admitting in the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy filing ever that the country's one-time industrial engine could no longer pay its bills.

The turnaround since then has been remarkable, with major investments that have brought new jobs, the rebirth of neighborhoods whose best days were half a century ago and the restoration of street cleaning and lighting & services so basic yet important to a sense of community.

It also cost some people more than others.

Jean Estell, who retired in 2004 after working for nearly three decades in Detroit's recreation and public-works departments, lost part of her pension and her retiree health coverage in the bankruptcy settlement. A former business owner saw his company go belly-up when his city contract wasn't renewed.

Business is booming in some parts of the city, though, with the influx of investment and new blood.

Sea turtle found dead with beach chair string around neck

FORT MORGAN, ALA.

An endangered sea turtle has been found dead on an Alabama beach with a beach chair string tangled around its neck.

The Fort Morgan Share the Beach conservation group posted a photo on social media Saturday of the Kemp's Ridley turtle washed ashore turned upside down at the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. The conservation group posted other images of the sea turtle tangled with the University of Alabama beach chair.

Share the Beach spokeswoman Debbie Harbin told WKRG-TV that barnacles were found on the chair meaning it had been in the water for a while. She urges beachgoers to clean up their belongings and trash.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the sea turtle has been on the endangered species list since 1970.

Associated Press