Monday, May 27, 2019
137-year-old rifle found in Nevada has a new home
BAKER, Nev.
A 137-year-old rifle found five years ago leaning against a juniper tree in Great Basin National Park in Nevada is now part of an exhibit dedicated to the “Forgotten Winchester” at the park visitor center near the Utah border.
The weathered Winchester Model 1873 is in a case designed to capture the way it looked when park archaeologist Eva Jensen stumbled across it on a rocky outcrop above Strawberry Creek during an archaeological survey.
Based on its condition, experts believe the weapon might have been abandoned in the forest more than a century ago.
But nearly five years after its discovery, park officials still don’t know who it belonged to or why it was left against the tree. No sales or ownership records have been found
The serial number was visible, allowing experts at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyo., to determine it was made in 1882.
Magnitude 8 earthquake strikes Amazon jungle in Peru
LIMA, Peru
A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck a remote part of the Amazon jungle in Peru on Sunday, collapsing buildings and knocking out power to some areas but causing only one reported death.
The quake struck was centered in a vast nature preserve 57 miles east of the small town of Yurimaguas. Helping limit damage was the earthquake’s depth, at 70 miles below the surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Earthquakes that are close to the surface generally cause more destruction.
President Martmn Vizcarra called for calm before traveling to the zone with members of his cabinet to survey the damage. He said first reports indicate a bridge had collapsed and several homes and roads had been affected..
Ricardo Seijas, chief of the National Emergency Operations Center, said one person died when a rock fell on a house in the Huarango district.
Israeli president shocked by German skullcap warning
BERLIN
Israel’s president said Sunday he is shocked by a German official’s comment that he wouldn’t advise Jews to wear skullcaps in parts of the country, which is drawing mixed reactions at home.
Felix Klein, the government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, was quoted as saying: “I cannot recommend to Jews that they wear the skullcap at all times everywhere in Germany.” He didn’t elaborate on what places and times might be risky.
“The statement of the German government’s anti-Semitism commissioner that it would be preferable for Jews not wear a kippa in Germany out of fear for their safety, shocked me deeply,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement.
He added that “we will never submit, will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatism – and expect and demand our allies act in the same way.”
Government statistics released earlier this month showed that the number of anti-Semitic and anti-foreigner incidents rose in Germany last year, despite an overall drop in politically motivated crimes.
French government cautious on Fiat Chrysler and Renault hookup
PARIS
France’s government is sounding a note of caution about a possible alliance between French automaker Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Both companies are in talks about a tie-up, as major carmakers around the world try to share the significant costs of developing autonomous and electric vehicles. Renault’s board is meeting Monday morning.
The French state owns 15 percent of Renault, and a French official said Sunday that the state will only agree to a potential alliance with Fiat Chrysler if it makes sense for jobs and France’s national interests.
The official told The Associated Press that Japanese authorities have also been informed, and that France would prefer a tie-up within the existing Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. The official wasn’t authorized to be named discussing talks that haven’t been made public.
FAA investigating Chick-fil-A’s exclusion at Texas airport
SAN ANTONIO
The Federal Aviation Administration says it’s investigating a decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from an airport concession contract in San Antonio over opposition to the fast-food chain owners’ record on LGBT issues.
The San Antonio Express-News reported the FAA told San Antonio officials it’s investigating complaints the city-owned airport discriminated “against a private company due to the expression of the owner’s religious beliefs.”
City Attorney Andy Segovia said his office is reviewing the FAA’s notice.
The Atlanta-based restaurant chain has faced opposition elsewhere over donating millions over the years to groups that oppose same-sex marriage.
3 hurt in log ride crash at California amusement park
RIVERSIDE, Calif.
Authorities say three members of a family were injured, one critically, when they were ejected from the log ride at a Southern California amusement park.
Fire officials said the ride malfunctioned, and one of the log-shaped vessels overturned Saturday at Castle Park in Riverside.
Officials say riders were thrown from the vessel and trapped in the water.
Fire Capt. Brian Guzzetta said a woman was hospitalized in critical condition. A man and 10-year-old boy were treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
Guzzetta said a pump apparently malfunctioned, preventing the flow of water onto the track. He said when the log descended from one of the falls, there wasn’t enough water to slow it down and it crashed.
The log ride is closed during an investigation, but Castle Park will remain open through the weekend.
Baby found alive with dead parents in Michigan motel room
WHITEHALL, Mich.
Michigan State Police say a trooper found a dehydrated 6-month-old baby at a motel in the western part of the state in the same room with her dead parents.
WOOD-TV reported that a cause of death wasn’t immediately clear, and it may take weeks until toxicology results are in.
The trooper discovered the bodies Friday at the Rodeway Inn near Whiteball after responding to a request for a well-being check. Authorities said the baby girl, named Skylah, could have been alone for three days.
Police identified the parents as 26-year-old Jessica Bramer, of Grand Rapids and 28-year-old Christian Reed, of Marne.
Skylah was in critical condition at a Grand Rapids hospital and was expected to fully recover. It wasn’t clear who might take custody of the girl.
Temps reach 100 degrees as heat records fall in Deep South
SAVANNAH, Ga.
The unofficial start of summer feels more like its blistering peak in parts of the Deep South, where temperatures at or near 100 degrees are setting heat records during the Memorial Day weekend.
Heat and humidity were forecast to combine for a dangerous heat index of 105 degrees on Sunday across roughly 20 counties in southeastern Georgia and South Carolina, said Emily McGraw, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Charleston, S.C.
In North Carolina, Wilmington broke its 100-degree early heat record Sunday.
Savannah reached 100 degrees Saturday, tying a record and marking the coastal Georgia city’s earliest triple-degree day since 1953.
Associated Press