Swat team goes after desert ape

LAS VEGAS -- The SWAT situation in a Desert Shores neighborhood ended peacefully at around 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

According to police, officers arrested the suspect without incident. The whole thing started when police said they received calls around 7 a.m. that a man was wandering in the neighborhood northwest of Buffalo Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard armed with a knife and talking to himself.

Police said they attempted to subdue the man using non-lethal tactics, but the man fled through several yards and scaled a wall to the roof of a home on Secret Harbor Court. Police surrounded the home and evacuated nearby residents. SWAT was also called in.

The man refused police commands to get off the roof for several hours. Witnesses said he taunted police and waved the knife around. At one point, he threw a roof tile at one officer on the ground.

Illinois doesn't have a death penalty but this Zion chimp has a date with the grim reaper

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A government lawyer argued today that Jorge Torrez deserves the death penalty, calling him a remorseless serial killer who brutally murdered two young girls in Zion, Ill.

A jury now is considering whether Torrez, 25, a Zion native, should be put to death or be sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

Making a closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Trump condemned Torrez as a man who didn’t care about six female victims – three of whom were slain – but who regarded them as "prizes" or "trophies."

The Zion victims were Krystal Tobias, 9, and Laura Hobbs, 8.

Trump said that "this little man – this coward – can’t admit he brutally murdered two little girls" for sexual gratification.

Both Hobbs and Tobias were stabbed repeatedly in Beulah Park on Mother’s Day in 2005. Testimony in the case indicated that semen had been recovered from Hobbs’ body and clothing, tying Torrez to her fatal stabbing.

"This is no room for doubt," Trump said,  "Jorge Torrez deserves to die."

Torrez instructed his three defense lawyers to say nothing on his behalf during the penalty phase of the case, which arises from the strangulation murder of a sailor near the Pentagon in July 2009. Torrez was a Marine then. He was convicted of her murder April 8, but has not yet been tried for the Illinois crimes.

Already he is serving five life sentences plus 168 years for the northern Virginia attacks on the three surviving victims.

The jurors were excused from court to begin deliberations at 9:15 a.m. Chicago time today. The trial is taking place in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Torrez initially avoided suspicion after the Zion killings. Instead, Hobbs’ father, Jerry Hobbs, confessed to the crime following questioning that stretched across 24 hours, an admission he later said police coerced. Jerry Hobbs was freed after about five years when DNA was linked to Torrez.

102 year old professional ball player dies at the age of 102

The oldest former player with Major League Baseball, Conrado "Connie" Marrero, has died at home in Havana at the age of 102.

Marrero first made his name in Cuba the 1930s - but went on to have a late career surge in Washington in the 50s.

He was also a hero in his home country, where he returned after the 1959 revolution.

Marrero's death, confirmed by relatives, came just two days before his 103rd birthday.

'Living legend'

Marrero debuted for the Washington Senators at the relatively old age of almost 39, a signing initially dismissed as a joke, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Havana.

One writer described him as a cross between a crazy windmill and a duck flying backwards, our correspondent says.
But despite his years, his short stature, and unorthodox style, Marrero soon won over fans and critics alike.

Renowned for his love of cigars and constant wisecracks as well as his game, the pitcher returned to Cuba after retiring and was still working as a coach into his 90s.

Baseball remains Cuba's most popular sport.

And as one of players who stayed in the country after the revolution, Marrero is viewed as a link between the old professional Cuban League and post-revolution amateur Cuban national baseball system.

"He was a living legend of Major League and also for baseball in Cuba before the revolution," baseball fan Manuel Gallego told the Associated Press.

Two death row chimps think they should know the drug that will kill the U.S. Supreme Court says no

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled two death row inmates have no right to learn the source of the drugs to be used to kill them, clearing the way for their execution.

Clayton Lockett, 38, and Charles Warner could be executed on 29 April.

Lawyers for the two argued they needed assurance the executions would not be botched with impure or expired drugs.

Last month, a judge ruled a law guarding the secrecy of the drugs' source was unconstitutional.

But on Wednesday, the state's highest court reversed that ruling.

"The plaintiffs have no more right to the information they requested than if they were being executed in the electric chair," Justice Steven Taylor wrote.

"If they were being hanged, they would have no right to know whether it be cotton or nylon rope; or if they were being executed by firing squad, they would have no right to know whether it be by Winchester or Remington ammunition," he added.

Gasped and choked

The court rulings come as US states are having increasing trouble obtaining drugs used in executions, amid an embargo from European pharmaceutical firms.

Critics say the states that are experimenting with other drugs risk botching executions and causing unnecessary suffering.

In January, for example, an execution in Ohio took 25 minutes to complete, as the inmate reportedly gasped and made choking noises in the moments before he was pronounced dead.

The state used two untried drugs to kill convicted murderer and rapist Dennis McGuire after the maker of the previous execution drug refused to allow its use.

Oklahoma state law blocks officials from revealing - even during court proceedings - the identities of the companies supplying the drugs used to sedate the inmates, paralyse their respiratory systems, and stop their hearts.

The challenge to Oklahoma's law was brought by Lockett, who was sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting of a 19-year-old woman, and Warner, who was convicted for the 1997 murder and rape of an 11-month-old girl.

The state said on 1 April that the men would be executed using midazolam, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride - a combination never before used in Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press.

Freehold, N.J. sues over God in pledge

From USA TODAY Family sues district over 'under God' in pledge FREEHOLD, N.J. — A family is suing the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District and its superintendent, seeking to have the phrase "under God" removed from the Pledge of Allegiance that students recite every day. A lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Monmouth County on behalf of the family, who wish to remain unidentified, and the American Humanist Association claims that the practice of acknowledging God in the pledge of allegiance discriminates against atheists, in violation of New Jersey's constitution. But the school district's attorney says the district is simply following a state law that requires pupils to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. http://usat.ly/1iF4FRX Get USA TODAY on your mobile device: http://www.usatoday.com/mobile-apps

Detroit Apes stand trial

A Detroit judge has said four men accused in a mob beating of a driver who hit a young child will stand trial for attempted murder.

Police say Latrez Cummings, 19, Wonzey Saffold, 30, James Davis, 24, and Bruce Wimbush Jr, 17, have all acknowledged a role in the beating of Steve Utash.

The 54-year-old was unconscious for several days after the attack. The young boy he hit suffered a leg injury.

Defence lawyers for the accused say the attempted murder charge is too severe.

But Judge Thomas Jackson disagreed, while noting the threshold for moving the case along is lower than proving the case at trial.

"One or two may not be enough to kill anyone," he said of the alleged blows from the four men, "but a combination may be enough to cause one's death."

'I lost it'

In court on Monday, witnesses to the attack described a chaotic scene after Mr Utash hit the boy and left his lorry to check on the 10-year-old.

"They were hollerin' and screamin', 'Oh, my God, get him, get him'," witness Deborah Hughes said.

Ms Hughes, who is credited with intervening and ending the beating, said Mr Cummings kicked Mr Utash at least 10 times.

Another witness, Ashley Daniels, said the 54-year-old tree-trimmer had stumbled after some early blows and was dared to pick up his hat, which had fallen off.

"He fell. He got up again," she said. "It was like he was almost accepting it."

Prosecutors say the four accused men have acknowledged some role in the beating
One witness refused to testify during the hearing on Monday and was jailed, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Prosecutors also showed statements by the accused made to the police after their arrest. Three of the four men allegedly told investigators they recognised the hurt boy.

"I saw the little boy on the ground... and I lost it," Mr Saffold told investigators.

Mr Cummings also allegedly acknowledged a role, prosecutors said, telling police he "prayed for the man every day. I hope him and the boy are going to be OK."

The Utash family sat in the front row of the court while relatives of the accused sat directly behind them, according to the Associated Press news agency, which reported several spectators were ejected from the courtroom after several loud comments.

Mr Utash's son has told a local radio station he believed the attack was racially motivated. The 54-year-old is white and the alleged attackers are black.

Outside court, Mr Utash's brother-in-law Max Mohr said his family member is struggling and disoriented.

"He's not the Steve I know - not even close," Mr Mohr told the Associated Press news agency, adding Mr Utash had tried to walk with the help of nurses but only moved a few steps.

A 16-year-old has also been charged with assault and ethnic intimidation in connection with the case.

Detroit, a sprawling but increasingly empty city which recently filed for bankruptcy, has seen a 40% reduction of police staffing in the past 10 years. The city's police chief told residents earlier this year that arming themselves could help deter crime.

Animals steal car and drives in to Fox River in South Elgin

No one was found inside a stolen car spotted submerged in the Fox River in Elgin this morning, officials said.

The Elgin Fire Department received a call around 6:10 a.m. and discovered the car just south of I-90 near Duncan Road along the river, officials said.

Elgin and South Elgin fire department divers reached the car as crews worked to tow it to shore.

Elgin Assistant Fire Chief Dave Schmidt said no one was found inside, and the car had been reported stolen from out of town.  He had no other details.