Alaska man charged in double homicide, rape
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A man who has been charged with killing an elderly Alaska couple and raping their 2-year-old great-granddaughter is a registered sex offender convicted of breaking into a home and assaulting an 11-year-old girl four years ago.
Jerry Andrew Active, 24, was convicted in 2010 of assaulting the girl near Dillingham, Alaska, while her family slept. Active, 24, was also convicted of fighting members of that family.
Authorities say that on Saturday, Active broke into the apartment home of Touch Chea, 71, and his wife, Sorn Sreap, 73, and beat the couple to death. He also raped Sreap.
He was still inside the residence when their grandson, his pregnant wife and son arrived. The grandson, Von Seng, fought Active, but the assailant managed to flee. He was arrested nearby wearing only boxer shorts, authorities said.
McCartney leaves pick on visit to Graceland
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Paul McCartney made his first visit to the one-time home of the King of Rock N’ Roll and left a gift behind.
According to the official Twitter account of the former Beatle, McCartney dropped a personal guitar pick on Elvis Presley’s grave and said it was “so Elvis can play in heaven.”
The lifelong Elvis fan toured Graceland, the Memphis mansion, on Sunday.
He was in Memphis to play a show on the North American leg of his “Out There” tour.
The show at FedExForum marked McCartney’s first visit to the city in two decades.
Authorities ID suspect in fatal Texas shooting
EDEN, Texas – Authorities say a man suspected in a West Texas shooting rampage that left one woman dead and five others wounded was stationed at a Marine base in North Carolina.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the man as 23-year-old Esteban J. Smith of the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base.
In a statement Monday, Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger says Smith later died in a gunfight with an agency trooper and a state game warden.
Six others were shot, one fatally, in the roaming rampage across the West Texas rolling plains.
Three people were treated for their wounds in hospitals and discharged. Two others, including Concho County Sheriff Richard Doane, remained hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds.
All-clear given after Brooklyn Bridge closure
NEW YORK – New York City police have given an all-clear after an abandoned vehicle closed the Brooklyn Bridge at the tail end of the Memorial Day long weekend.
Police say the Dodge Durango found stopped along the Manhattan-bound side of the span had no license plates when they investigated Monday evening.
Investigators say they received the call around 5:15 p.m. and halted traffic in both directions around 6 p.m. Police gave the all-clear as of 7 p.m.
The New York Police Department’s bomb squad and other investigators headed to the area to check out the car. Television footage showed police trucks stationed on the empty span near the blue SUV as traffic backed up on nearby roads.
Fire breaks out aboard Royal Caribbean ship
BALTIMORE – A fire that broke out aboard a Royal Caribbean ship Monday did enough damage that the rest of the cruise was canceled and the company said the more than 2,200 passengers will be flown from the Bahamas back to Baltimore where the trip began.
The fire that began at 2:50 a.m. Monday was extinguished about two hours later with no injuries reported. A cause wasn’t immediately known. The Grandeur of the Seas, which left Baltimore on Friday, never lost power and was able to sail into port in Freeport, Bahamas, Monday afternoon. It had been planned to be a seven-night cruise.
Royal Caribbean said in on its website and through social media that executives met with passengers in port and that the cruise line is arranging flights for all 2,224 guests today. It said passengers will receive a full refund of their fare and a certificate for a future cruise.
Royal Caribbean said all guests and 796 crew were safe and accounted for.
Associated Press
