HELOTES, Texas – A 6-month-old boy died after being left all day in a hot sport utility vehicle in a San Antonio-area Walmart parking lot, authorities said.
His death brings the number of children who have died in hot cars in the U.S. this year to at least 27, including six in Texas, said Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, a national child safety nonprofit based in Philadelphia. That's up from last year's total of 15.
The baby's father, who works at the store in the suburb of Helotes, told officers that he forgot to drop his son off at day care before going to work about 6:15 a.m. Friday, said Helotes police Capt. Anthony Burges. The father found his child dead after finishing work and returning to the SUV about 3 p.m.
Temperatures in the area hovered around 100 degrees much of the afternoon.
LONDON – Kenny Baker, the 3-foot 8-inch actor who played R2-D2 in the "Star Wars" films, has died. He was 81.
Baker's nephew, Drew Myerscough, said he found Baker dead Saturday at his home in Preston, northwest England.
Myerscough told Sky News that Baker had suffered years of breathing problems, "which he had borne very bravely." He said the affection of "Star Wars" fans around the world "kept him going, without any doubt."
"He was amazed that, even after 30-odd years, the fans still basically adored him," Myerscough said.
HOUSTON – Texas lawyer Jerry Guerinot said he no longer represents people accused of capital murder after four decades of posting a perfect record.
None of his nearly three dozen capital murder clients was found innocent.
Some opponents of capital punishment label him the worst lawyer in the United States. Guerinot shrugs off the criticism, which he says comes from taking notorious cases.
"My theory is if they are the sorriest of the worst or the very worst, I got 'em," Guerinot, 71, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Somebody's got to defend – ‘defend' is the wrong word – represent these people."
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Worn out rivet fasteners on a Ferris wheel are being blamed for an overturned gondola at an eastern Tennessee fair that earlier this week sent three girls plummeting more than 30 feet to the ground.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced late Friday that it has renewed permits for the ride's owner, Family Attractions Amusement, to resume operations at other fairs around the state. But the Frris wheel is excluded from the permit.
Inspectors hired by the company and the Greene County Fair found that rivets had worn out on the bottom of the tub carrying the girls, allowing a trim piece to come loose and get lodged in the frame of the wheel and tipping the gondola over.
"Ride NOT safe to operate at time of inspection," Frank Guenthner, an inspector hired by ride owner Family Attractions Amusement, wrote in his report.
The Ferris wheel, which inspectors say was correctly assembled at the site, is being sent back to the manufacturer for repair.
Six-year-old Briley Rae Reynolds suffered a traumatic brain injury in the fall on Monday, and her 10-year-old sister, Kayla, broke her arm. Kayla and an unidentified 16-year old have been released from the hospital. Briley Rae had been in listed critical condition for nearly four days, but was upgraded to serious condition on Friday, according to The Greenville Sun.
Associated Press
