From the Wires

Sunday, May 27, 2012 3:15 AM UTC

Michelle Obama, daughters attend Beyonce concert

By Associated Press

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Michelle Obama is with the single ladies this weekend: The First Lady is at a Beyonce concert in Atlantic City.

Obama is at Revel Resorts with daughters Sasha and Malia where Beyonce is set to perform Saturday night. The singer’s Atlantic City concerts are the first since giving birth in January to daughter Blue Ivy.

The crowd cheered loudly as Obama made her way to her seat in a shiny green dress. Some took photos while others screamed her name. One fan yelled, “This is history!”

Obama is sitting in a private section.

Beyonce performed Friday night in Revel’s Ovation Hall and has shows on Sunday and Monday.

Sunday, May 27, 2012 3:15 AM UTC

Blind China activist’s brother returns to village

By Associated Press

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BEIJING (AP) — A rights lawyer says the brother of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has returned to his closely guarded village in eastern China.

Ding Xikui says he received a message from a friend of Chen Guangfu that said Chen had returned to Dongshigu village. Chen had traveled to Beijing, where he sought legal advice from Ding this week on how to protect his son from what the family’s supporters call retaliation by local officials.

Ding had no further information Sunday, and it was unclear if Chen returned to the village voluntarily.

Chen Guangcheng sought protection of U.S. diplomats last month after escaping abusive house arrest in Dongshigu. It sparked a standoff between Beijing and Washington that resulted in Chen being allowed to go to the U.S. to study.

Sunday, May 27, 2012 2:15 AM UTC

Report: Miami officer shoots, kills naked attacker

By Associated Press

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MIAMI (AP) — A Miami police officer on Saturday fatally shot a naked man who was chewing on the face of another man on a downtown causeway off-ramp, police and witnesses said.

The Miami Herald reports (http://hrld.us/KiMC2Y) that gunshots were heard at about 2 p.m. on the MacArthur Causeway off-ramp, which is near the newspaper’s offices. Witnesses said that a woman saw two men fighting and flagged down a police officer, who came upon a naked man mauling the other man. The newspaper quoted witnesses as saying that the officer ordered the naked man to back away, and when he ignored the demand, the officer shot him. Witnesses said that the naked man continued his attack after being shot once, and the officer shot him several more times.

Police said the other man was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center. The newspaper said he had suffered critical injuries.

The police department confirmed in a news release that there was an officer-related shooting, but did not include many details provided by witnesses to the newspaper.

A police spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment by The Associated Press on Saturday evening.

The police news release said the identities of the two men were not known.

A photograph posted on The Herald’s website shows an officer standing watch on the ramp next to two police cruisers, with a body lying on a pedestrian walkway. Police requested the newspaper’s video surveillance tapes.

The shooting and investigation tied up causeway traffic as crowds were arriving at South Beach for an annual hip-hop festival.

Javier Ortiz, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police in Miami, said that based on information he’s received, the officer who fired the shots “is a hero and saved a life.”

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Sunday, May 27, 2012 1:15 AM UTC

USS Iowa on way to new home in Southern California

By Associated Press

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The USS Iowa has left San Francisco and is on its way to its new home in Southern California.

The battleship was surrounded by pleasure boats and other vessels Saturday as it made its way through San Francisco Bay.

The 887-foot long, 58,000-ton battlewagon is being towed to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, where it will be transformed into an interactive naval museum.

The Iowa was scheduled to leave last Sunday but was delayed because of a storm system. As it turned out, its departure came on the same day as weekend celebrations were under way marking the Golden Gate Bridge’s 75th anniversary.

Robert Kent, president of the Pacific Battleship Center, the nonprofit organization that has been restoring the ship, told KCBS radio that the delay seemed to work out for the better.

“We know that the delay was for a reason, and what better day to leave than this beautiful Saturday, with the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge occurring at the same time,” Kent told the station. “It couldn’t be better.”

The Iowa, first commissioned in 1943 and again in 1951 and 1984, saw duty in World War II and the Korean War. It took part in escorting tankers in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war before being decommissioned in 1990.

The ship once carried President Franklin Roosevelt to a World War II summit to meet with Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Chiang Kai Shek.

A dark part of the ship’s history took place in 1989, when 47 sailors were killed in an explosion in the No. 2 gun turret. After the blast, the Navy alleged that a crewmember caused the explosion as a result of a failed relationship with a male crewmember. A follow-up investigation found the explosion was most likely the result of human error.

The ownership of the ship was transferred this month from the U.S. Navy to the Pacific Battleship Center.

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Sunday, May 27, 2012 12:45 AM UTC

2 survive small plane crash into San Diego Bay

By Associated Press

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — The pilot and passenger of a banner-towing plane have survived a crash into San Diego Bay.

The FAA says the pilot of the single-engine Cessna reported engine problems and went in the water south of the Coronado Bridge around 4:20 p.m. Saturday.

A Coast Guard rescue boat picked up the two and agency spokesman Henry Dunphy said they cleared medical examinations.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the plane remained in the water. He said it was up to the San Diego Harbor Police or plane owner whether to rescue the aircraft or let it sink.

A call to a Harbor Police spokesman wasn’t immediately returned.

Saturday, May 26, 2012 11:45 PM UTC

Plane crash at southern Utah airport kills 4

By Associated Press

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ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — A small plane that crashed early Saturday at a municipal airport in southern Utah killed all four people on board, authorities said.

The downed single-engine Cessna 172 was found at about 6 a.m. some 400 feet from the runway, said Marc Mortensen, assistant to the St. George city manager. It’s uncertain whether the crash occurred shortly after takeoff or upon landing, he said.

The plane crashed under “unknown circumstances,” Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

Although the area saw windy conditions on Friday and later Saturday, there was no severe weather at the airport during the early morning hours on Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologist Monica Traphagan told The Spectrum of St. George.

The airport has been in operation at its current site for about 1½ years. It does not have a radio tower and pilots use an automated system to communicate with one another when landing or taking off, Mortensen said.

The wreckage was found by an airport crew making a routine safety check of the property. The city expected to release the victim’s names either late Saturday or Sunday, Mortensen said.

Federal authorities were investigating the cause. It normally takes the National Transportation Safety Board months to come up with a probable cause for crashes.

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