NEWS OF THE DAY
Fatal fall: A family hike around a New York state gorge turned tragic when a mother and father fell off a cliff and were killed and their young sons were hurt, authorities said. The bodies of Amanda Green, 35, and William Green, 33, of Buffalo, were discovered Sunday in the Zoar Valley Gorge, authorities said. The popular hiking spot is about 35 miles south of Buffalo. Their 4-yearold son, Alexander, was airlifted to a hospital where he was listed in guarded condition Monday with internal injuries, fractures and a head injury. His 7-year-old brother, Jacob, suffered a broken right arm and ankle. Authorities are not sure what caused the 200-foot fall down a steep cliff. Police are investigating.
Bergdahl case: Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has decided be to tried by a judge — not a military jury — on charges that he endangered comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan. Bergdahl’s lawyers told the court in a brief filing last week that their client chose trial by judge alone, rather than a panel of officers. He faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy at his trial scheduled for late October at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The latter carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban shortly after he left his remote post in 2009. He was freed from captivity in 2014 in exchange for five Taliban prisoners.
Officer attacked: A 22-yearold man tried to gouge the eye of an Upland (San Bernardino County) police officer after he was pulled over, authorities said. The man punched the officer in the face several times and tried to gouge the officer’s eye with his fingers after the officer placed him under arrest in connection with a DUI traffic collision investigation, police said in a statement. Police say the man kicked a second officer in the stomach. The man was arrested on charges of resisting an officer, attempted mayhem and driving under the influence.
Falwell protest: Dozens of Liberty University alumni plan to return their diplomas in protest after the university’s leader, Jerry Falwell Jr., defended President Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally and deadly car attack in Charlottesville, Va. Falwell is the conservative evangelical leader who became Liberty’s president after his father, Jerry Falwell Sr., died in 2007. Georgia Hamann, one of the organizers, said a conservative estimate was 50 people so far planning to send their diplomas back to the school in Lynchburg, Va.
Cosby retrial: Bill Cosby has hired Michael Jackson’s former lawyer to represent him at his November retrial on sexual assault charges in Pennsylvania. Cosby’s spokesman announced Monday that the 80year-old comedian is bringing in Tom Mesereau to lead a retooled defense team. Lawyers from the first trial in June had said they wanted off the case. Mesereau won an acquittal in Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial. Cosby’s first trial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004 ended in a hung jury.