In the news
■ Ariauna Lillard, 19, of Lincoln, Neb., was cited for negligent burning after, police said, she caused about $4,000 in damage by sparking an apartment fire when she used a butane torch to burn love letters from an ex, setting a carpet ablaze.
■ Clarence Smoyer, 96, of Allentown, Pa., a Pershing tank gunner known as the “Hero of Cologne” for destroying a German Panther tank during World War II, went to the Pentagon to sign copies of a book detailing his exploits and instead was awarded a Bronze Star, 75 years after the battle that made him a hero.
■ Nelson Vargas-Torres, 42, a San Antonio truck driver who pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle more than 70 migrants in a locked trailer through a Border Patrol checkpoint in June, faces up to 10 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.
■ Faith Jolley, spokeswoman for Utah’s wildlife resources division, said Orem police used their vehicle sirens to drive a 2-yearold black bear that was roaming city streets up a tree long enough for it to be tranquilized and relocated to the Wasatch Mountains.
■ Neil Parker, 54, a hiker who said he crawled for two days through rugged Australian woodland with a broken leg and arm after falling 20 feet down a waterfall and dropping his cellphone in a creek, is recovering in a Brisbane hospital after being rescued by helicopter.
■ Edward Buck, 65, of West Hollywood, Calif., a prominent donor to California Democrats who was described by prosecutors as a “violent, dangerous sexual predator” who took advantage of drug addicts and homeless men, was charged with running a drug house where two men died of overdoses.
■ Mike Folmer, 63, of Lebanon, Pa., a Republican state senator, has resigned after being charged with possessing child pornography and other counts when authorities, acting on a tip, said they found images of child pornography on his cellphone.
■ Mary Jo Hall, 59, a school bus driver in Winder, Ga., was charged with possessing a firearm on school grounds after a student on her bus found a purse containing a gun and bullets and reported it to administrators, investigators said.
■ Eudean McMillan, 74, Darryl Parker, 37, and a 15-year-old boy were arrested after being accused of taking turns using a handgun to shoot and kill a man who was in a group of people who attacked Parker outside a coin laundry in Trenton, N.J., police said.