NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Needle exchange: Las Vegas will be the first American city to offer a needle exchange program through vending machines. Officials hope easy access to free and clean needles will reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis B and C among intravenous drug users. Users will be able to get clean needles from three machines starting in May. The needle kits are free, but people who want to use them will have to fill out a form and get an ID number to track their use. At least one of the machines will be located at a counseling center where users will be able to talk to professional counselors about addiction treatment.
2 Police dog killed: A sheriff ’s deputy in Georgia had to shoot and kill the police dog he handled after the K-9 attacked him. Sgt. Slate Simons was attacked by the dog named Kyro last week while participating in a manhunt, said Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton. The Belgian Malinois grabbed onto Simons’ leg and tore into his calf. Talton said the only way Simons could get Kyro loose was to shoot the dog. Simons was treated and released from a hospital. Simons said he and Kyro were in thick woods when he thinks Kyro mistook him for the suspect.
3 Shooting victims: Eight people were shot Sunday when a gunman opened fire near a swimming pool at an apartment complex in University City north of San Diego. Police fatally shot the gunman when he pointed his weapon at approaching officers, authorities said. “The suspect pointed the gun at our officers, and three of our officers fired at the suspect, and the suspect is deceased,” San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said at a news conference. Several of the victims were in critical condition, she said. The chief did not have any information about a motive or who the shooter was. Witnesses said a man opened fire on a group of people who were celebrating at a birthday party in the pool area.
4 Shark attack: A woman was bitten by a shark in the waters off a popular Southern California beach. State park aide Travis Lara said the victim was wading in the water Saturday when she was bitten along her upper thigh near San Onofre State Beach along the Camp Pendleton Marine base in San Diego County. The victim was airlifted to a hospital, and the beach was closed Sunday.
5 Family slayings: The second of two missing children has been found dead in western Arkansas. The Polk County Sheriff ’s Office said the body of 10-year-old Reilly Scarbrough was found Saturday in a wooded area near Hatfield. The discovery comes after the boy’s 2-year-old sister, Acelynn Wester, was found Friday near Cove and near where the body of the children’s mother, Bethany Jo Wester, 43, was found Tuesday. The woman’s uncle, Steven Payne, 66, was found dead Thursday in his home in Hatfield, about 4 miles north of Cove. Causes of the deaths have not been released, but Sheriff Scott Sawyer said they are homicides and a suspect — believed to have been Bethany Wester’s boyfriend — is in custody.