Marilyn Monroe auction; actor Sizemore arrested; Evel Knievel clone
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Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer
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The Hollywood stuntman doesn't want to follow in his idol's footsteps so much as rocket above them â over a gaping canyon, no less.
Evel Knievel's iconic launch, Take II.
Eddie Braun, fueled by the memory of the late daredevil, plans to strap into a steam-powered rocket cycle on Sept. 17 for his most death-defying role yet: Replicating a launch over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho that could have cost Knievel his life four decades ago.
Braun named his rocket "Evel Spirit " after his boyhood hero. It's nearly identical to the model Knievel used for his failed canyon attempt on Sept. 8, 1974. Braun wants to prove Knievel could've made it had his parachute not prematurely deployed.
Joining this endeavor are two sons eager to complete the legacies of their fathers: Kelly Knievel, who was present the day of the crash, and rocket designer Scott Truax, whose dad constructed the original rocket cycle for Knievel.
Ready, set, and (gulp) launch.
"Evel took off on one side of the canyon in 1974. I'm hoping his spirit lands on the other side of the canyon in 2016," said the 54-year-old Braun, who says he completed the necessary paperwork and will launch a few miles away from Knievel's original site that's near Twin Falls, Idaho. "How many people get to fulfill the dreams of their hero? It's kind of like touching Superman's cape."
Braun has long been fascinated by everything Knievel, the popular figure who attempted so many memorable motorcycle jumps over an iconic career:
â The fountains at Caesars Palace in 1967 (crashed, crushed pelvis and femur)
â 13 buses at Wembley Stadium in London in 1975 (crashed, broke pelvis and back)
â 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island theme park in Ohio in 1975 (success).
â A 90-foot tank filled with sharks in 1977 (crashed on landing ramp during rehearsal, broken arms)
And, of course, the Snake River Canyon attempt. Wearing his patriotic jumpsuit, Knievel was the epitome of cool and calm.
Soon after takeoff, his parachute deployed and halted the rocket's momentum. Watching that day was son, Kelly, and the rocket's designer, Robert Truax, who put a comforting arm around Kelly as the cycle drifted into the canyon.
Evel Knievel walked away with only minor injuries.
"He flipped a coin with his life, and came out alive," said Kelly Knievel, whose father died in 2007 at 69 after suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis. "My dad certainly had nine lives, didn't he?"
Just before the attempt, the daredevil landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Just after, his celebrity status was only cemented.
The town of Twin Falls can't forget him, either. He put the city on the map â and opened its eyes because the Evel Knievel cavalcade supposedly left behind a trail of unpaid bills.
In 1974, Chris Talkington worked as the news director for the local television station and watched Knievel fail to make it over the canyon and then fail to pay vendors for their services. Now a city councilman in Twin Falls, he said his town is wiser about what to expect from a daredevil attempting to jump the canyon.
"It woke our little town up," explained Talkington, who wasn't aware of Braun's jump but said there is a ramp near the canyon. "I look forward to (another attempt). I applaud them."
As a kid, Braun would often jump over trash cans in the driveway on his Schwinn Stingray, pretending to be Knievel. Braun even became a professional stuntman because of Knievel, serving as a stunt double for actors such as Ray Liotta and Charlie Sheen, along with coordinating stunts for movies, TV shows and music videos.
For three years, Braun tried to launch this project and invested nearly $1.5 million. He's looking to raise another $150,000 .
He said he's secured the proper permission and permits from private land owners, Federal Aviation Administration, even Homeland Security, to green light his blastoff. Others have stepped up as well, including Slash from Guns N' Roses. Braun said the guitarist recorded a theme song for him â fittingly using Elton John's hit, "Rocket Man."
The jump will be live-streamed on the Internet.
For years, many believed Evel Knievel's daredevil son, Robbie â who's completed more than 350 jumps â might be the first to take a crack at the canyon. At one point, Robbie Knievel was looking at the jump in 2011, but it didn't take flight.
"Eddie put together the team and he's the one that got it done," Kelly Knievel explained. "It's very dangerous â and very ambitious."
Scott Truax used his father's blueprints to reconstruct the rocket. He wanted to show that his dad's version of Evel Knievel's "X2 Skycycle" would've worked, if not for the parachute malfunction.
The late Robert Truax was considered one of top rocket scientists of the 20th century.
"With this re-creation, it is my intent to clear his name and tell his amazing story," Scott Truax said in an email. "I like to think that instead of looking up at the rocket launch, he and Evel will be looking down on it and that's a much better view."
The rocket will reach a top speed of 400 mph in about 3 seconds and an altitude of 3,000 feet before the engine cuts off and the parachute deploys. Braun says he expects to soar about 1,500 feet or 0.28 miles over the canyon.
While parachute technology has improved, there's still plenty of danger.
That's why Braun's wife and four kids aren't planning to attend the launch. Braun constantly reassures them.
"They think it's really cool that dad gets to fly a rocket," Braun said. "I guess there's just a little Evel in all of us."
___
On the Web: www.evelspirit.com
- Th Associated Press
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LAS VEGAS â A veteran Las Vegas police officer is facing felony driving under the influence and hit-and-run charges following a series of three crashes while he was off-duty on a busy stretch of Interstate 15.
Prosecutor Brian Rutledge said Tuesday that Officer Antonio Munoz is due in court Wednesday on charges that also include several misdemeanors.
The Nevada Highway Patrol says a passenger in one vehicle was seriously hurt in one of the crashes early Saturday on the freeway near the Las Vegas Strip and downtown.
Munoz also was hurt, and was hospitalized after troopers stopped him in a white GMC Yukon that officials say had damage apparently resulting from the crashes.
Munoz has been a police officer since September 2000. A police spokesman says he'll be suspended without pay pending a departmental investigation.
- The Associated Press
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CORVALLIS, Ore. â Corvallis police arrested a man accused of breaking into a couple's car and masturbating while in the passenger seat.
Lt. Daniel Duncan says the incident happened late Monday after the couple returned to their vehicle after watching a movie. They called 911 instead of confronting the man.
Officers dispatched to the cinema say they caught Morgan Morris of Corvallis in the act. He had his feet on the dashboard and his shorts pulled down to his ankles. He was otherwise naked.
A search of the vehicle yielded a bottle of vodka and methamphetamine paraphernalia.
Duncan says the 32-year-old suspect was booked into jail on charges of public indecency, criminal mischief, meth possession and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle.
- Th Associated Press
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LAS VEGAS â Federal authorities say a former Marine has been sentenced to 25 years in jail for a multimillion dollar Nigerian oil fraud scheme.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that 65-year-old Anton Paul Drago was convicted in March of wire fraud, failing to file a federal income tax return, lying to federal agents, theft of government funds and falsely submitting claims to Veterans Affairs.
The Las Vegas man had been accused of setting up a Nigerian oil investment scheme between 2004 and 2012, telling investors their money would go toward a crude-oil operation.
Drago, who also known as Evan Fogarty, had served in the Marine Corps and for decades falsely claimed a disability to receive thousands of dollars in monthly VA benefits.
He's also ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution.
- The Associated Press
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HELENA, Mont. â Montana wildlife officials say they captured and killed a female grizzly bear near Ferndale after the grizzly and her two cubs killed animals and rooted around homes.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said in a statement Tuesday that the 226-pound adult had been relocated from the area in 2014 and 2015. Federal and state officials decided to kill her on Friday because of her food conditioning and habituation.
The bear's two yearling cubs are being held at the state wildlife agency's center in Helena while officials search for a zoo that will take them.
FWP officials say the bears over the past two years killed chickens, ducks and rabbits. They say the bears also got into pet and livestock food and climbed on porches and looked into the windows of homes in the area.
- The Associated Press
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KALISPELL, Mont. â A Marion man accused of taking a walrus tusk as "collateral" for his stolen motorcycle has pleaded not guilty to theft and bail-jumping charges.
The Daily Inter Lake reports that 34-year-old Edward Lee Hubbs III's attorney entered the plea on Hubbs' behalf last week.
Court documents say the ivory tusk was stolen from a home on U.S. Highway 93 on Jan. 31. A Flathead County sheriff's deputy found the tusk last month during a vehicle search.
Hubbs, who was a passenger in the vehicle, reportedly said he was keeping the tusk as collateral because a man had allegedly stolen his motorcycle.
Authorities added bail jumping to the theft charge when Hubbs didn't show up for an arraignment scheduled in June.
A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 11.
- The Associated Press
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MISSOULA, Mont. â The University of Montana is getting rid of crate after crate of Cold War-era fallout shelter supplies.
The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/29XPVA6 ) that the university's 11-story Aber Hall has a concrete-walled storage room packed with tins of "survival ration biscuits" issued by the Office of Civil Defense. Most were packaged in 1963.
UM Mansfield Library's government documents librarian, Susanne Caro, says the food stores were meant to supply one person for two weeks on 700 calories a day. The school also has "carbohydrate supplements" in the form of lemon and cherry hard candies.
Residence Life facilities manager Brad Hall says some rations are featured in the library's "Duck and Cover" exhibit, but the nearly 1,000 boxes left over will be thrown out unless another home can be found.
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ALBUQUERQUE â The New Mexico State Police chief is distancing the department from what he says is a false Facebook page created in the agency's name that bears a swastika as its profile photo.
State Police Chief Pete Kassetas says the page is in no way affiliated with the agency. He also says it "distorts and misrepresents" New Mexico State Police.
Local news outlets in Albuquerque brought the page to the state polices' attention. Kassetas says the agency has reported the "offensive page" to Facebook, requesting the social media company remove it.
The official New Mexico State Police page on Facebook has an image of the agency's triangle shape logo for its profile photo.
- The Associated Press
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SAN FRANCISCO â A motorist was arrested and had his car impounded in connection with erratic diving and spinning donuts on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge over the weekend.
KNBC reports that California Highway Patrol officials say three cars were involved in weaving in and out of westbound traffic on the bridge around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. They were said to be driving at speeds of 80 to 90 miles per hour. After passing through the Yerba Buena Island tunnel, the vehicles brought traffic to a halt and burned donuts on the western span, the station reported.
The action was all caught on camera by another motorist, who called police. Police made arrest and issued at least one citation at the end of the bridge. The names and ages of those cited and arrested were not released.
- By ULA ILNYTZKY Associated Press
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Gentlemen prefer blondes â but will auctiongoers?
Two locks of Marilyn Monroe's hair, among a trove of memorabilia from the estate of an ardent fan-turned-friend, are going on the auction block in the fall and could sell for as much as $8,000.
The hair is from the estate of Frieda Hull, who obtained the locks from the actress' hairdresser.
Julien's Auctions is offering the items on Nov. 19-20 in Los Angeles. They're among selections from the auction that will be exhibited aboard the Queen Mary 2 during its weeklong crossing from New York to Southampton, England, beginning Aug. 9.
The locks of hair, contained in an ultraviolet-protected case, are in a single lot, with a presale estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. Hull asked Monroe's hairdresser for them before Monroe died in 1962, and Monroe gave the OK, Julien's said.
The auction house said that the two women had a long-lasting friendship, and that Hull had remarkable access to Monroe's personal and professional life.
The buyer will receive authentication papers from the Hull estate and the auction house.
The auction also will feature other Monroe memorabilia from the estate of Actors Studio artistic director Lee Strasberg and from David Gainsborough-Roberts, a British collector believed to own the largest private collection of the star's costumes.
The items range from $3,000 to $600,000. They include a sheer black beaded and sequined dress from the movie "Some Like it Hot" and a pink linen halter dress from the thriller "Niagara." Other artifacts include a large collection of photos of Monroe at the 1955 premiere of "East of Eden."
Monroe would have turned 90 last month.
Hair from other celebrities has gone up for auction previously, including Elvis Presley's and David Bowie's.
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LONG BEACH, Calif. â At least 1.5 million gallons of sewage spewed from a burst pipe near downtown Los Angeles, leading to the closure of ocean waters downriver in Long Beach, officials said Tuesday.
The top of a sewer pipe collapsed Monday afternoon, forcing it to overflow and belch a stinky sludge onto streets and into the Los Angeles River. The spill in a mostly industrial area near Boyle Heights was stopped around 11 p.m., and cleanup efforts continued through the night, officials said.
Tests of ocean water were conducted at the mouth of the river, about 20 miles south of the spill site, said Nelson Kerr with the Long Beach city health department. Results weren't expected until Wednesday.
It wasn't known how much tainted river water, if any, made it all the way to Long Beach. Kerr said beaches were shut down as a precaution and would remain closed until testing shows the water as safe.
Officials originally estimated that about 100,000 gallons had spilled.
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COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho â A northern Idaho county prosecutor says a deputy prosecutor won't be punished for posting a comment on social media that suggested genocide would occur if police officers stopped patrolling black neighborhoods.
Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh told the Coeur d'Alene Press that education on appropriate communication with the community is needed so that the community has confidence in their work.
Deputy Prosecutor Bryant Bushling made the post Sunday on Kootenai County Bailiff Todd Hartman's Facebook page.
Hartman had posted a meme that showed a picture of a white officer and text suggesting that if police wanted to kill black people they would stop patrolling black neighborhoods.
McHugh says Bushling is an ethical attorney, and that McHugh has never had to question his use of appropriate factors in making decisions.
- By ANTHONY McCARTNEY Associated Press
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LOS ANGELES â Tom Sizemore was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony domestic violence, a setback for the actor attempting a comeback following a career derailed by addiction, abuse allegations and more than a year in prison.
The "Black Hawk Down" actor famed for his portrayals of gruff tough guys was arrested Tuesday morning at a downtown Los Angeles apartment, said Los Angeles police officer Jane Kim. She declined to disclose details about the alleged victim or the severity of any injuries.
Sizemore, 54, was taken into custody around 9:40 a.m. and was being held on $50,000 bail.
The actor has battled serious substance abuse problems over the years but recently found work as a recurring character on the upcoming television series "Shooter," an adaptation of a book and film about a marksman drawn into a modern day conspiracy to assassinate the U.S. president.
His manager, Charles Lago, declined comment about Tuesday's arrest.
Sizemore became a star in the late 1990s and early 2000s with acclaimed appearances in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat."
He then developed serious substance dependency problems that devastated his movie career, left him homeless, sent him to jail and led to a failed suicide attempt.
His comeback started in recent years after he wrote the candid book "By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There: A Memoir" about his recovery from addiction.
Sizemore told The Associated Press in 2013 after the book's release that he believed his dependency was related to the trappings of success, something he thought he could mask with alcohol.
"First I drank. People could tell if you were drunk, so then I was like, 'Hey, look, let me find a drug where I feel comfortable in my own skin,'" he said in the interview. "But I did. I found a drug and it was called cocaine. I did it for a while. Then I found an even better drug and it was called heroin."
Finally, he said, crystal meth became the drug that consumed his life and powered his spectacular fall from success.
In 2003, he was convicted of assault and battery on his ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss, who testified the actor punched her in the jaw at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Fleiss, a former Hollywood madam convicted in 1994 of running a high-priced call-girl ring, also accused Sizemore of beating her so badly in New York that they could not attend the premiere of "Black Hawk Down."
After his conviction, Sizemore denied he abused Fleiss and accused her of faking a picture showing her bruises.
He also pleaded no contest in 2003 and avoided a trial in a case in which another former girlfriend accused him of punching her and dragging her on the ground.
Over the next several years he was arrested on more drug and probation violations. He fell into debt and owed millions of dollars.
After failing numerous drug tests while on probation, Sizemore was imprisoned from August 2007 to January 2009.
His recovery was also documented by appearances on the reality TV show "Celebrity Rehab" and its spinoff "Sober House."
- The Associated Press
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FRESNO, Calif. â Authorities say a former Central California pastor has admitted to stealing more than $100,000 in government benefits.
The Fresno Bee reports that 55-year-old Alvin Dickson, a former pastor at Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in southwest Fresno, collected about $113,000 in Social Security disability insurance benefits while earning a church salary and living rent free between July 2005 and April 2013.
He did not disclose his employment or income to the government, the newspaper reported.
Dickson pleaded guilty to theft of government property. He will be sentenced Oct. 24, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho â Idaho State Police say they notified the wrong family following a fatal single-car crash because the vehicle contained identification with photos of only one person and that the photos resembled the deceased driver of the vehicle.
But Idaho State Police Sgt. Todd Orr told the Post Register  that officials later learned that 20-year-old Wyatt Wells of Idaho Falls died and not 32-year-old Adam West, also of Idaho Falls.
Orr said the crash is under investigation and some details relating to the mistaken identity and how it was discovered couldn't be released.
Police say Wells at about 6 a.m. Saturday was southbound on Interstate 15 when he went off the right shoulder and crashed.
Police say he wasn't wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene.
- The Associated Press
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DAVIS, Calif. â California officials are investigating a Davis day care after one of its operators was arrested on charges of molesting a 4-year-old girl.
The Sacramento Bee reports that California Department of Social Services spokesman Michael Weston says the agency began investigating Ximena's Daycare after the Thursday arrest of a 43-year-old man who ran it with his wife. The daycare has been operated out of their home since 2001.
Its license was still in effect Monday and it was unclear if children were still being cared for there.
Weston says parents of children enrolled there were told of the man's arrest last week. He says the woman is still licensed to care for children.
The department could temporarily suspend the license pending the outcome of the case.
- The Associated Press
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FRESNO, Calif. â Authorities say a Central California man has been sentenced to six months in prison for flashing a large laser pointer at a California Highway Patrol plane last year, briefly damaging the pilot's eyes.
The Fresno Bee reports that 35-year-old Jeremy Scott Danielson of Clovis was also sentenced to three years of supervised release Monday.
Danielson pleaded guilty in March to flashing the patrol plane 18 to 20 times with a powerful green laser.
The pointer he used was the size of a flashlight and had a range of 6,000 feet. It is 40 times beyond the legal limit for a hand-held laser device
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill says Danielson could have brought the CHP plane down by blinding the pilot.
Investigators say the laser pointer is also is capable of starting fires.
- By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer
The Hollywood stuntman doesn't want to follow in his idol's footsteps so much as rocket above them â over a gaping canyon, no less.
Evel Knievel's iconic launch, Take II.
Eddie Braun, fueled by the memory of the late daredevil, plans to strap into a steam-powered rocket cycle on Sept. 17 for his most death-defying role yet: Replicating a launch over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho that could have cost Knievel his life four decades ago.
Braun named his rocket "Evel Spirit " after his boyhood hero. It's nearly identical to the model Knievel used for his failed canyon attempt on Sept. 8, 1974. Braun wants to prove Knievel could've made it had his parachute not prematurely deployed.
Joining this endeavor are two sons eager to complete the legacies of their fathers: Kelly Knievel, who was present the day of the crash, and rocket designer Scott Truax, whose dad constructed the original rocket cycle for Knievel.
Ready, set, and (gulp) launch.
"Evel took off on one side of the canyon in 1974. I'm hoping his spirit lands on the other side of the canyon in 2016," said the 54-year-old Braun, who says he completed the necessary paperwork and will launch a few miles away from Knievel's original site that's near Twin Falls, Idaho. "How many people get to fulfill the dreams of their hero? It's kind of like touching Superman's cape."
Braun has long been fascinated by everything Knievel, the popular figure who attempted so many memorable motorcycle jumps over an iconic career:
â The fountains at Caesars Palace in 1967 (crashed, crushed pelvis and femur)
â 13 buses at Wembley Stadium in London in 1975 (crashed, broke pelvis and back)
â 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island theme park in Ohio in 1975 (success).
â A 90-foot tank filled with sharks in 1977 (crashed on landing ramp during rehearsal, broken arms)
And, of course, the Snake River Canyon attempt. Wearing his patriotic jumpsuit, Knievel was the epitome of cool and calm.
Soon after takeoff, his parachute deployed and halted the rocket's momentum. Watching that day was son, Kelly, and the rocket's designer, Robert Truax, who put a comforting arm around Kelly as the cycle drifted into the canyon.
Evel Knievel walked away with only minor injuries.
"He flipped a coin with his life, and came out alive," said Kelly Knievel, whose father died in 2007 at 69 after suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis. "My dad certainly had nine lives, didn't he?"
Just before the attempt, the daredevil landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Just after, his celebrity status was only cemented.
The town of Twin Falls can't forget him, either. He put the city on the map â and opened its eyes because the Evel Knievel cavalcade supposedly left behind a trail of unpaid bills.
In 1974, Chris Talkington worked as the news director for the local television station and watched Knievel fail to make it over the canyon and then fail to pay vendors for their services. Now a city councilman in Twin Falls, he said his town is wiser about what to expect from a daredevil attempting to jump the canyon.
"It woke our little town up," explained Talkington, who wasn't aware of Braun's jump but said there is a ramp near the canyon. "I look forward to (another attempt). I applaud them."
As a kid, Braun would often jump over trash cans in the driveway on his Schwinn Stingray, pretending to be Knievel. Braun even became a professional stuntman because of Knievel, serving as a stunt double for actors such as Ray Liotta and Charlie Sheen, along with coordinating stunts for movies, TV shows and music videos.
For three years, Braun tried to launch this project and invested nearly $1.5 million. He's looking to raise another $150,000 .
He said he's secured the proper permission and permits from private land owners, Federal Aviation Administration, even Homeland Security, to green light his blastoff. Others have stepped up as well, including Slash from Guns N' Roses. Braun said the guitarist recorded a theme song for him â fittingly using Elton John's hit, "Rocket Man."
The jump will be live-streamed on the Internet.
For years, many believed Evel Knievel's daredevil son, Robbie â who's completed more than 350 jumps â might be the first to take a crack at the canyon. At one point, Robbie Knievel was looking at the jump in 2011, but it didn't take flight.
"Eddie put together the team and he's the one that got it done," Kelly Knievel explained. "It's very dangerous â and very ambitious."
Scott Truax used his father's blueprints to reconstruct the rocket. He wanted to show that his dad's version of Evel Knievel's "X2 Skycycle" would've worked, if not for the parachute malfunction.
The late Robert Truax was considered one of top rocket scientists of the 20th century.
"With this re-creation, it is my intent to clear his name and tell his amazing story," Scott Truax said in an email. "I like to think that instead of looking up at the rocket launch, he and Evel will be looking down on it and that's a much better view."
The rocket will reach a top speed of 400 mph in about 3 seconds and an altitude of 3,000 feet before the engine cuts off and the parachute deploys. Braun says he expects to soar about 1,500 feet or 0.28 miles over the canyon.
While parachute technology has improved, there's still plenty of danger.
That's why Braun's wife and four kids aren't planning to attend the launch. Braun constantly reassures them.
"They think it's really cool that dad gets to fly a rocket," Braun said. "I guess there's just a little Evel in all of us."
___
On the Web: www.evelspirit.com
- Th Associated Press
LAS VEGAS â A veteran Las Vegas police officer is facing felony driving under the influence and hit-and-run charges following a series of three crashes while he was off-duty on a busy stretch of Interstate 15.
Prosecutor Brian Rutledge said Tuesday that Officer Antonio Munoz is due in court Wednesday on charges that also include several misdemeanors.
The Nevada Highway Patrol says a passenger in one vehicle was seriously hurt in one of the crashes early Saturday on the freeway near the Las Vegas Strip and downtown.
Munoz also was hurt, and was hospitalized after troopers stopped him in a white GMC Yukon that officials say had damage apparently resulting from the crashes.
Munoz has been a police officer since September 2000. A police spokesman says he'll be suspended without pay pending a departmental investigation.
- The Associated Press
CORVALLIS, Ore. â Corvallis police arrested a man accused of breaking into a couple's car and masturbating while in the passenger seat.
Lt. Daniel Duncan says the incident happened late Monday after the couple returned to their vehicle after watching a movie. They called 911 instead of confronting the man.
Officers dispatched to the cinema say they caught Morgan Morris of Corvallis in the act. He had his feet on the dashboard and his shorts pulled down to his ankles. He was otherwise naked.
A search of the vehicle yielded a bottle of vodka and methamphetamine paraphernalia.
Duncan says the 32-year-old suspect was booked into jail on charges of public indecency, criminal mischief, meth possession and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle.
- Th Associated Press
LAS VEGAS â Federal authorities say a former Marine has been sentenced to 25 years in jail for a multimillion dollar Nigerian oil fraud scheme.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that 65-year-old Anton Paul Drago was convicted in March of wire fraud, failing to file a federal income tax return, lying to federal agents, theft of government funds and falsely submitting claims to Veterans Affairs.
The Las Vegas man had been accused of setting up a Nigerian oil investment scheme between 2004 and 2012, telling investors their money would go toward a crude-oil operation.
Drago, who also known as Evan Fogarty, had served in the Marine Corps and for decades falsely claimed a disability to receive thousands of dollars in monthly VA benefits.
He's also ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution.
- The Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. â Montana wildlife officials say they captured and killed a female grizzly bear near Ferndale after the grizzly and her two cubs killed animals and rooted around homes.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said in a statement Tuesday that the 226-pound adult had been relocated from the area in 2014 and 2015. Federal and state officials decided to kill her on Friday because of her food conditioning and habituation.
The bear's two yearling cubs are being held at the state wildlife agency's center in Helena while officials search for a zoo that will take them.
FWP officials say the bears over the past two years killed chickens, ducks and rabbits. They say the bears also got into pet and livestock food and climbed on porches and looked into the windows of homes in the area.
- The Associated Press
KALISPELL, Mont. â A Marion man accused of taking a walrus tusk as "collateral" for his stolen motorcycle has pleaded not guilty to theft and bail-jumping charges.
The Daily Inter Lake reports that 34-year-old Edward Lee Hubbs III's attorney entered the plea on Hubbs' behalf last week.
Court documents say the ivory tusk was stolen from a home on U.S. Highway 93 on Jan. 31. A Flathead County sheriff's deputy found the tusk last month during a vehicle search.
Hubbs, who was a passenger in the vehicle, reportedly said he was keeping the tusk as collateral because a man had allegedly stolen his motorcycle.
Authorities added bail jumping to the theft charge when Hubbs didn't show up for an arraignment scheduled in June.
A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 11.
- The Associated Press
MISSOULA, Mont. â The University of Montana is getting rid of crate after crate of Cold War-era fallout shelter supplies.
The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/29XPVA6 ) that the university's 11-story Aber Hall has a concrete-walled storage room packed with tins of "survival ration biscuits" issued by the Office of Civil Defense. Most were packaged in 1963.
UM Mansfield Library's government documents librarian, Susanne Caro, says the food stores were meant to supply one person for two weeks on 700 calories a day. The school also has "carbohydrate supplements" in the form of lemon and cherry hard candies.
Residence Life facilities manager Brad Hall says some rations are featured in the library's "Duck and Cover" exhibit, but the nearly 1,000 boxes left over will be thrown out unless another home can be found.
ALBUQUERQUE â The New Mexico State Police chief is distancing the department from what he says is a false Facebook page created in the agency's name that bears a swastika as its profile photo.
State Police Chief Pete Kassetas says the page is in no way affiliated with the agency. He also says it "distorts and misrepresents" New Mexico State Police.
Local news outlets in Albuquerque brought the page to the state polices' attention. Kassetas says the agency has reported the "offensive page" to Facebook, requesting the social media company remove it.
The official New Mexico State Police page on Facebook has an image of the agency's triangle shape logo for its profile photo.
- The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO â A motorist was arrested and had his car impounded in connection with erratic diving and spinning donuts on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge over the weekend.
KNBC reports that California Highway Patrol officials say three cars were involved in weaving in and out of westbound traffic on the bridge around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. They were said to be driving at speeds of 80 to 90 miles per hour. After passing through the Yerba Buena Island tunnel, the vehicles brought traffic to a halt and burned donuts on the western span, the station reported.
The action was all caught on camera by another motorist, who called police. Police made arrest and issued at least one citation at the end of the bridge. The names and ages of those cited and arrested were not released.
- By ULA ILNYTZKY Associated Press
Gentlemen prefer blondes â but will auctiongoers?
Two locks of Marilyn Monroe's hair, among a trove of memorabilia from the estate of an ardent fan-turned-friend, are going on the auction block in the fall and could sell for as much as $8,000.
The hair is from the estate of Frieda Hull, who obtained the locks from the actress' hairdresser.
Julien's Auctions is offering the items on Nov. 19-20 in Los Angeles. They're among selections from the auction that will be exhibited aboard the Queen Mary 2 during its weeklong crossing from New York to Southampton, England, beginning Aug. 9.
The locks of hair, contained in an ultraviolet-protected case, are in a single lot, with a presale estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. Hull asked Monroe's hairdresser for them before Monroe died in 1962, and Monroe gave the OK, Julien's said.
The auction house said that the two women had a long-lasting friendship, and that Hull had remarkable access to Monroe's personal and professional life.
The buyer will receive authentication papers from the Hull estate and the auction house.
The auction also will feature other Monroe memorabilia from the estate of Actors Studio artistic director Lee Strasberg and from David Gainsborough-Roberts, a British collector believed to own the largest private collection of the star's costumes.
The items range from $3,000 to $600,000. They include a sheer black beaded and sequined dress from the movie "Some Like it Hot" and a pink linen halter dress from the thriller "Niagara." Other artifacts include a large collection of photos of Monroe at the 1955 premiere of "East of Eden."
Monroe would have turned 90 last month.
Hair from other celebrities has gone up for auction previously, including Elvis Presley's and David Bowie's.
LONG BEACH, Calif. â At least 1.5 million gallons of sewage spewed from a burst pipe near downtown Los Angeles, leading to the closure of ocean waters downriver in Long Beach, officials said Tuesday.
The top of a sewer pipe collapsed Monday afternoon, forcing it to overflow and belch a stinky sludge onto streets and into the Los Angeles River. The spill in a mostly industrial area near Boyle Heights was stopped around 11 p.m., and cleanup efforts continued through the night, officials said.
Tests of ocean water were conducted at the mouth of the river, about 20 miles south of the spill site, said Nelson Kerr with the Long Beach city health department. Results weren't expected until Wednesday.
It wasn't known how much tainted river water, if any, made it all the way to Long Beach. Kerr said beaches were shut down as a precaution and would remain closed until testing shows the water as safe.
Officials originally estimated that about 100,000 gallons had spilled.
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho â A northern Idaho county prosecutor says a deputy prosecutor won't be punished for posting a comment on social media that suggested genocide would occur if police officers stopped patrolling black neighborhoods.
Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh told the Coeur d'Alene Press that education on appropriate communication with the community is needed so that the community has confidence in their work.
Deputy Prosecutor Bryant Bushling made the post Sunday on Kootenai County Bailiff Todd Hartman's Facebook page.
Hartman had posted a meme that showed a picture of a white officer and text suggesting that if police wanted to kill black people they would stop patrolling black neighborhoods.
McHugh says Bushling is an ethical attorney, and that McHugh has never had to question his use of appropriate factors in making decisions.
- By ANTHONY McCARTNEY Associated Press
LOS ANGELES â Tom Sizemore was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of felony domestic violence, a setback for the actor attempting a comeback following a career derailed by addiction, abuse allegations and more than a year in prison.
The "Black Hawk Down" actor famed for his portrayals of gruff tough guys was arrested Tuesday morning at a downtown Los Angeles apartment, said Los Angeles police officer Jane Kim. She declined to disclose details about the alleged victim or the severity of any injuries.
Sizemore, 54, was taken into custody around 9:40 a.m. and was being held on $50,000 bail.
The actor has battled serious substance abuse problems over the years but recently found work as a recurring character on the upcoming television series "Shooter," an adaptation of a book and film about a marksman drawn into a modern day conspiracy to assassinate the U.S. president.
His manager, Charles Lago, declined comment about Tuesday's arrest.
Sizemore became a star in the late 1990s and early 2000s with acclaimed appearances in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat."
He then developed serious substance dependency problems that devastated his movie career, left him homeless, sent him to jail and led to a failed suicide attempt.
His comeback started in recent years after he wrote the candid book "By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There: A Memoir" about his recovery from addiction.
Sizemore told The Associated Press in 2013 after the book's release that he believed his dependency was related to the trappings of success, something he thought he could mask with alcohol.
"First I drank. People could tell if you were drunk, so then I was like, 'Hey, look, let me find a drug where I feel comfortable in my own skin,'" he said in the interview. "But I did. I found a drug and it was called cocaine. I did it for a while. Then I found an even better drug and it was called heroin."
Finally, he said, crystal meth became the drug that consumed his life and powered his spectacular fall from success.
In 2003, he was convicted of assault and battery on his ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss, who testified the actor punched her in the jaw at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Fleiss, a former Hollywood madam convicted in 1994 of running a high-priced call-girl ring, also accused Sizemore of beating her so badly in New York that they could not attend the premiere of "Black Hawk Down."
After his conviction, Sizemore denied he abused Fleiss and accused her of faking a picture showing her bruises.
He also pleaded no contest in 2003 and avoided a trial in a case in which another former girlfriend accused him of punching her and dragging her on the ground.
Over the next several years he was arrested on more drug and probation violations. He fell into debt and owed millions of dollars.
After failing numerous drug tests while on probation, Sizemore was imprisoned from August 2007 to January 2009.
His recovery was also documented by appearances on the reality TV show "Celebrity Rehab" and its spinoff "Sober House."
- The Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. â Authorities say a former Central California pastor has admitted to stealing more than $100,000 in government benefits.
The Fresno Bee reports that 55-year-old Alvin Dickson, a former pastor at Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in southwest Fresno, collected about $113,000 in Social Security disability insurance benefits while earning a church salary and living rent free between July 2005 and April 2013.
He did not disclose his employment or income to the government, the newspaper reported.
Dickson pleaded guilty to theft of government property. He will be sentenced Oct. 24, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
___
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho â Idaho State Police say they notified the wrong family following a fatal single-car crash because the vehicle contained identification with photos of only one person and that the photos resembled the deceased driver of the vehicle.
But Idaho State Police Sgt. Todd Orr told the Post Register  that officials later learned that 20-year-old Wyatt Wells of Idaho Falls died and not 32-year-old Adam West, also of Idaho Falls.
Orr said the crash is under investigation and some details relating to the mistaken identity and how it was discovered couldn't be released.
Police say Wells at about 6 a.m. Saturday was southbound on Interstate 15 when he went off the right shoulder and crashed.
Police say he wasn't wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene.
- The Associated Press
DAVIS, Calif. â California officials are investigating a Davis day care after one of its operators was arrested on charges of molesting a 4-year-old girl.
The Sacramento Bee reports that California Department of Social Services spokesman Michael Weston says the agency began investigating Ximena's Daycare after the Thursday arrest of a 43-year-old man who ran it with his wife. The daycare has been operated out of their home since 2001.
Its license was still in effect Monday and it was unclear if children were still being cared for there.
Weston says parents of children enrolled there were told of the man's arrest last week. He says the woman is still licensed to care for children.
The department could temporarily suspend the license pending the outcome of the case.
- The Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. â Authorities say a Central California man has been sentenced to six months in prison for flashing a large laser pointer at a California Highway Patrol plane last year, briefly damaging the pilot's eyes.
The Fresno Bee reports that 35-year-old Jeremy Scott Danielson of Clovis was also sentenced to three years of supervised release Monday.
Danielson pleaded guilty in March to flashing the patrol plane 18 to 20 times with a powerful green laser.
The pointer he used was the size of a flashlight and had a range of 6,000 feet. It is 40 times beyond the legal limit for a hand-held laser device
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill says Danielson could have brought the CHP plane down by blinding the pilot.
Investigators say the laser pointer is also is capable of starting fires.
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