Combined briefs package

Seven bodies found in resort city

Police found the bodies of five men and two women Sunday at a house in a low-income neighborhood of the resort city of Cancun. Arturo Olivares Mendiola, director of the Quintana Roo state detective agency, said the victims’ hands, heads and feet had been tied up with packing tape, and they apparently were asphyxiated. Neighbors told police there had been strange coming and goings at the house, suggesting it may have been used to sell drugs.

FLORIDA

Church van crash kills 1, hurts 19

An overcrowded van had a tire problem on the Florida Turnpike and rolled several times, killing a passenger and injuring 19 other people in a church group, state Highway Patrol officials said. The group was headed from Miami to Orlando. The crash happened about 7:10 p.m. Saturday in Kenansville, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes said. The rubber from at least one tire separated from the wheel, causing the van to roll over toward a center median, Montes said. Investigators said the vehicle was designed to hold 15 people and was also carrying a lot of luggage.

ST. LUCIA

Bandits rob tourists from cruise ship

Masked gunmen held up a tour bus, robbing about 50 sightseers from a cruise ship, island officials said Sunday. No one was hurt. No other details about the Friday holdup of tourists from Celebrity Cruises’ Eclipse were not available Sunday. Celebrity Cruises officials did not respond to calls and emails Sunday seeking comment. The company is a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which also did not respond.

LIBYA

Head of extremist militia shot

The leader of an Islamic extremist militia in Libya suspected of involvement in an attack in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was shot Sunday, a security official said. Sufyan bin Qumu, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was shot near al-Thruwn in the eastern city of Darna, a stronghold of Islamic extremists. He was taken to a nearby hospital and was in the intensive care unit, the official said.

COLORADO

Jury awards $11.5 million in helmet suit

A Colorado jury has awarded $11.5 million in a lawsuit brought against helmet maker Riddell and several high school administrators and football coaches over brain injuries suffered by a teenager in 2008. The jury in Las Animas County found Saturday that Riddell was negligent in failing to warn people wearing its helmets about concussion dangers. Rhett Ridolfi’s family sued Riddell and his coaches after Ridolfi suffered a concussion in a Trinidad High School football practice. He wasn’t immediately taken to the hospital and now has severe brain damage, as well as paralysis on his left side.

UTAH

Chevron spill sparks violation notice

State regulators have slapped Chevron with a violation notice over a March fuel spill near a northern Utah bird refuge. The Utah Division of Water Quality is asking Chevron to provide a report on cleanup operations and a response plan for the pipeline rupture that leaked about 21,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The split in the pipeline running between Salt Lake City and Spokane, Wash., spilled diesel fuel at Willard Bay State Park and near the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Federal regulators, who fined Chevron nearly $500,000 for two Utah spills in 2010, haven’t determined penalties for the company’s latest petroleum leak.

UNITED KINGDOM

27 people arrested in soccer clash

Rival soccer fans clashed Sunday in the streets of a city in northeastern England after a high-profile match. Police said three officers were injured and 27 people were arrested. The violence came after a Premier League derby between Newcastle and Sunderland. Sunderland, the visiting team, won 3-0. Their supporters were confronted by Newcastle fans outside the stadium. The disturbances came a day after fans of London club Millwall fought among themselves at Wembley Stadium during an FA Cup semifinal against Wigan.

CALIFORNIA

Three rides closed at Disneyland

Three rides at Disneyland, including the famous Space Mountain roller coaster, were temporarily closed over the weekend as the company reviewed its safety protocols after being cited by state regulators. The citations were received Friday from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Disneyland Resorts spokeswoman Suzi Brown said. The closures Saturday of Space Mountain, the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Soarin’ Over California were voluntary and were made out of an abundance of caution, Brown said Sunday.