Combined briefs package

Conservation officers shot and killed a black bear Sunday and plan tests to see if it is the same animal that chased and mauled a 12-year-old girl as she jogged on her grandfather’s wooded land in northern Michigan, authorities said. A bear clawed Abby Wetherell in the thigh Thursday at site 35 miles south-southeast of Traverse City in Wexford County’s Haring Township. Abby screamed, and her father and a neighbor scared the bear off. She underwent surgery at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City and was released from the hospital Sunday and is recovering at home, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said.

SOUTH AFRICA

Pistorius due back in court today

Oscar Pistorius is scheduled to return to a South African court today to face charges of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February. The 26-year-old double-amputee Olympian could be indicted on a main charge of premeditated murder at Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. Pistorius denies he committed murder and has said he shot Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was an intruder. The trial is expected to start in early 2014.

YEMEN

U.K., Germany reopen embassies

The United Kingdom and Germany reopened their embassies Sunday in Sanaa after being closed for about two weeks because of a terrorism threat. U.K. Ambassador Jane Marriott said Sunday that she and her team were “glad to be back and working in Yemen after this brief hiatus.” The German Embassy posted a statement on its website Sunday saying it had reopened. The U.S. closed 19 of its diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa after it intercepted a message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Yemen’s al-Qaida offshoot about plans for a major attack. The U.S. has reopened all the posts except its Sanaa embassy.

CALIFORNIA

Drive on to recall San Diego mayor

A campaign to oust embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner began Sunday, as volunteers armed with clipboards and petitions fanned out to collect thousands of signatures needed to authorize a recall election. More than a dozen women have publicly accused Filner, a Democrat, of making inappropriate statements or sexual advances. The 70-year-old former congressman has resisted numerous calls to resign. He is set to return to work this week after undergoing behavior therapy.

PENNSYLVANIA

Bound woman leads to arrest

The discovery of a woman tied to a bed inside a Philadelphia home, suffering from sores and living in “unsuitable conditions,” prompted kidnapping and other charges Sunday against a 46-year-old woman, police said. The 36-year-old victim found early Saturday “appeared to be special needs and has a limited vocabulary,” a police spokeswoman said. Police have not determined the victim’s relationship to the suspect, Regina Bennett, who faces charges of kidnapping for ransom, simple and aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, and neglect of a care-dependent person.

NEW YORK

Fire truck used on 9/11 returns

A fire truck that carried a crew of firefighters to the World Trade Center for what would prove to be their last assignment is returning to Staten Island for the first time in more than a year. The Rescue Co. 5 truck is to be the centerpiece of an Aug. 25 fundraiser at the Staten Island Mall. Organizer Massimo DiDonna said Sunday he expects it to be an “extremely emotional” event. Firefighters from Rescue 5 took the truck to ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001. Eleven died, including DiDonna’s father-in-law, Carl Bini. The rig is now a mobile memorial for the Chicago-based Remembrance Rescue Project and is set to head to other cities early next month.

OHIO

Gun safe filled with marijuana

A man who ordered a gun safe online opened it up only to discover 280 pounds of marijuana inside, authorities said Sunday. Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart said the safe was made in Nogales, Mexico, and that it was shipped with other safes by truck to Ohio. He says the marijuana has a street value of $420,000. Federal authorities who are investigating said the truck driver who brought the shipment into the United States is missing. The sheriff said the safe was delivered to Ohio in June, but authorities have kept quiet about it while they looked into how the safe got into the U.S.