Combined briefs

UNITED KINGDOM

New Twitter rules target abuse

Twitter is handing down new rules to control abusive language, the company said Saturday, a move which follows a barrage of nasty, harassing, and threatening messages directed at high-profile female users of the microblogging site. In a message posted to its website, Twitter said it is introducing a one-click button to report abuse and updating its rules to clarify that it will not tolerate abusive behavior. The issue recently received attention in Britain after several women went public about the sexually explicit and often luridly violent abuse they receive from online bullies, often called trolls.

OHIO

Deadly outbreak hits retirement center

Health officials say Ohio’s largest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has killed five people and sickened 39 others at a retirement community since July. The state Health Department said the outbreak at Wesley Ridge Retirement Community in Reynoldsburg has been linked to bacteria in an air conditioning cooling tower and several water sources. Victims range in age from 63 to 99. About 200 people live at the center.

CUBA

Russian navy ships visit Havana

A Russian navy flotilla headed by the guided missile cruiser Moskva arrived Saturday in Havana, exchanging a salute of artillery with a Cuban shore battery. The Communist Party daily Granma reported that the Moskva will be open to the public Monday and said the three ships will stay for several days on a friendly visit.

CALIFORNIA

Actors with fake guns bring real cops

College filmmakers using fake guns to shoot a robbery scene at a suburban Los Angeles coffee shop got more than they bargained for Friday. Eight real police officers who descended with guns drawn on the masked actors had no idea a movie was being filmed. Police said it showed the dangers of movie-making for amateur film crews who don’t get permits and follow proper steps before taking to the streets. It’s rare “to go into a coffee shop and see someone carrying an AR-15 rifle and wearing a mask,” said police Capt. Tim Staab. The students were allowed to keep the fake weapons and weren’t facing charges. The students declined to tell police what college they were from.

NEW YORK

Times company sells Boston Globe

The New York Times Co., in its latest move to shed assets and focus more on its core brand, has agreed to sell The Boston Globe and its other New England media properties to John W. Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox. The sale, for $70 million, would return the paper to local ownership after two decades in which it struggled to stem the decline in circulation and revenue. The price would represent a staggering drop in value for The Globe, which The Times bought in 1993 for $1.1 billion, among the highest prices paid for a U.S. newspaper.

NEW YORK

Theater prop sparks bomb scare

A New York City playwright who directed a show called the “American Suicide Bomber Association” unwitting sparked a bomb scare when he threw a prop from the production into the trash at his home. Playwright Ethan Fishbane said he wasn’t thinking when he discarded the fake bomb while cleaning out his Manhattan apartment Tuesday. A building superintendent saw the prop the next morning and called police. It didn’t take long for investigators to figure out what had happened.

COSTA RICA

Public zoos slated for closure

Officials say they plan to close both of the Central American nation’s public zoos next year so that animals can be freed from their cages. But the foundation that runs the animal parks said Saturday it is trying to keep them operating. The 97-year-old Simon Bolivar zoo in central San Jose is scheduled to become a botanical park. Another zoo west of the city, the Santa Ana Conservation Center, also would close. Together the zoos hold about 400 animals, including a lion, crocodiles, monkeys and a tapir. Costa Rica banned circuses with animals in 2002 and has also barred sport hunting.