***DUPLICATION ALERT: SPORTS: Check lineups for Rodman***
LOCAL INTEREST: OHIO: Recall brief***
NEW YORK
Rodman plans next N. Korea trip
Dennis Rodman is going back to North Korea and bringing a team of former NBA players with him. Days after returning from his second trip to visit Kim Jong Un — in which he said he became the first foreigner to hold the leader’s newborn daughter — Rodman announced plans Monday to stage two exhibition games in North Korea in January. The first will be Jan. 8 — Kim’s birthday — with another to follow two days later. Rodman said Kim has asked him to train his players to compete in the 2016 Olympics and offered to allow the Hall of Famer to write a book about him.
CALIFORNIA
Fire forces more residents from homes
A wildfire burning in a San Francisco Bay Area wilderness park grew Monday, forcing more people to leave their homes and leading to a smoke advisory for residents. The blaze in Mount Diablo State Park in Contra Costa County had burned 1,500 acres as of Monday morning, up from about 800 acres the previous day, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials said. It was 10 percent contained. Roughly 25 homes were evacuated Monday morning, bringing the total to about 100.
NEW YORK
Hate crimes unit probes man’s death
A New York City man died Monday less than a week after being assaulted by a man who threatened to “punch the first white man” he saw. Jeffrey Babbitt, 62, was attacked Wednesday, police said. Babbitt fell backward after being attacked and hit his head. Lashawn Marten, 31, punched the man and attacked two other men who tried to help Babbitt, police said. Babbitt was white. Marten is black. The city’s hate crimes unit is investigating.
GUATEMALA
At least 44 killed in bus crash
An overcrowded bus plunged into a deep river canyon in northwestern Guatemala on Monday, killing at least 44 people commuting to the capital, officials said. Grieving families gathered outside a recreation center near the accident site where authorities set up an improvised morgue to identify the bodies of the passengers, including children and at least three babies. The spokesman for the volunteer fire department, Mario Cruz, said 46 people were taken to regional hospitals for treatment of injuries.
HAWAII
Governor seeks session on gay marriage
Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Monday called for a special legislative session to move forward on a bill that would legalize gay marriage. If lawmakers pass a bill, Hawaii would join 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in allowing gay marriage. The special session would begin Oct. 28. Hawaii is among a handful of states that allow same-sex civil unions, which gay marriage advocates say stops short of the full benefits of marriage.
CALIFORNIA
Bridge gets good luck troll
A final piece of safety hardware — a bearded, spindly legged troll — has been installed in the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The troll is meant to be a protector and good luck charm, modeled after a similar statue placed surreptitiously by a steelworker on the old span after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The new statue was installed at an undisclosed location. The new, $6.4 billion portion of the Bay Bridge opened to traffic on Labor Day, nearly 24 years after the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the old span.
DETROIT
RAV4 SUVs, Lexus sedans recalled
Toyota is recalling 880,584 RAV4 SUVs and Lexus HS 250h sedans in the U.S. and Canada because a repair announced last year may not have solved a safety problem. RAV4s from the 2006 through 2011 model years and the Lexus HS250h from the 2010 model year are involved in the recall. Toyota says if rear suspension nuts aren’t tightened properly after a wheel alignment, the rear lower suspension arm can rust and separate from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
UNITED KINGDOM
Bond car sells for $865,000
A car that transformed into a submarine in the James Bond movie “The Spy Who Loved Me” sold Monday at a London auction for $865,000. The white Lotus Esprit, designed for an underwater scene in the 1977 film starring Roger Moore, was sold at RM Auctions. The sale price was below the auction house’s initial estimated price of $1 million to $1.5 million — perhaps because the vehicle cannot be driven on the road, although it is said to be a fully operational submarine.
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