Volunteer fireman suspended over racist FB post

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A volunteer firefighter in Ohio has been suspended indefinitely after a Facebook post that stated he would save a dog from a burning building before a black person.

WHIO-TV reports that Tyler Roysdon, of Franklin Township in Warren County, said if he had to choose between saving a dog or a black man, the animal would come first.

The post, which contained multiple racial slurs, was ordered removed by the township. Officials issued a statement calling the content “unacceptable.”

Officials said Fire Chief Steve Bishop, who suspended Roysdon, does not have termination powers. That decision will be made by the township board of trustees after a Sept. 27 disciplinary hearing.

A phone number could not be found for Roysdon. A message was left with Bishop.

Crews dismantling thrill ride after deadly fair accident

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Crews have begun dismantling the thrill ride involved in a deadly accident at the Ohio State Fair.

WBNS-10TV reports the removal of the Fire Ball ride at the state fairgrounds began with a final inspection Saturday.

A four-passenger carriage on the swinging and spinning ride broke apart July 26, on the opening day of the fair, and flung one of the ride’s carriages into the air.

An 18 year-old high school student, Tyler Jarrell, died on the midway while his girlfriend, 19-year-old Keziah Lewis, was critically injured. Six others also were injured.

A State Highway Patrol investigation found the ride operators were not to blame. Dutch manufacturer, KMG, said the cause was excessive corrosion of a support beam. The accident resulted in the shutdown of similar rides worldwide.

St. Louis protesters go to upscale

malls, suburbs

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Noisy demonstrators disrupted shopping at upscale suburban malls on Saturday and later marched through a popular district of bars and restaurant to protest a white St. Louis police officer’s acquittal in the killing of a black man, marking a second day of mostly-peaceful opposition marred by sporadic incidents of vandalism and violence.

A few hundred people shouted slogans such as “black lives matter” and “it is our duty to fight for our freedom” as they marched through West County Center in Des Peres to decry the judge’s verdict Friday clearing ex-officer Jason Stockley of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith.

A short time later, a group demonstrated at Chesterfield Mall and a regional food festival. No arrests were reported at any of the demonstrations.

As dusk neared, hundreds of protesters gathered in the Delmar Loop of the St. Louis suburb of University City, known for concert venues, restaurants, shops and bars and including the famous Blueberry Hill where rock legend Chuck Berry played for many years.

The protests followed raucous Friday marches in downtown St. Louis and through the city’s posh Central West End area during the night. Protesters wanted the entire region, not just predominantly black areas, to be upset with the verdict and feel its impact.

Cuba mystery: What theories

US investigators are pursuing

WASHINGTON (AP) — There must be an answer.

Whatever is harming U.S. diplomats in Havana, it’s eluded the doctors, scientists and intelligence analysts scouring for answers. Investigators have chased many theories, including a sonic attack, electromagnetic weapon or flawed spying device.

Each explanation seems to fit parts of what’s happened, conflicting with others.

The United States doesn’t even know what to call it. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used the phrase “health attacks.” The State Department prefers “incidents.”

Either way, suspicion has fallen on Cuba. But investigators also are examining whether a rogue faction of its security services, another country such as Russia, or some combination is to blame, more than a dozen U.S. officials familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.

Pro-Trump rally draws hundreds, not thousands

to Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — Organizers had dubbed it the Mother of All Rallies and hoped to bring out thousands to pack the National Mall on Saturday in support of President Donald Trump. In the end, hundreds of flag-waving demonstrators did their best to make some noise in support of the president, who had skipped town for the weekend.

The pro-Trump rally was part of a day of diverse political demonstrations in the nation’s capital that highlighted the stark political divisions in the United States. It was preceded Saturday morning by a small anti-Trump protest near the White House, where about two dozen people demanded tougher action against Russian President Vladimir Putin in retaliation for Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Wearing T-shirts that read, “We’re not PUTIN up with this anymore,” the demonstrators staged a brief rally before marching to the nearby home of the Russian ambassador.

While the pro-Trump demonstrators clearly outnumbered the anti-Trump contingent, both sides were dwarfed by the juggalos, as supporters of the rap group Insane Clown Posse are known. In front of the Lincoln Memorial, about 1,500 juggalos staged an all-day rally and concert to protest what they say is class-based discrimination by law enforcement.

A 2011 report by the Justice Department’s Gang Task Force labeled the juggalos, who favor extensive tattoos and outlandish face paint, a “loosely organized hybrid gang.” It’s the same classification used for overtly violent gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips.

US coastal

growth continues despite lessons

of past storms

(AP)–Rising sea levels and fierce storms have failed to stop relentless population growth along U.S. coasts in recent years, a new Associated Press analysis shows. The latest punishing hurricanes scored bull’s-eyes on two of the country’s fastest growing regions: coastal Texas around Houston and resort areas of southwest Florida. Nothing seems to curb America’s appetite for life near the sea, especially in the warmer climates of the South. Coastal development destroys natural barriers such as islands and wetlands, promotes erosion and flooding, and positions more buildings and people in the path of future destruction, according to researchers and policy advisers who study hurricanes.

“History gives us a lesson, but we don’t always learn from it,” said Graham Tobin, a disaster researcher at the University of South Florida in Tampa. That city took a glancing hit from Hurricane Irma — one of the most intense U.S. hurricanes in years — but suffered less flooding and damage than some other parts of the state.

In 2005, coastal communities took heed of more than 1,800 deaths and $108 billion in damages from Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. Images of New Orleans under water elicited solemn resolutions that such a thing should never happen again — until Superstorm Sandy inundated lower Manhattan in 2012. Last year, Hurricane Matthew spread more deaths, flooding and blackouts across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. From 2010-2016, major hurricanes and tropical storms are blamed for more than 280 deaths and $100 billion in damages, according to data from the federal National Centers for Environmental Information.

Harvey, another historically big hurricane, flooded sections of Houston in recent weeks. Four counties around Houston, where growth has been buoyed by the oil business, took the full force of the storm. The population of those counties expanded by 12 percent from 2010 to 2016, to a total of 5.3 million people, the AP analysis shows.

World leaders face crises in North Korea and

Myanmar at UN

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Facing an escalating nuclear threat from North Korea and the mass flight of minority Muslims from Myanmar, world leaders gather at the United Nations starting Monday to tackle these and other tough challenges — from the spread of terrorism to a warming planet. The spotlight will be on U.S. President Donald Trump and France’s new leader, Emmanuel Macron, who will both be making their first appearance at the General Assembly. They will be joined by more than 100 heads of state and government, including Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders who is said to be bringing a 70-member entourage.

While Trump’s speeches and meetings will be closely followed, it will be North Korea, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls “the most dangerous crisis that we face today,” that will be most carefully watched. No official event addressing Pyongyang’s relentless campaign to develop nuclear weapons capable of hitting the United States is on the U.N. agenda, but it is expected to be the No. 1 issue for most leaders.

Not far behind will be the plight of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, victims of what Guterres calls a campaign of ethnic cleansing that has driven nearly 400,000 to flee to Bangladesh in the past three weeks. The Security Council, in its first statement on Myanmar in nine years, condemned the violence and called for immediate steps to end it. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is hosting a closed meeting on the crisis Monday, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s contact group on the Rohingyas is scheduled to meet Tuesday.

Guterres said leaders would also be focusing on a third major threat — climate change. The number of natural disasters has nearly quadrupled and he pointed to unprecedented weather events in recent weeks from Texas, Florida and the Caribbean to Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sierra Leone.

Tuskegee Airmen chapter to launch aviation program

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Tuskegee Airmen chapter in Cincinnati will launch a new youth aviation program after it received an anonymous donation of $10,000.

WCPO.com reported the program will help close to a dozen young people learn how to fly a plane and introduce them to careers in aviation.

Marvin Bryce Sr. is youth aviation director for the organization, named for a famed group of black military pilots who flew during World War II. He said the program will help young people in the inner city understand there is more to life.

“If they don’t know they can achieve, they will never reach for it,” he said.

Bryce is very involved in the Cincinnati community.