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Barry’s flood threat lingers

NEW ORLEANS — Tropical Depression Barry dumped rain as it slowly swept inland through Gulf Coast states Sunday, sparing New Orleans from a direct hit but stoking fears elsewhere of flooding, tornadoes, and prolonged power outages. Though the system was downgraded to a tropical depression Sunday afternoon and its winds were steadily weakening since it made landfall Saturday in Louisiana, Barry’s rain bands created a flooding and tornado threat stretching from central Louisiana to eastern Mississippi and beyond. Several parishes or counties in both states were under flash flood warnings. Far from the storm’s center, tornado warnings were issued Sunday morning in both states, though no serious damage or injuries were reported. Forecasters warned of a continued threat of heavy rains into Monday as the center of the storm trudged inland. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sunday parts of south-central Louisiana could still have rainfall totals of up to 12 inches, with isolated pockets of 15 inches. In Mississippi, forecasters said 8 inches of rain had fallen in parts of Jasper and Jones counties, with several more inches possible. With torrential rain pounding the state’s Interstate 59 corridor, only the headlights of oncoming cars were visible on the highway, and water flowed like a creek in the median. Barry’s center continued to move through northern Louisiana into Arkansas. The system, which had briefly become a Category 1 hurricane, had its maximum winds fall to 35 mph. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Sunday the city was “beyond lucky” that rainfall there fell well short of early predictions of a deluge that could overwhelm the city’s pumping systems. “We were spared,” she said at a news conference, while noting the city was ready to help nearby parishes hit harder.

2 dead, 4 hurt in road rage attack

DURANT, Okla. — A drunken driver who was on probation for a previous DUI conviction deliberately forced another vehicle into oncoming traffic on an Oklahoma highway, causing a head-on collision that killed two people and injured four others. The suspected road rage attack happened at around 5 p.m. Saturday west of Durant, which is about 120 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. Patrol spokeswoman Sarah Stewart said Ralph F. McEnnerney, 52, of Kingston left the scene of the collision but was later arrested and booked into the Bryan County Jail on two counts of second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a fatal collision and felony DUI. Stewart said McEnnerney was driving eastbound on U.S. Highway 70 when “for some reason” began to drive recklessly next to another vehicle. McEnnerney allegedly struck the passenger side of that vehicle, causing it to veer into oncoming traffic and to hit the other vehicle. Everyone who were killed or injured was either in the vehicle that was pushed or the one that it struck. One passenger in each vehicle was killed. They were identified as Randy Kinyon, 47, of Henderson, Texas, and Shelley Lynn Mayo, 46, of Caddo, Okla.

Decorated soldier dies in Afghan

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A decorated Special Forces company sergeant major has died during combat in Afghanistan, U.S. military officials said Sunday. James G. “Ryan” Sartor, 40, was killed Saturday during combat operations in Faryab Province, according to Lt. Col. Loren Bymer, spokesman for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Sartor was from Teague, Texas, and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group in Fort Carson, Colorado. He joined the Army in 2001 as an infantryman and had deployed numerous times to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a statement from Bymer. Sartor had received more than two dozen awards and decorations and will posthumously receive a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

Jumpers’ plane crashes, 9 dead

HELSINKI — Swedish officials said a small plane carrying parachutists crashed in northern Sweden soon after takeoff on Sunday and all nine people on board were killed. The accident took place a little after 2 p.m. local time on Storsandskar island. Witnesses reportied some of the parachutists were seen trying to jump off the plane just before the crash. Swedish airport authority Swedavia said the crashed aircraft was a GippsAero GA8 Airvan, an Australian-made single-engine plane popular with parachutists, that took off from Umea Airport. One witness said she heard a loud noise from above before she saw the plane going straight down and crashing into the island.

Flesh-eating bacteria kills man

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Tennessee man died this week after being infected with a flesh-eating bacteria during a trip to a Florida beach. The man became ill shortly after returning from vacation in Destin Beach where he was visiting family for the 4th of July. Cheryl Wiygul, the man’s daughter, says the family discovered that a large sore had developed on her dad’s back once they had returned home, as well as red bumps on his arms and legs. The man died on July 7, just 48 hours after his last swim in Florida. Wiygul added that while her dad didn’t have any open cuts or wounds, he did have a compromised immune system due to cancer treatments and that may have put him at greater risk.

‘Spider-Man’ does victory lap

LOS ANGELES — “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is celebrating another weekend at No. 1, but non-franchise fare continues to struggle at the box office. Fresh studio-released counterprograming such as the horror movie “Crawl” and the action-comedy “Stuber” barely made a dent in the web-slinger’s earnings, although there is a glimmer of hope in the independent world. The “Spider-Man” sequel added $45.3 million in its second weekend, down only 51% according to studio estimates Sunday, bringing its domestic total to $274.5 million. Globally, Sony Pictures’ “Far From Home” has already grossed $847 million. Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” landed in second place with $20.7 million in its fourth weekend in theaters. It’s now earned $346.4 million from North American theaters. But while the well-reviewed franchises are thriving, original newcomers are facing an uphill battle in wide-release. “Crawl,” a thriller from Paramount Pictures, debuted in third with an estimated $12 million against a reported $13.5 million budget. Directed by Alexandre Aja, “Crawl” stars Barry Pepper and Kaya Scodelario as a father and daughter trapped in their home with a bunch of angry alligators during a hurricane. The R-rated pic has been was not screened for critics in advance, which usually signals a dud, but it has been surprisingly well-received by critics since opening. It’s currently 88% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The Uber comedy “Stuber” got off to a bumpier start with an estimated $8 million from over 3,000 North American locations. The R-rated Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista film cost a reported $16 million to produce and has not inspired the best reviews (it’s resting at a rotten 46. It’s the latest Fox film to be released by Disney.

France marks Bastille Day

PARIS — France’s annual Bastille Day celebration became a showcase for European defense cooperation Sunday as other national leaders joined President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to inspect the troops marching in the country’s annual military parade. Flags of the 10 European countries that are in a joint military pact spearheaded by Macron last year led contingents of French and foreign armed forces from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Elysees avenue. France has had a Bastille Day parade since 1880, and it’s customary for a foreign leader to be the guest of honor. The guest of honor in 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump, came away so impressed by the spectacle he ordered a military parade in Washington for America’s independence day celebration. In Paris, the focus this year was the European Defense Initiative, a coalition formed last year to prepare for possible military action outside of NATO. The heads of state of Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and Finland watched from the ceremonial viewing stand as 4,000 military personnel, 69 military airplanes and 39 helicopters passed by or overhead.

Mental patient died in dogpile

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A patient at a state mental hospital in South Carolina died earlier this year after being at the bottom of a dogpile of several employees — something specifically prohibited in their training. Three of the 13 employees involved in the death of 35-year-old William Avant in January had not been through training on physically restraining patients, according to The State newspaper . His death hadn’t been reported prior to Sunday. Video of the incident showed the employees on top of Avant at a Columbia mental hospital for four minutes. His face was blue and he was unresponsive when they got up. The State Law Enforcement Division investigated Avant’s death but did not press charges. Avant had been under the Department of Mental Health’s care for a dozen years. He had Klinefelter syndrome — a rare chromosomal disorder linked with anxiety, depression, learning disabilities and behavioral problems, such as impulsivity, according to medical records obtained by the newspaper. The incident that led to Avant’s death started Jan. 22 with him repeatedly kicking a glass window. Employees were talking to Avant, but then tackled him as he tried to push his way into a room where medicines were stored. Several workers held Avant’s arms and others lay across his back in direct violation of policies on restraining patients. No one checked Avant’s breathing during the four minutes he was on the ground.

Remains of actor believed found

SELMA, Ore. — Remains found in a remote area of Oregon are believed to be of missing actor Charles Levin, who played numerous roles on television comedies such as “Seinfeld” and “Night Court.” Levin, 70, was reported missing from Grants Pass on July 8 by his son after he hadn’t heard from his father for several days. He owned an orange 2012 Fiat and was “almost always in the company of his fawn-colored pug dog, Boo Boo Bear,” Grants Pass public safety said in a news release last week seeking information about Levin’s whereabouts. On Friday, search and rescue crews narrowed down a search area based on an emergency cellphone ping. A resident located Levin’s car in a remote and almost impassable road Saturday. Inside the car, troopers found the remains of Levin’s dog. Crews searching steep and rugged terrain found the human remains. Levin’s TV credits include “Alice,” ”Hill Street Blues,” ”Doogie Howser, M.D.,” ”Night Court” and “Seinfeld.” Levin also had roles in movies, including “The Golden Child,” ”Annie Hall” and “This is Spinal Tap.”

7s and 11s with daughter’s birth

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple has rolled all 7s and 11s with the birth of their daughter. J’Aime Brown was born at 7:11 p.m. on July 7, which convenience store chain 7-Eleven marks as 7-Eleven Day. Her birth weight? Seven pounds and 11 ounces, obviously.

Congo confirms Ebola case

BENI, Congo — The Congolese health ministry confirmed an Ebola case in Goma late Sunday, marking the first time the virus has reached the city of more than 2 million people along the border with Rwanda since the epidemic began nearly a year ago. The health ministry said the man who had arrived earlier Sunday in the regional capital had been quickly transported to an Ebola treatment center. Authorities said they had tracked down all the passengers on the bus the man took to Goma from Butembo, one of the towns hardest hit by the disease. The virus has killed more than 1,600 people in Congo and two others who returned home across the border to neighboring Uganda. Health experts have long feared that it could make its way to Goma, which is located on the Rwandan border.

Russian opposition rallies

MOSCOW — Russian opposition leaders led a rally in Moscow of about 1,000 people Sunday to protest the city election commission’s decision that will keep several opposition candidates off the ballot in a local election. The unsanctioned rally was billed as a meeting between opposition leaders and voters after the Moscow election commission rejected signatures needed to qualify the candidates for the September city parliament election. Demonstrators chanted “We are the authority here!” and “Putin is a thief.” Police made no effort to intervene until later in the evening, after the protest crowd had largely dispersed and opposition leaders called for the remaining participants to stage an overnight sit-in at the election commission. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, was not seen at the protest. The demonstration was led, in various stages, by opposition figures Dmitry Gudkov, Ilya Yashin and Lyubov Sobol.

Layer upon layer of protection

NEW YORK — A few cells away from drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman at a New York City jail, jet-setting financier Jeffrey Epstein sits accused of running a different kind of criminal network. There was the team of recruiters and enablers bringing Epstein dozens of underage girls to sexually abuse, federal prosecutors allege. There was the assistant who scheduled those encounters, and the butler who cleaned up afterward and doled out cash and gifts to the girls, authorities contend in court records. There were the mansions in New York and Florida, the sprawling ranch in New Mexico and the private island in the Caribbean that kept prying eyes at a distance, and the forms his employees had to sign swearing they wouldn’t speak about him publicly. Epstein’s New York indictment refers to unnamed employees who prosecutors say played a critical role in Epstein’s alleged crimes in the early 2000s and received payments to arrange massages that led to sex acts, with girls who then sometimes would be paid to find others like themselves. “Through these victim recruiters, Epstein gained access to and was able to abuse dozens of additional minor girls,” the indictment states. His recruiters generally sought out economically disadvantaged girls from poorer Palm Beach County neighborhoods far from the tony beachfront community where he lived, according to police reports and lawsuits filed in the wake of the nonprosecution agreement. The indictment said the victims were “often particularly vulnerable to exploitation.” Epstein’s former girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was described in accuser Sarah Ransome’s 2017 lawsuit as the “highest-ranking employee” of Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking enterprise. She oversaw and trained recruiters, developed recruiting plans and helped conceal the activity from law enforcement, Ransome alleged.

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