■UNITED STATES
Man guilty of taking money
A man has admitted banking more than US$470,000 in paychecks from a company he never worked for. Anthony Armatys of Palatine, Illinois, pleaded guilty on Monday in New Jersey Superior Court to one count of theft as part of a plea bargain. Prosecutors say Armatys accepted a job with Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based company Avaya in 2002, then changed his mind. The company’s computer system never removed his name from the payroll, however. Paychecks were deposited into his bank account until 2007, when Avaya discovered the mistake. Prosecutors are seeking a six-year prison term and restitution.
■UNITED STATES
FAA probes LA incident
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is trying to determine how close two passenger jets came to each other in a so-called runway incursion at Los Angeles International Airport. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said on Monday the jets were within 30m of each other, but radar data was being analyzed to determine the exact distance. The incident involved a Midwest Express Embraer 190 that landed and taxied toward a runway from which a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 was taking off for Honolulu on Sunday. Midwest Express Flight 1503 landed on the airport’s southernmost runway and was told to turn onto a taxiway and hold there but did not.
■UNITED STATES
Bears target minivans
What’s bigger than a picnic basket and even better if you’re a black bear in Yosemite National Park? A study published this month in the Journal of Mammalogy says it’s minivans driven by families with children, who leave behind a trail of spilled juice boxes and snacks. Park scientists found the bears tear up minivans more frequently than other vehicles. Minivans represented 29 percent of the 908 vehicles torn into by bears between 2001 and 2007, even though they made up just 7 percent of the cars that visited Yosemite.
■HONDURAS
Micheletti nephew killed
A nephew of de facto leader Roberto Micheletti was killed in a possible political attack, and a colonel was shot dead separately amid high tension in Honduras, authorities said on Monday. Police found the remains of Enzo Micheletti near Choloma on Sunday, along with those of another youth, a justice official said. The 25-year-old, who was the son of the de facto leader’s brother, disappeared on Friday. Unidentified attackers also shot a colonel in Tegucigalpa on Sunday, the Security Ministry said.
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