Brantley hammers late blows to help Indians tame Tigers

Michael Brantley blasted home runs in the seventh and eighth innings to lift the Cleveland Indians to a 7-5 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. The left fielder broke a 3-3 tie with his first blast, leading off the seventh inning, as the Indians opened a two-run advantage. Detroit scored twice in the top of the eighth to get back on level terms before Brantley went deep again in the bottom of the eighth, a two-run shot off left-hander Blaine Hardy (4-3), to give Cleveland their winning margin.

Yahoo! News

VIDEO: Using sport to tackle Boko Haram

Nigeria has launched several programmes to try and reform captured members of the Boko Haram group.

The violent extremist group has been active in the north-east of the country, as well as across the border in Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Will Ross reports from a prison in Nigeria where sport is used to help tackle extreme views.

BBC

Exclusive – U.S. to China: Take back your undocumented immigrants

In early June, in cities across America, U.S. immigration agents arrested more than two dozen Chinese nationals with unfulfilled deportation orders, telling them that after years of delay, China was finally taking steps to provide the paperwork needed to expel them from the U.S.

But, not for the first time, China failed to provide the necessary documents, and three months later not one of those arrested has been deported, and many have been released from custody. They form part of a backlog of nearly 39,000 people Chinese nationals awaiting deportation for violating U.S. immigration laws, 900 of them classed as violent offenders, according to immigration officials.

The issue, which is likely to come up during a state visit to Washington later this month by Chinese President Xi Jinping, has further strained a U.S.-China relationship already frayed by tensions over economic policy, suspected Chinese cyber hacking and Beijing’s growing military assertiveness.

Infant Twins Share Heartbreaking Cancer Diagnosis

After nine months in the womb together, a set of 3-month-old twin girls, Kenedi and Kendal, are now sharing something else — the same heartbreaking cancer diagnosis.

“It’s devastating having one child diagnosed with cancer, but having two, it’s just a lot more work,” the girls’ mom Abby Breyfogle told ABC News today. “There can be awful side effects of chemo — we worry about that of course, but in the grand scheme of things we try to take it day by day.”

“We’re trying to enjoy all the time we can with them,” she said.

Armed Man Dead After Running From Police Into Restaurant

A suspect who led police on a long car chase then ran with a gun into a crowded restaurant is dead after a shooting Thursday night involving a Los Angeles County sheriff’s SWAT team.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Mike Parker said he could not yet confirm whether the death was caused by a sheriff’s gun or the suspect’s when gunfire went off inside the Chris and Pitt’s Barbecue restaurant in Downey. It’s also unclear whether any hostages were being held, though no one else was hurt, Parker said.

About an hour before the police team stormed the restaurant, dozens of people including children, customers and workers, could be seen walking cautiously but quickly out after the man ran inside. He fired at least two shots into the air before running in.

Woman who stole from man having heart attack sentenced

A woman who stole the wallet from a 58-year-old man as he was having a heart attack was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

The April 14 incident was one of seven thefts Jennifer Herth, a 32-year-old heroin addict, admitted to committing. She pleaded guilty last month.

She targeted five elderly victims, officials said.

But it was the theft of Barry Wood’s wallet — after his wife, Carol, saw Herth walking by their Westwood home and beckoned her for help — that a prosecutor called “outrageous” and “unacceptable.”

USA TODAY

Troopers: Alaska woman steals cop car with husband handcuffed in back

Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Micheal Peck said Herth “took advantage of a tragic situation … to steal.”

Russian Troops Have Joined Military Operations in Syria, Reports Claim

Russian forces have joined military operations supporting government troops in Syria, Reuters reports, citing three unnamed Lebanese sources.

The claim comes after the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the presence of military experts in Syria, but said they were there to oversee arms deliveries in the fight against terrorism.

US police release video of fatal Taser stunning

A video of an incident in which US police officers repeatedly used a stun gun to subdue a mentally ill inmate who eventually died from the encounter has been released. The sheriff of Fairfax County, Virginia, Stacey Kincaid, said she made the decision to release the footage because the investigation into the officers’ actions had ended. Earlier this week, the officers were found to have not committed any crimes in the February 3 incident, in which Natasha McKenna was shocked four times, stopped breathing and died in a hospital five days later.

Yahoo News

Police shoot man dead after he takes hostages in Los Angeles restaurant

A patron of the Chris & Pitts restaurant is escorted by Los Angeles county sheriff deputies from the scene of an armed hostage standoff in Downey, California. Photograph: Bob Riha Jr/Reuters
Police in Los Angeles have stormed a restaurant and shot and killed a suspected carjacker who had barricaded himself inside with hostages following a dramatic chase through the city.

Venezuela opposition leader bags 14-year jail term over ‘treason’

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison, his lawyer Roberto Marrero has said.

The popular dissident, a US-trained economist who has been held at a military prison since February 2014, is accused of inciting violence against the government of President Nicolas Maduro and attempting to force his ouster.