ANCHORAGE, Alaska
Bear attacks hiking guides
A brown bear mauled two wilderness guides who were leading a hiking excursion in Alaska after the group came between the female animal and her cub in the Tongass National Forest, state troopers said Friday. The guides — a man and a woman — were rescued by the Coast Guard after being injured Thursday on a trail on Chichagof Island in southeast Alaska. Troopers said the bears left after one of the victims used pepper spray. Authorities said they have no plans to hunt down the bear, and the guides’ employer said their injuries were not life-threatening, though the woman was airlifted to Seattle and was undergoing treatment in intensive care.
BILLINGS, Mont.
Part of popular river closed
Montana wildlife officials indefinitely closed a 183-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River and hundreds of miles of other waterways Friday, barring all fishing, rafting and other activities to prevent the spread of a parasite believed to have killed tens of thousands of fish. Fishing guides and rafting operators who run businesses along the river said the move could be catastrophic. The closure could last for months if river conditions don’t improve and fish keep dying, according to officials from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Washington
Officials defend Iran payment
The Obama administration on Friday defended its decision to make a $400 million cash delivery to Iran contingent on the release of American prisoners, saying the payment wasn’t ransom because the Islamic Republic would have soon recouped the money one way or another. In a conference call with reporters, senior administration officials said it made no sense not to use the money as leverage to ensure that four U.S. citizens were freed, especially as Washington was uncertain until the very moment their plane left that Iran would live up to its word.
NEWARK, N.J.
Commuter buses collide
Two commuter buses slammed into each other in downtown Newark on Friday morning, killing a veteran driver and a passenger and injuring 17 others, including several critically, authorities said. A New Jersey Transit bus carrying no passengers slammed into the side of another NJ Transit bus carrying about 20 passengers at around 6 a.m. at a downtown intersection. Joseph Barthelus, the driver of the bus carrying no passengers, was killed. Investigators were trying to determine if Barthelus ran a red light.
Compiled from wire reports