In other news: Man shoots and wounds 7 Guatemalan immigrant neighbors; Stingray known for miraculous pregnancy dies

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 3, 2024

By The Associated Press

White Nebraska man shoots and wounds 7 Guatemalan immigrant neighbors

Authorities are not ruling out racist motives as they investigate why a white Nebraska man shot and wounded seven neighbors who were Guatemalan immigrants. Officials say about 15 people were mostly in the yard at the victims’ home when 74-year-old Billy Booth opened fire from his house Friday in the community of Crete. Booth killed himself after the shootings. The victims are related and include four children ages 3 to 10. They are expected to survive. The Omaha World-Herald reported he had a history of conflicts with neighbors.

Stingray that got pregnant despite no male companion has died, aquarium says

A North Carolina aquarium says a stingray that got pregnant this winter despite not having shared a tank with a male of her species for many years has died. The Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville said late Sunday that Charlotte died after getting a rare reproductive disease. It said in February that Charlotte had gotten pregnant despite not having shared a tank with a male stingray in at least eight years. But it said in late May that she was suffering from a rare reproductive disease and announced last month that she hadn’t given birth and was no longer pregnant. The pregnancy was thought to have resulted from a type of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis.

Ian McKellen withdraws from tour of his play to ‘protect my recovery’ after fall from stage

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Actor Ian McKellen is withdrawing from a U.K. tour of his latest play because he needs more time to recover after falling off the stage at a London theater last month. McKellen, 85, said his injuries “improve day by day.” But he said he had “accepted the medical advice to protect my full recovery by not working in the meantime.” The “Lord of the Rings” star spent three nights in a London hospital after tumbling from the stage during a performance of “Player Kings” at the Noel Coward Theatre on June 17. Producers said Monday that understudy David Semark would continue to play the part during a national tour that runs July 3-27.