NYC runner-up concedes Demo mayor primary
NEW YORK - New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson conceded the Democratic primary race to front-runner Bill de Blasio on Monday, averting a runoff and clearing the way for de Blasio to campaign for the general election.
Thompson endorsed de Blasio at City Hall, saying he was proud to support him as the party's nominee to "make this city work for all New Yorkers again."
The potential Oct. 1 runoff had loomed as another act in the Democratic drama over choosing a successor to three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg - a fight that would keep Democrats tilting at each other while Republicans and independents looked ahead to the general election. With Thompson out of the race, de Blasio will face Republican nominee Joe Lhota and independent candidates Nov. 5.
Homeless man turns in money-filled backpack
BOSTON - A homeless Boston man who turned in a backpack containing tens of thousands of dollars in cash and traveler's checks says even if he were desperate he wouldn't have kept "even a penny."
Glen James was honored Monday at police headquarters, where Commissioner Edward Davis thanked him for his honesty and gave him a special citation.
James found the backpack at the South Bay Mall in the city's Dorchester neighborhood Saturday. He flagged down patrolling officers and handed it over.
The backpack contained $2,400 in U.S. currency, almost $40,000 in traveler's checks, Chinese passports and other personal papers.
The man who lost it told workers at a Best Buy store at the mall. He went to the police station, where he was confirmed as the rightful owner.
Authorities said the backpack's owner didn't want his identity made public, but that he was a Chinese student who was visiting another student in Boston.
Former Army captain to receive Medal of Honor
WASHINGTON - A former Army captain hailed for bravery during combat in Afghanistan in 2009 will add the Medal of Honor to his list of military decorations.
The White House says President Barack Obama will bestow the nation's highest military honor on William D. Swenson at the White House on Oct. 15.
A statement says Swenson is being recognized for courageous actions while he was an embedded trainer and mentor with the Afghan National Security Forces in Kunar Province in northeastern Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009.
Swenson retired from the military on Feb. 1, 2011. He has a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal and lives in Seattle.
Daley drops out of race for Illinois governor
CHICAGO - Former White House chief of staff William Daley abruptly dropped out of the race for Illinois governor on Monday, saying he wasn't sure he wanted to devote time to a long, hard campaign followed by four years in office.
Spokesman Peter Giangreco confirmed that Daley was ending his bid.
The announcement came less than four months after Daley had said he would challenge Gov. Pat Quinn for the Democratic nomination next year. Daley had criticized Quinn for his handling of the state's pension crisis and other issues.
Daley was the only Democrat who had announced plans to challenge Quinn. He would have been just the latest son of the Richard J. Daley, the legendary iron-fisted mayor of Chicago, to run for office, joining his brothers, Richard and John.
Richard M. Daley served as mayor for 22 years, longer than any other mayor in city history, including his father, before retiring in 2011. And John Daley is a longtime member of the county's board of commissioners.
Mom charged in slayings of daughter, autistic son
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A mother involved in a contentious custody case was charged Monday with killing her 13-year-old autistic son and 9-year-old daughter in California after a judge ordered them returned to their father in Georgia.
Authorities weren't releasing many details, but one of the special circumstances filed by prosecutors against 42-year-old Marilyn Edge alleges the children were poisoned.
Edge, of Scottsdale, Ariz., is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances in the deaths of her daughter Faith and son Jaelen. The children were found Saturday in a Santa Ana hotel room.
Edge lost custody of them on Wednesday in a Georgia case then texted her ex-husband, Mark Edge, two days later that she would bring the children back on Sunday, his attorney Marian Weeks said.
Mark Edge was informed about the death of the children early Sunday by Atlanta police and was taken to a hospital for duress.
Marilyn Edge was driving a car that crashed Saturday into an electrical box outside a shopping complex in Costa Mesa. She refused to get out of the car and tried to choke herself with an electrical cord as rescuers attempted to free her, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
Authorities said Edge told investigators they could find her children's bodies at the hotel.
Pa. woman charged with hitting flight attendant
PHILADELPHIA - Police say a 23-year-old woman was removed from a Miami-bound plane at Philadelphia International Airport after she allegedly threw her cellphone at a flight attendant, slapped him and scratched his face.
Authorities say Sasha Anderson of Philadelphia was removed from the US Airways plane on Monday morning and was charged with simple assault, reckless endangerment, harassment and disorderly conduct. The name of the flight attendant wasn't released.
Police say other passengers on Flight 2051 stated that they were afraid to leave the ground with the disruptive passenger on the plane. The plane took off about an hour and a half later.
US & World
Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis complained to police in Rhode Island last month that people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of his hotel rooms and sending microwave vibrations into his body.
The gunman in the mass shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, Aaron Alexis, had a history of violent outbursts, and was at least twice accused of firing guns in anger.
