EL CAJON, Calif. -- Two young men are facing charges including conspiracy to commit murder over the kidnapping of a 76-year-old California woman, an official says. Paul Greenwood, San Diego County deputy district attorney, said charges were re-filed Wednesday against Jeffrey Nelson, 19, and Luis Osborne, 18, in regards to the Dec. 18 kidnapping of Natalie Herbst-Vinge, The San Diego Union-Tribune said. The murder charge against the two men was dismissed in February by a ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO -- A helicopter pilot in San Diego had his commercial pilot's license revoked after an online video showed him engaged in a midair sex act, an official said. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said David Keith Martz lost his license after the Web site TMZ released a video that showed an unidentified porn actress performing a sexual act on Martz while he was operating a helicopter, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday. ... [full story]

AUSTIN, Texas -- Mentally disabled individuals are being forced to fight one another by staff members at three Texas schools, a watchdog group alleges. An official with Advocacy Inc., Texas' federally mandated watchdog organization, said staff members at the Mexia and San Angelo state schools in Texas have allegedly been organizing fights between residents during the last six months, The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday. Advocacy Inc. official Beth Mitchell said the alleged events at ... [full story]

WINNENDEN, Germany -- The German teen who killed 15 people described his plans the night before in an online chat with another teen, police said Thursday. Tim Kretschmer, 17, was specific in his message, CNN reported. He told the other teen to remember the name Winnendenn, Germany, the town where the massacre took place. "Everyone laughs at me. No one recognizes my potential," he said. "I mean this seriously. I have got a weapon here ... [full story]

WEST PAM BEACH, Fla. -- A Florida jury has ordered a man convicted of sexually abusing a girl from the time she was 3 until almost 9 to pay her $19.2 million. Tim Crowe, who reportedly lives in Miami Beach and will be 68 next week, was arrested in 1993 and served six years of a 17-year prison sentence before being paroled in 2002 as a registered sex offender, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Thursday. ... [full story]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police experts say a bloody palm print found at the scene of a fatal shooting in Franklin County, Ohio, allegedly belonged to the victim's twin brother. Police expert Mark L. Bryant alleged in Franklin County Common Pleas Court said a bloody print found on a wall at the scene of Dennis Lewis' death belonged to the shooting victim's brother, Derris, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Thursday. "A latent print is a chance ... [full story]

MARIETTA, Ga. -- U.S. military officials said a suspicious package was detonated at the main gate of Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Ga., late Wednesday night. The package was left on a seat of a car parked at the gate by a man who reportedly told guards he was feeling "funny" and had something dangerous in his car, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said. Marietta Police spokesman Mark Bishop said military authorities don't know what was ... [full story]

HAMILTON, Ohio -- Two twin brothers operating as doctors in Butler County, Ohio, repeatedly had sex with male patients who were minors, authorities allege. Authorities alleged in a Common Pleas Court records that Mark and Scott Blankenburg, both 53, engaged in sexual acts with young male patients starting in the 1980s, using prescriptions drugs or money as payment, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Thursday. Mark Blankenburg is facing a total of 54 charges ranging including committing ... [full story]

DETROIT -- A pilot landed a six-seat aircraft at a Detroit airport without injury despite a landing gear malfunction, a federal investigator says. Federal Aviation Administration investigator Eric Nodland said the Detroit-area pilot, whose name wasn't released, reported the right rear wheel of the Piper 32 Lance wouldn't come down Wednesday afternoon. So he circled Detroit's Coleman A. Young International Airport for an hour to burn off fuel before putting the plane down on the ... [full story]

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- Nearly 300 police officers and federal agents began working together Thursday to take down a major drug gang in Niagara Falls, N.Y., authorities said. Niagara Falls narcotics detective Christopher Clark said nearly 28 people were arrested as a result of the cooperative law enforcement effort aimed at limiting illegal operations of a gang known as the Bloods, The Buffalo (N.Y.) News said. "We hope this will greatly impact drug trafficking, firearms ... [full story]