Airport bomb hoax; illegal NM pot; intentional jogger death

LOS ANGELES — California is still in the grip of a record-setting heat wave.

The National Weather Service says cities up and down the state had record high temperatures for the date Monday.

It was 89 in downtown Los Angeles, breaking 1977's record of 88. In Orange County, Santa Ana hit 94, well above the 89 recorded in 1977. San Francisco's 77 was a degree hotter than the high set in 1930.

Records were tied or broken in more than a dozen other places, including Long Beach, Chula Vista, Escondido, Modesto and airports in Oakland and Sacramento.

Forecasters say the heat will continue through Tuesday before a low-pressure system starts cooling things down and bringing a chance of rain. But the heat should build again later this week in Southern California.

WALNUT, Calif. — A driver has been arrested after authorities say he deliberately ran down and killed a jogger in a Los Angeles suburb.

Authorities say the jogger was in a bike lane in the city of Walnut shortly before 6 a.m. Monday when a Toyota Camry struck him from behind.

Authorities say the jogger was carried several yards on the hood of the car before the Camry went off the road and smashed through the brick wall of a backyard. The jogger died at the scene. His name hasn't been released.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. David Buckner says it appears the driver intentionally struck the jogger although they didn't know each other.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of murder but his name hasn't been released.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Wyoming legislative committee has endorsed a bill to allow citizens to carry concealed guns into legislative hearings and other meetings of public bodies around the state.

The House Judiciary Committee on Monday voted 8-to-1 to advance the bill to the full House.

Evansville Republican Rep. Kendell Kroeker told the committee he wanted lawmakers and others to have the means to defend themselves if anyone came into their meetings intent on violence.

Shelley Simonton, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, suggested amending the bill to allow governing bodies to opt out of allowing concealed weapons at their meetings.

The committee rejected a proposed amendment from Rep. Charles Pelkey, a Laramie Democrat, that would have allowed governing bodies to opt out. Pelkey cast the lone vote against the bill.

ALBUQUERQUE — Authorities say a suspicious device found on a rental car at Albuquerque's airport was a hoax pipe bomb, not a real one.

The device was found Sunday under a returned car at a car-rental business next to Albuquerque International Sunport.

A bomb unit secured the device, which police spokesman Simon Drobik initially said Monday had a battery ignition system that included an electronic timer.

Drobik said federal authorities told police later Monday that the device was a hoax made to appear to be a real bomb.

A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, confirmed that the device was a hoax.

ATF spokesman Tom Mangan said the device appeared real but that an examination found that it lacked explosive material and was a hoax.

BOISE, Idaho — A motorcycle club president from Meridian was sentenced to nearly six years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing methamphetamine and a machine gun.

KTVB-TV reports that Ronald Eugene Bohm was sentenced last week.

Bohm was the president of the Idaho chapter of the Henchmen Motorcycle Club. He was arrested in July after Meridian police went to his home after receiving complaints about parking violations.

Officers could smell marijuana while speaking with Bohm's wife. Prosecutors say she admitted having marijuana inside.

Prosecutors say Bohm arrived at the house along with several members of the motorcycle. A drug detection dog alerted on the saddlebags on Bohm's motorcycle. When officers searched it, they found marijuana and guns inside.

Bohm was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

HELENA, Mont. — An ongoing battle over public land access, fences and locked gates in a rural Montana neighborhood ended with one man shot to death and another charged with deliberate homicide.

Jurors hearing the case in Helena will be asked to determine whether Joseph Campbell shot Timothy Newman in self-defense in October 2013 or gunned him down in cold blood near his home south of Augusta.

During opening statements Monday, Assistant Attorney General Mary Cochenour said witnesses will testify that two days before the shooting, Campbell threatened that the next time he saw Newman he was going to "put him down."

Defense attorney Greg Jackson said it was Newman's erratic behavior, stalking and threats that led Campbell to believe Newman was going to shoot him, so he fired first.

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers arrested two men and seized 292 pounds of marijuana during a weekend traffic stop about 18 miles west of Laramie.

The patrol says a trooper stopped a moving truck for speeding on Interstate 80 at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The two men gave conflicting stories and admitted having marijuana. Troopers brought in a drug-sniffing dog that alerted to a controlled substance in a couch in the back of the moving truck.

Troopers found the marijuana in various pieces of furniture in the truck. The street value was estimated at more than $1 million.

The suspects were arrested on conspiracy to deliver, possession and possession with intent to deliver the marijuana.

Officers believe the marijuana was purchased in Seattle and was destined for New Jersey.

MERIDIAN, Idaho — The Ada County jury coordinator has been charged with drunken driving.

The Idaho Statesman reports that 69-year-old Marji Shepherd of Meridian was taken into custody and booked into the Ada County Jail this week.

Shephard was charged with driving under the influence and for failing to notify police following an accident after striking fixtures on or near a highway, both misdemeanors.

Additional details were not available Monday. Officials with the Meridian Police Department, which made the arrest, were out of the office because of the President's Day holiday.

Shepherd, who has worked for the Ada County Court since 1980, posted bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on March 2 in Ada County Court in Boise.

BEND, Ore. — A Bend woman was taken by air ambulance to a hospital after she crashed her snowmobile in the Wanoga Snow Play Area.

The Bend Bulletin reports that 35-year-old Katie Polachek received moderate injuries after colliding with a tree just before noon on Sunday.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office says the crash was due to inexperience. Sunday was Polachek's first outing on a snowmobile.

A search and rescue team reached the scene on snowmobiles. After evaluating Polachek's injuries, the team called for an air ambulance. Heavy fog forced the helicopter to land on Century Drive, which was temporarily closed.

Polachek was taken by snowmobile to an ambulance before being driven down Century Drive to the air ambulance.

BUCKLEY, Wash. — Authorities are handing out bottled water to some Washington state residents after reports of discolored tap water.

KIRO-TV reports that officials are testing water samples from Rainer School in Buckley. Early results indicate that the discoloration is caused by manganese, a naturally occurring metal.

Rainer School is a center for individuals with developmental disabilities. The well used by the school is also a source for the City of Buckley, which has about 4,500 residents.

The Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water director Clark Halvorson wrote that all water samples taken so far meet safe drinking water standards.

The Department of Social and Health Services will continue handing out bottled water until all tests are complete.

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico lawmakers have killed a proposal that would legalize and tax recreational marijuana.

Six Democrats joined Republicans to oppose the measure in a 17-24 Senate vote Sunday night. Critics say legalizing marijuana could lead to increased crime rates, but supporters argue that legal pot would be good for the state's economy.

The proposed constitutional amendment would have been placed on the November ballot if approved. Proponents have vowed to try again.

Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, an Albuquerque Democrat, sponsored the bill. He says New Mexicans will support the change if it's put to a popular vote.

Republican Sen. Bill Sharer of Farmington opposed the bill, arguing that crime in Denver has increased since Colorado businesses began selling legal marijuana.

GARDINER, Mont. — Bison wandering outside the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park can now be captured at the Stephens Creek facility.

The Interagency Bison Management Plan called for the facility to open on Monday.

The management plan calls for removing 600 to 900 bison that migrate out of the park's northern boundary this winter to reduce population growth and the potential for a larger migration in coming years.

Hunters have killed more than 300 bison outside the park this winter, and tribal hunting is expected to continue, but likely wouldn't reach the management goal.

Additional animals will be captured and transferred to tribal groups for slaughter and distribution of meat and other parts to their members.