Gwinnett Daily Post

Olympic torch protesters scale Golden Gate Bridge

SAN FRANCISCO - Three people protesting China's human rights record and the impending arrival of the Olympic torch climbed up the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday and tied the Tibetan flag and two banners to its cables.

The banners read 'One World One Dream. Free Tibet' and 'Free Tibet 08.'

The protesters wore helmets and harnesses as they made their way up the cables running next to the south tower of the famed span. The climb had the group suspended 150 feet above traffic.

Plane crashes off Maine coast, pilot missing

BELFAST, Maine - The Coast Guard ended its search for the pilot of a small aerobatic plane that crashed into the ocean though state officials were continuing an underwater search Monday afternoon.

The Coast Guard received a call of a SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 with one person aboard crashing into Belfast Bay near the Belfast airport around 6 p.m. Sunday.

The Coast Guard identified the pilot as 60-year-old Doug Low of Lincolnville, the owner of Ace Aviation.

Lawmakers ditch plan for congestion pricing in Manhattan

ALBANY, N.Y - Lawmakers rejected a proposal on Monday to charge Manhattan motorists an extra fee to drive in the city, a plan advocates hoped would reduce traffic and curb pollution.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced the decision after a survey of Democratic Assembly members in a private conference. The decision comes after days of closed-door negotiations, and means the city will forfeit $354 million in federal funding for trying to kick-start the plan.

The concept aimed to cut traffic and pollution by forcing more commuters onto mass transit. It would have charged most drivers $8 to drive below 60th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Truckers would have paid $21.

Bus rolls down hill while driver is in station's bathroom

CLEVELAND - A fast-acting child was credited as a hero Monday for grabbing the wheel of a runaway school bus and steering it into a pillar after the driver apparently left the bus to fill up with gas and take a bathroom break.

After all the chaos, 15 students suffered only minor injuries.

The bus, carrying 27 children in kindergarten through seventh grade, started rolling down a hill away from the gas station across the street from Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians.

S.C. textile firm, railroad settle in train wreck lawsuit

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A textile company that closed after a train wreck and toxic chemical spill in 2005 has agreed to settle a lawsuit with a railroad company, ending a trial that began a month ago.

Avondale Mills, Norfolk Southern and the mill's insurance company reached a deal over the weekend, Avondale attorney Terry Richardson said Monday. He said the agreement, which doesn't need a judge's approval, did not allow him to release the details of the settlement.

Avondale Mills sued Norfolk Southern for $420 million in damages, claiming equipment at the firm's Graniteville facilities was covered with corrosive chemicals and it would have cost more than the business was worth to clean the buildings and replace the machinery.

Civil rights leader pleads not guilty to incest

LEESBURG, Va. - A civil rights leader who served as a top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. has pleaded not guilty to incest in a Virginia courtroom.

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of the Rev. James Bevel. Prosecutors say he had sex with a teenage daughter years ago, and told her the sex was part of religious training.

Bevel was a leading figure in the civil rights movement and was with King when he was assassinated 40 years ago. He also is credited with helping to conceive and organize the Million Man March.

Young brothers found after night lost in mountains

BURNSVILLE. N.C. - Two young brothers reported missing in western North Carolina have been found, after spending a cold night in the mountains.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Monday that the two boys, ages 6 and 8, went missing Saturday evening from their grandparents' home in Burnsville.

About 45 people searched the rugged terrain on foot, horseback and all terrain vehicles during the night in rain and heavy fog. The boys were located Sunday about a mile from the house.

The boys were treated at Mission Hospitals in Asheville for scratches and bruises. Their names haven't been released.

Yancey County manager Michele Lawhern said the brothers huddled together to stay warm. Both are from Georgia