BERLIN — More than 1,500 police carried out a series of searches in Berlin and arrested three people in a massive operation connected to the spectacular theft of 18th-century jewels from a unique collection in Dresden last November, authorities said Tuesday. The operation was coordinated by police and prosecutors in Dresden investigating the Nov. 25, 2019, theft of a large diamond brooch, a diamond epaulette and other treasures from the Saxony city’s Green Vault Museum. A total of 1,638 police officers from Saxony, Berlin and several other states, as well as federal special police forces, searched a total of 18 locations, including 10 apartments and also garages and vehicles. Their target was “art treasures and possible evidence such as computer storage media, clothing and tools,” Dresden police and prosecutors said. The searches, focused on Berlin’s Neukoelln district, did not immediately turn up any of the missing treasures. “We’d have to have a lot of luck in order to find them a year after the crime,” Dresden police spokesman Thomas Geithner told reporters. Three people, identified only as German citizens, two aged 23 and one 26, were arrested on suspicion of organized robbery and arson. Police issued photos of two others, wanted on the same charges, identifying them as Abdul Majed Remmo, 21, and Mohamed Remmo, 21. Members of the same extended family were convicted earlier this year for a similarly spectacular heist, the theft of a 100-kilogram (220 pound) Canadian gold coin dubbed the “Big Maple Leaf” from Berlin’s Bode Museum in 2017. The coin, with an estimated value of some 3.75 million euros ($4.45 million) has not yet been recovered and authorities have posited it was likely cut up into smaller pieces and sold. Cousins Ahmed Remmo and Wissam Remmo, along with a friend who worked as a security guard at the museum, were all convicted of the crime and sentenced to several years in prison.

$10 million in ‘wrongful life’ case

SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle has awarded $10 million to the family of a severely disabled child who was born after a community clinic nurse inadvertently gave the mother a flu shot instead of a birth-control injection. Judge Robert Lasnik last week awarded the child $7.5 million for her medical, educational and other expenses, on top of $2.5 million in damages for her parents. After a trial earlier this year, Lasnik found that the mother, Yeseni Pacheco, did not want to become pregnant and would not have become pregnant in 2011 if the nurse at the Neighborcare Health clinic had given her the correct shot. The federal government is responsible for the damages because the clinic, which serves low-income and uninsured patients, is federally funded. The family’s lawyers, Mike Maxwell and Steve Alvarez, described the case in court documents as a “wrongful pregnancy” and “wrongful life” case. They said the case was a hard-fought battle and sharply criticized the government for refusing to accept responsibility at the outset.

Mardi Gras parades nixed

NEW ORLEANS — The raucous Mardi Gras parades where riders on elaborate floats toss trinkets to adoring throngs have been canceled in New Orleans because the close-packed crowds could spread the novel coronavirus. At least for 2021, the pandemic has put an end to the New Orleans Mardi Gras season as it’s long been celebrated, though Mayor LaToya Cantrell has asked the public for safe-celebration suggestions. City spokesman Beau Tidwell said Tuesday that no parades will roll during the weeks leading up to and including Fat Tuesday because they can’t meet restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus that causes the disease COVID-19. The cancellation is based largely on a 250-person cap on outdoor crowds, Tidwell said. “You can’t have traditional parades with that small a group,” he said.

Prison time for paying bribes

BOSTON — A California couple got prison time Tuesday for paying $250,000 to get their daughter into the University of Southern California as a volleyball recruit — the latest sentencing in the college admissions bribery scheme that’s roiled the worlds of higher education, sports and entertainment.. Diane Blake was sentenced to six weeks behind bars while Todd Blake was sentenced to four months, under plea deals. The Blakes, of Ross, California, are among more than 50 people charged in the scheme led by college admissions consultant Rick Singer, who has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. The Blakes worked with Singer to get their daughter into USC as a volleyball recruit in 2018, authorities said. Todd Blake sent a $50,000 check for USC women’s athletics to then-senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel and wired $200,000 to Singer’s fake charity, authorities said. Their daughter was formally admitted a month later. When questioned by a USC official about the money, Todd Blake lied and said it was “to commemorate a friend who was a former women’s basketball coach,” prosecutors said.

Road to Skynyrd crash monument

GILLSBURG, Miss. — Lynyrd Skynyrd, the rock band famous for “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird,” now has highway signs pointing to the site of the Mississippi plane crash that claimed the lives of some of its members. Fans gathered Sunday as the Mississippi Department of Transportation unveiled exit signs from Interstate 55 near McComb and state Highway 568 near Gillsburg, the Enterprise-Journal reported. The signs provide direction toward a monument commemorating the Oct. 20, 1977, plane crash that killed some members of the band. Three large granite markers were put up in Gillsburg in 2019, but until the exit signs were recently added, many people had to guess how to find the site in a wooded area near the Louisiana state line. “People were always asking where the crash site is. It’s very difficult to get to and there are no markings,” said said Bobby McDaniel, president of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument Project. The monument has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in southwest Mississippi, since drawing 4,500 people from 13 countries, 39 states and five Canadian provinces. And that was without directions leading to the remote site 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of Interstate 55 — in a place with no cellphone service for navigation. Of the 26 people on the plane, 20 survived. Those killed were singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray.

Pentagon to cut troop levels

WASHINGTON — Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said Tuesday the U.S. will reduce troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan by mid-January, asserting that the decision fulfills President Donald Trump’s pledge to bring forces home from America’s long wars even as Republicans and U.S. allies warn of the dangers of withdrawing before conditions are right. The plan will accelerate troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan in Trump’s final days in office, despite arguments from senior military officials in favor of a slower, more methodical pullout to preserve hard-fought gains. Trump has refused to concede his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, who takes office Jan. 20, just five days after the troop withdrawals are to finish. Miller, who refused to take questions from reporters after reading a prepared statement before TV cameras at the Pentagon, said the U.S. will reduce troop levels in Afghanistan from more than 4,500 to 2,500, and in Iraq from about 3,000 to 2,500.

Rapper charged with gun offense

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Rapper Lil Wayne was charged Tuesday in Florida with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a federal offense that carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., had a gun and ammunition on Dec. 23 of last year despite knowing he had the previous felony on his record. Authorities said the 38-year-old rapper acknowledged owning the gold-plated handgun after his luggage was searched upon arriving in Miami on a private plane. A search warrant, first reported by the Miami Herald at the time, said Carter told investigators the gun was a Father’s Day gift. Carter’s attorney, Howard Srebnick, said in an email that there are legal questions about whether mere possession of a weapon by a felon not judged to be dangerous fits the definition of a crime. “Carter is charged with possessing a gold-plated handgun in his luggage on a private plane. There is no allegation that he ever fired it, brandished it, used it or threatened to use it,” Srebnick said. “There is no allegation that he is a dangerous person.” Investigators also reported finding suspected illegal drugs in the luggage, but Carter has not been charged with a drug offense. The charge stems from a weapons conviction of Carter in New York more than a decade ago, for which he was sentenced to eight months in prison. Convicted felons are barred under federal law from owning firearms.

Man stole downed light pole

TAMPA, Fla. A Florida man has learned the hard way that a downed light pole isn’t trash that can be taken and sold for scrap, authorities say. A state trooper pulled over a maroon Toyota Camry with a metal pole — longer than the car itself — strapped to the roof on a Tampa road Monday, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. Another driver had called police earlier and reported spotting someone loading the light pole onto the car several miles away on I-4 near the I-75 interchange. The car’s driver, Douglas Allen Hatley, told troopers that he had found the pole on the ground by the side of the highway and had planned to sell the metal for scrap, according to the report. The 71-year-old Lakeland man said he didn’t realize that it was illegal to remove broken utility and light poles from the side of the road. Hatley was arrested and charged with grand theft.

‘Dueling dinosaurs’ to museum

RALEIGH, N.C. — The fossil skeletons of two dinosaurs intertwined in what looks like a final death match have been donated to a North Carolina museum. The nonprofit organization Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences said in a statement Tuesday that it acquired the fossilized animals with private funds. The skeletons will be gifted to the Raleigh museum’s vertebrate paleontology collection. The Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops horridus known as the dueling dinosaurs were buried together 67 million years ago. Their fossils were discovered on a Montana hillside and remain entombed within the sediment where they were found. The nonprofit said the distinct preservation will give museum paleontologists an unprecedented opportunity for research and education. The skeletons are worth millions of dollars and were the subject of a court battle over who owned them after their discovery in 2006. In June, a U.S. appeals court ruled the fossils belong to the owners of the land’s surface rights, not the owners of the mineral rights.

Man with flamethrower atop bus

NEW YORK — A rapper who said he was making a tribute to a legendary New York City hip-hop group was recorded shooting a flamethrower from the top of an occupied city bus in an unsanctioned stunt a transit agency spokesman called “absurd, dangerous and just plain stupid.” Bystander video, taken in Brooklyn earlier this month, gained attention on social media on Tuesday after a police union tweeted it as an example of the city becoming less safe. The city’s transit agency said it was an unauthorized event performed by the rapper Dupree G.O.D, who said in an in Instagram post that he was shooting a video tribute to the Wu-Tang Clan, the celebrated New York City hip-hop group. Dupree, who also refers to himself as the Flame G.O.D, posted drone footage of the effort. In an earlier Instagram post, he invited people to the area for ice cream, T-shirts and champagne. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said 25 passengers on the bus were discharged at the next stop and picked up by the next bus on the route. No injuries were reported. “We don’t even need to say how absurd, dangerous and just plain stupid this was,” MTA spokesperson Tim Minton said. “The reckless individual who torched over the top of an occupied bus put New Yorkers, including the bus operator, in life-threatening peril.”

More uncounted votes in Georgia

ATLANTA — A second Georgia county has uncovered a trove of votes not previously included in election results, but the additional votes won’t change the overall outcome of the presidential race, the secretary of state’s office said Tuesday. A memory card that hadn’t been uploaded in Fayette County, just south of Atlanta, was discovered during a hand tally of the votes in the presidential race that stems from part of a legally mandated audit to ensure the new election machines counted the votes accurately, said Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the secretary of state’s office. The memory card’s 2,755 votes are not enough to flip the lead in the state from Democrat Joe Biden to Republican President Donald Trump. The breakdown of the uncounted ballots was 1,577 for Trump, 1,128 for Biden, 43 for Libertarian Jo Jorgensen and seven write-ins, Sterling said. Election officials on Monday said Floyd County, in north Georgia, had found more than 2,500 ballots that hadn’t been previously scanned. Both counties will have to recertify their results, and the margin between Trump and Biden will be about 13,000 votes when those previously uncounted votes are accounted for, Sterling said.

Missile defense test goes well

WASHINGTON — In a first for the Pentagon’s push to develop defenses against intercontinental-range ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States, a missile interceptor launched from a U.S. Navy ship at sea hit and destroyed a mock ICBM in flight on Tuesday. Previous tests against ICBM targets had used interceptors launched from underground silos in the United States. If further, more challenging tests prove successful, the ship-based approach could add to the credibility and reliability of the Pentagon’s existing missile defense system. The success of Tuesday’s test is likely to draw particular interest from North Korea, whose development of intercontinental-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons is the main reason the Pentagon has sought to accelerate its building of missile defense systems over the past decade.

Dam demolition plan revived

PORTLAND, Ore. — An agreement announced Tuesday paves the way for the largest dam demolition in U.S. history, a project that promises to reopen hundreds of miles of waterway along the Oregon-California border to salmon that are critical to tribes but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years. If approved, the deal would revive plans to remove four massive hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River, creating the foundation for the most ambitious salmon restoration effort in history. The project on California’s second-largest river would be at the vanguard of a trend toward dam demolitions in the U.S. as the structures age and become less economically viable amid growing environmental concerns about the health of native fish. Previous efforts to address problems in the Klamath Basin have fallen apart amid years of legal sparring that generated distrust among tribes, fishing groups, farmers and environmentalists, and the ne The new plan makes Oregon and California equal partners in the demolition with the nonprofit entity, called the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, and adds $45 million to the project’s $450 million budget to ease those concerns. Oregon, California and the utility PacifiCorp, which operates the hydroelectric dams and is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway, will each provide one-third of the additional funds. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must approve the deal. If accepted, it would allow PacifiCorp and Berkshire Hathaway to walk away from aging dams that are more of an albatross than a profit-generator, while addressing regulators’ concerns. Oregon, California and the nonprofit would jointly take over the hydroelectric license from PacifiCorp while the nonprofit will oversee the work.

McCarthy leads House Republicans

WASHINGTON — Rep. Kevin McCarthy easily won reelection as House Republican leader Tuesday. Yhe entire GOP leadership team was rewarded by their colleagues for reducing the Democrats’ House advantage in the November election. McCarthy faced no opposition to return as minority leader during the closed-door gathering under COVID-19 protocols. After a quick vote, he won a standing ovation, according to an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private session.

Iota roars onto Nicaragua

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Hurricane Iota battered Nicaragua with screeching winds and pounding surf Tuesday, chasing tens of thousands of people from their homes along the same stretch of the Caribbean coast that was devastated by an equally powerful hurricane just two weeks ago. The extent of the damage was unclear because much of the affected region was without electricity and phone and internet service, and strong winds hampered radio transmissions. Preliminary reports from the coast included toppled trees and electric poles and roofs stripped from homes and businesses, said Guillermo Gonzalez, director of Nicaragua’s emergency management agency. More than 40,000 people were in shelters. Later, Nicaragua Vice President and first lady Rosario Murillo said that a brother and sister, ages 11 and 8, had drowned in the community of La Pinuela trying to cross the swollen Solera River. There were reports of others missing in the same area.

Dropping case against general

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department is dropping its drug trafficking and money laundering case against former Mexican defense secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday. Barr said the department would drop its case so Cienfuegos “may be investigated and, if appropriate, charged, under Mexican law.” Cienfuegos, who was charged in federal court in Brooklyn, was arrested in Los Angeles last month. Cienfuegos, who led Mexico’s army for six years under ex-President Enrique Pena Nieto, was the highest-ranking former Cabinet official arrested since the top Mexican security official Genaro Garcia Luna was arrested in Texas in 2019.

Amazon opens online pharmacy

NEW YORK — Now at Amazon.com: insulin and inhalers. The retail colossus opened an online pharmacy Tuesday that allows customers to order medication or prescription refills, and have them delivered to their front door in a couple of days. The potential impact of Amazon’s arrival in the pharmaceutical space rippled through that sector immediately. The stocks of CVS Health Corp., Walgreens and Rite Aid all tumbled Tuesday. The big chains rely on their pharmacies for a steady flow of shoppers who may also grab a snack or shampoo or groceries on the way out. All have upped online services and touted their abilities to deliver prescriptions and other goods as the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more consumers to stay home. But Amazon.com has mastered these things, and its online store is infinitely larger, with millions of loyal shoppers already buying books, TVs and just about anything else.