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Manhunt turns up 2 teens with BB guns

CORTE MADERA, Calif., April 19 (UPI) -- Two teenage boys forced road closures and a police manhunt when Corte Madera, Calif., residents reported seeing the boys with what turned out to be BB guns.

Twin Cities police blocked traffic on Casa Buena Drive Tuesday after they received reports of a man walking down the street wearing camouflage clothes and carrying a rifle bag, police Sgt. Julie Gorwood told the Marin (Calif.) Independent Journal.

Twin Cities police -- along with Mill Valley police, Marin sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol -- found two 14-year-old boys about 30 minutes later, the Journal said Wednesday. The two boys were playing with Airsoft rifles, Gorwood said.

"They were not properly marked with the orange tips," she said. "They were playing on the hillside, shooting at each other."

Police seized the guns and released the teens to their parents. There were no plans to press charges, Gorwood said.

Zip lines approved for Las Vegas hotels

LAS VEGAS, April 19 (UPI) -- Planning officials in Las Vegas have given approval to the Luxor and Excalibur casino hotels to run a set of zip lines between the buildings.

The Clark County Planning Commission approved the plans Tuesday for MGM Resorts International to run the zip lines for guests at the Luxor and Excalibur hotels, KSNV-TV, Las Vegas, reported Wednesday.

The plans for the zip lines, which would be constructed and supervised by Ziptrek Ecotours of Whistler, British Columbia, must still receive final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Clark County Commission.

Rangers consider options for frozen cows

ASPEN, Colo., April 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Forest Service officials said they are trying to figure out what to do with six cows that wandered into a Colorado cabin and froze solid.

Forest Service officials said the cows, which were discovered at Conundrum Hot Springs, near Aspen, by a pair of hikers in late March, are difficult to transport because of the 8.5 mile trail that serves as the only access to the cabin, the Aspen Daily News reported Wednesday.

Forest Service officials said they are considering using explosives to destroy the frozen cows, but they are concerned about the high fire danger and a current ban on prescribed burns.

The officials said the trail is too snowy to use horses to haul the carcasses and a helicopter would be too expensive.

Scott Snelson, Aspen-Sopris ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, said a decision needs to be made before the cows begin to decompose and pose a contamination hazard to the nearby springs.

"We need to dispose of them sooner than later," Snelson said. "It needs to be done within weeks."

Girl, 8, made to wear sign as punishment

SWANSEA, Ill., April 19 (UPI) -- An Illinois school district sent a letter to parents after a father made his 8-year-old daughter stand outside a school with a sign saying she likes "to steal."

Superintendent Mike Brink of High Mount School District 116 said he sent the letter home after Montrail White forced his third-grade daughter to hold a sign reading "I like to steal from others and lie about it" outside of High Mount School in Swansea and reportedly used profanity about 15 times in front of young students during the Tuesday punishment, the Belleville News-Democrat reported Wednesday.

"It is not safe to have a young child standing by a very busy school entrance. ... In addition, I will absolutely not tolerate the verbal abuse and profanities that were used this morning in the presence of parents, students and school personnel," Brink wrote.

Brink said White's daughter was screaming and crying during the incident.

White and his wife, Melissa, said the school overreacted to the punishment.

"Is it more embarrassing to her to let a few people see her now or have her name in the newspaper when she gets older and is caught stealing and sent to jail?" Montrail White said.

White denied using profanity during the incident.