Montbello, Calif. – A circus trapeze artist working without a net fell 40 feet to his death during a performance, authorities said.
Roberto Valenzuela, 35, of Brownsville, Texas, fell headfirst and died Monday night, said Sgt. Jacqueline Gonzalez of the Los Angeles County Police Department.
He was performing with Circo Hermanos Vazquez (Vazquez Brothers Circus.) The troupe had traveled from Mexico for the show, Gonzalez said.
County firefighters happened to be at the show to monitor the act following Valenzuela’s, which involved fire, Gonzalez said. The firefighters tried to help Valenzuela, but he died at the scene, she said. The sheriff’s department was investigating.
Additional nation/world news briefs:
CHICAGO
Man given diversion in Oprah extortion
A Georgia man accused of trying to extort $1.5 million from Oprah Winfrey will attend school or go to work, receive drug testing and treatment, and perform 50 hours of community service in exchange for the case being dropped, authorities said Tuesday.
Keifer Bonvillain, 36, had been accused in December of talking to a Winfrey representative and threatening to release information he said would be damaging to Winfrey.
KENYA
Rights group urges reopening of border
Kenya has turned away thousands of refugees at its border with Somalia and forcibly returned hundreds who had fled Somalia’s rampant violence before the border was closed – leaving them susceptible to hunger, beatings and rape, Amnesty International said Tuesday in a new report.
The human rights group urged the Kenyan government to reopen its border with Somalia, which it closed in January as Ethiopian and Somali government troops drove Islamic insurgents toward the frontier. The group also called on Kenya to help those Somali refugees stranded at the border receive proper humanitarian aid and protect them from attacks by armed groups.
Amnesty International said in its report there were between 5,000 and 7,000 Somali refugees waiting for entrance to Kenya when the border closed in January. The group also reported that Kenyan border guards ejected 400 people, mostly women and children, on the day of the closure – what it called a violation of international law.
LONDON
Seven British sailors return to Persian Gulf
Nearly half of the British Royal Navy personnel held captive by Iran are back in the Persian Gulf searching for smugglers, Britain’s military said Tuesday.
Seven of the sailors in the group returned to duty on the frigate HMS Cornwall, the Defense Ministry said. Seven Royal Marines have returned to duty at a naval base in Scotland.
The seven sailors, including the detained group’s only woman, Leading Seaman Faye Turney, are again working in small boats boarding ships in Iraqi waters to check for contraband goods, the ministry said.
