Around the Nation

ARIZONA

Cyclist, 81, to ride 2,000 miles for charity

YUMA — An 81-year-old man has set off on a 2,000-mile bicycle ride around Arizona’s perimeter.

Bill Anderson of Yuma plans to complete the trip in 14 to 16 days. He is riding to raise money for Yuma’s Crossroads Mission, which provides shelter, meals, showers and clothing to the homeless.

Last year, Mr. Anderson rode from the Mexico border to Canada and back again to raise money. In 2004, he made two trips for the mission: one from Canada to Mexico and another from San Diego to Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

Mr. Anderson left Yuma on Tuesday in his most recent ride.

ARKANSAS

Power outage strands roller-coaster riders

HOT SPRINGS — A dozen riders on a roller coaster spent a half-hour hanging upside-down — 150 feet above the ground — after a power outage shut down the attraction.

It took about 30 minutes for the city fire department to rescue the riders using a ladder truck Saturday evening, said Aundrea Crary, a spokeswoman for the Magic Springs & Crystal Falls amusement park.

Spectators cheered when the riders were brought to the ground from the highest point of a loop on the X-Coaster, but one passenger vomited after reaching safety.

The X-Coaster was one of several rides brought to a halt by the outage that originated somewhere near the park. The park resumed normal operations, although the X-Coaster remained closed. Entergy Corp. was investigating, but crews found no faulty wiring.

ILLINOIS

6-year-old finds blue-eyed cicada

DOWNERS GROVE — It was a one-in-a-million find.

Most of the 17-year cicadas that have emerged in recent weeks in parts of the Midwest have red eyes. But a 6-year-old boy in this Chicago suburb found a rare blue-eyed one in his back yard Friday.

Nicholas Wagner’s mother, Maria, said her son learned about the blue-eyed bugs in kindergarten, so he went out to hunt for one.

The blue eyes are caused by a genetic variation, said Gene Kritsky, author of “Periodical Cicadas: The Plague and the Puzzle.” Blue-eyed cicadas are indeed one in a million, Mr. Kritsky confirmed.

KENTUCKY

Missing brothers found dead in trunk

LONDON — Two young brothers accidentally locked themselves in the trunk of their mother’s car and were found dead about four hours after they were reported missing, state police said yesterday.

“Preliminarily, it appears that this is just a tragedy,” said state Trooper Don Trosper. “These boys were out playing, and they accidentally got themselves locked in the trunk.”

Their grandparents called police Saturday to say they had not seen their grandsons for about three hours, said Laurel County Coroner Doug Bowling. Mr. Bowling identified the boys as 8-year-old Chase Baker and 11-year-old Coty Baker. He said a state medical examiner was performing autopsies.

MAINE

2 brothers killed in separate crashes

PROSPECT — Two brothers were killed in separate highway crashes in this coastal town just hours apart.

Adrian Basford, 52, of Winterport, died Saturday afternoon when his motorcycle went out of control on U.S. Highway 1A, crossed a driveway and struck an embankment. State police said he was traveling too fast while rounding a curve.

His brother, Wallace Basford, 48, died just before midnight in a single-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 1. His van failed to negotiate a left turn as he was coming off a bridge and slammed into a wall, the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department said.

NEBRASKA

’Cinderella’ stars plan fairy-tale wedding

OMAHA — In “Cinderella,” the rags-to-riches heroine marries her prince. In real life, the actors who play them will have their own fairy-tale wedding next month.

Cinderella and her prince — Samantha Butler, 27, and Walter Shatley, 29 — are starring in an Omaha production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

When they met two years ago in Omaha at the same Rose Theater, he kissed her hand. She was performing there in “The Berenstain Bears on Stage”; he was touring with the theater’s “Bunnicula.” They toured together in the Berenstain show and shared the Rose stage last June when she played Jasmine to his Aladdin in the musical “Aladdin.”

Their wedding will take place July 14 in Memphis, Tenn.

Just before Saturday’s matinee, Miss Butler said the couple probably won’t have a honeymoon but will move to New York, where they hope to have their own “happily ever after” ending.

PENNSYLVANIA

Arson damages Amish school

BROWNSTOWN — Someone broke into a one-room Amish schoolhouse in the middle of the night and set a fire that caused an estimated $20,000 in damage, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to the fire at the Pleasant Valley School in West Earl Township shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, said Jonas Reiff, chief of the Farmersville Fire Company. It was put out in about 15 minutes. Firefighters said the school’s doors were locked, and there were signs of a break-in.

Deputy State Police Fire Marshal James DeWalt ruled the fire an arson. He said there were no signs of vandalism, and nothing appeared to have been stolen. Police said they did not have any suspects.

The building is less than 20 miles north of Nickel Mines, where a gunman shot 10 girls — five of them fatally — at an Amish school in October; he killed himself as police closed in.

UTAH

Man dies in fall from hiking trail

ZION NATIONAL PARK — A man fell to his death from a popular hiking trail in Zion National Park, the second fatality in the park this week, officials said.

Barry Goldstein, 53, of St. Louis, fell Friday afternoon while coming down the Angels Landing trail. Search and rescue crews found Mr. Goldstein’s body several hundred feet from the trail, park spokesman David Eaker said.

Witnesses said Mr. Goldstein was near the edge of the cliff when he suddenly dropped off, plunging hundreds of feet. The hike is described as strenuous with steep trails.

Earlier this week, a California man who was rappelling in Heaps Canyon fell to his death.

From wire dispatches and staff reports