News briefs

Police say girl, 6, escaped kidnapper

HANOVER, Mass. (AP) — A 6-year-old Massachusetts girl riding her bicycle was kidnapped by a neighbor who tried to rape her, but she managed to escape from his apartment despite being in leg shackles, a state prosecutor said.

The girl was found Saturday afternoon as police searched the apartment complex in Hanover, about 20 miles southeast of Boston, where she and the suspect live, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said.

The girl's mother reported her missing at about 1:30 p.m., about a half-hour after she had left her home to ride her bike, authorities said. Officers found the girl outside during a door-to-door search, and she led them to the apartment where she was taken, Cruz said.

Police then entered the apartment and arrested Justin Shine, 26, after a struggle, Cruz said. He was charged with kidnapping, attempted rape, assault and resisting arrest. It's unclear whether he has a lawyer. He is to be arraigned Monday in Hingham District Court.

Pitchman Billy Mays is found dead at 50

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean made him a pop-culture icon, has died. He was 50.

Tampa police said Mays' wife found him unresponsive Sunday morning. A fire rescue crew pronounced him dead at 7:45 a.m. It was not immediately clear how he died. He said he was hit on the head when an airplane he was on made a rough landing Saturday, and his wife, Deborah Mays, told investigators he didn't feel well before he went to bed about 10 p.m. that night.

U.S. Airways confirmed that Mays was among the passengers on a flight that made a rough landing on Saturday afternoon at Tampa International Airport, leaving debris on the runway after apparently blowing its front tires.

Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said linking Mays' death to the landing would "purely be speculation." She said Mays' family members didn't report any health issues with the pitchman.

Burglar bear goes right to chocolate

SAN ANTONIO HEIGHTS, Calif. (AP) — Deputies say a bear with an apparent sweet tooth busted into a San Bernardino County home and gobbled up a box of chocolates from a couple's refrigerator.

Sheriff's Sgt. Tom Alsky says the couple arrived home Saturday afternoon, found the bear chowing down in their kitchen and phoned for help.

The bear fled before sheriff's deputies arrived.

Alsky says the animal appeared to have pushed aside vegetables in the couple's fridge and gone straight for the two-pound box of sweets.

He says the bear also tried to open a bottle of champagne but was not successful.

Murder-suicide reported in Virginia