National news briefs

Wrong-way minivan crashes, killing 8

BRIARCLIFF, N.Y. (AP) — A family's minivan going in the wrong direction crashed into two cars on a suburban parkway on Sunday, killing eight people, including four young children who were related to each other.

State police Investigator Joseph Becerra said the minivan was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of the Taconic State Parkway in Westchester County, just north of New York City, when it struck an SUV and then careened into a third vehicle. The minivan rolled down an embankment, where it burst into flames.

The driver of the minivan and four of the five children inside it were killed, Becerra said. They were from one family, he said.

Mother blames devil in killing, police say

DALLAS (AP) — Police said they found a 31/2-week-old infant stabbed and decapitated in a Texas home on Sunday and his mother "screaming that she killed her baby" after the devil told her to do it, authorities said.

Otty Sanchez, 33, of San Antonio, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition with self-inflicted stab wounds to her chest and stomach, said San Antonio police spokesman Joe Rios.

Officers also found two children unharmed at the home, though it wasn't immediately clear where they were taken.

Sanchez will be charged with capital murder, Rios said.

Wedding gunfire hits toddler in head

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Police say an 18-month-old girl was shot in the head when a man opened fire at a wedding reception in Indiana after scuffling with other guests.

Lawrence police detective Gary Woodruff said the child, Yuridia Sosa, was in critical condition at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after surgery Sunday. Her mother, Mariela Rodriguez, and another woman were shot in the legs, but were expected to recover.

At least two shots were fired around 10 p.m. Saturday after three brothers fought with other wedding guests at a reception hall in Lawrence, a community within Indianapolis.

Police arrest 19 in bird-fighting scheme

SHELTON, Conn. (AP) — Police in Connecticut say they've seized more than 100 canaries and arrested 19 people in connection with a bird-fighting operation.