Fatal cave collapse at Torrey Pines

San Diego

A 30-foot-wide stretch of oceanside bluff below the Torrey Pines Golf Course collapsed and killed a man Wednesday, authorities said.

The man, whose identity was not released, suffered severe head trauma when he was struck by the falling rocks, San Diego police spokesman Gary Hassen said.

The victim was in his 50s and visiting from Las Vegas, San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said.

The victim was on vacation with his family, said a man who identified himself as his brother and declined to give his name. A lifeguard helped dig out the victim's possessions, including a cellphone and a backpack.

The beach and parts of the bluff were closed.

Nashville, Tenn.

Court backs school Confederate flag ban

A federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday in favor of a Tennessee school system that banned the Confederate battle flag because of concerns the symbol could inflame racial tensions at a high school.

Officials at William Blount High School in Maryville, about 15 miles south of Knoxville, said the ban came after race-related incidents that included a racial slur, a fight, a civil-rights complaint, a lockdown and graffiti depicting a Confederate flag and a noose.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed to those incidents in ruling that school officials had a right to ban the flag because they could "reasonably forecast" it would cause disruption.

Van Irion, an attorney who represented the students and parents suing over the ban, said he planned to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Orlando, Fla.

Missing girl's mom to be freed on bail

A bondsman posted bail Wednesday for the Florida mother of a missing toddler and said he hoped her release would help lead investigators to the girl, officials said.

Casey Anthony, 22, has been jailed on $500,200 bail since mid-July. Police said Anthony lied to them and didn't report her daughter, Caylee, 3, was missing for more than a month. She faces charges of child neglect, making false statements and obstructing an investigation. She is expected to be released today, jail spokesman Allen Moore said in an e-mail.

Kansas City, Mo.

$10M may settle sex-abuse claims

A Roman Catholic diocese tentatively has agreed to pay $10 million to settle 47 sexual-abuse claims against the diocese and its priests.

In a letter sent to priests with the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese late Tuesday, Bishop Robert Finn said the deal is subject to his approval after he consults two diocese boards.

Along with the money for the 47 claims, the tentative deal calls for the diocese to meet 19 other conditions, including publicly announcing and acknowledging the wrongfulness of sexual abuse by its priests.

Also

Derailment sentence: Juan Alvarez, 29, who was convicted of causing a 2005 commuter-train derailment in Glendale, Calif., that killed 11 people and injured about 180, was sentenced Wednesday to 11 consecutive life terms. He will not be eligible for parole.

Suicide: The Denver coroner said Wednesday that Saleman Abdirahman Dirie, 29, a Canadian who died from cyanide poisoning in a hotel room, committed suicide.

Seattle Times news services