Biggest news you missed this weekend
State of emergency declared after Calif. quake
California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties Sunday after a magnitude-6.0 earthquake rattled Northern California, leaving dozens wounded, thousands without power and hundreds of buildings damaged. The quake struck at 3:20 a.m. PT near American Canyon about 6 miles southwest of Napa, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. It's the largest quake to hit the Napa Valley region since the Loma Prieta temblor in 1989. Kelly Huston, a deputy director with the California Office of Emergency Services, said there were no reports of fatalities, but dozens were taken to local hospitals.
American held by al-Qaeda group freed in Syria
A U.S. journalist held captive for two years by an al-Qaeda group in Syria was released Sunday, according to a White House press release. Peter Theo Curtis was kidnapped in October 2012 along the Syria-Turkey border. Curtis' release comes days after the Islamic State released a video showing the brutal beheading of James Foley, a 40-year-old U.S. freelance reporter. Steven Joel Sotloff, a photojournalist and former University of Central Florida student, remains a hostage of the Islamic State group and was threatened with death in the same video that portrayed Foley's death.
Director Richard Attenborough dies, son says
Acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough, whose film career on both sides of the camera spanned 60 years, has died. He was 90. The actor's son, Michael Attenborough told the BBC that his father died Sunday. He had been in poor health for some time. Attenborough won an Academy Award for best director with Gandhi in 1982, only one of many highlights of a distinguished career as actor and director. Attenborough was introduced to a new generation in the 1990s — when he played the failed theme park developer in Jurassic Park and Kriss Kringle in a remake of Miracle on 34th Street.
Sony's PlayStation Network targeted in attack
Sony confirmed its PlayStation Network is down due to an outside attempt to "overwhelm" the electronics giant's online service, part of a bizarre tale that includes the flight of Sony Online's president being diverted for security reasons. In a statement released Sunday, Sony revealed that the company's PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network were hit by "an attempt to overwhelm our network with artificially high traffic." Sony says the company is working to restore PSN service as soon as possible. A group called Lizard Squad claimed credit for the attack through Twitter. The group also sent a tweet from their account to American Airlines saying Sony Online Entertainment chief John Smedley's flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to San Diego had explosives on board. Michelle Mohr, an American Airlines spokeswoman, confirmed that Flight 362 from Dallas/Fort Worth to San Diego was diverted to Phoenix "due to a security-related issue." Mohr referred further questions to the Phoenix office of the FBI.
Cash raised for Mo. cop surpasses Brown donations
Online fundraisers for Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson have surpassed the amount of money raised for Michael Brown's family. A crowd-funding page created for Wilson raised $235,010 from 5,902 people before organizers stopped accepting donations Friday after surpassing their goal of $100,000 in four days. The group then opened a new fundraising page, which has more than $123,000 as of Sunday afternoon. This amount surpasses the more than $227,700 raised in support of the Michael Brown Memorial Fund. According to the page, which was set up by Brown family lawyer Benjamin Crump, "the funds will assist his family with costs that they will acquire as they seek justice on Michael's behalf."
Israel targeting large buildings in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes leveled a seven-floor office building and severely damaged a two-story shopping center in the Gaza Strip early Sunday, signaling a new escalation in seven weeks of fighting with Hamas. The strikes in the southern town of Rafah came just hours after Israel bombed an apartment tower in Gaza City, collapsing the 12-story building with 44 apartments. The targeting of large buildings appears to be part of a new military tactic by Israel. Over the weekend, the army began warning Gaza residents in automated phone calls that it would target buildings harboring "terrorist infrastructure" and that they should stay away.
Rare blue lobster caught in Maine
A rare sight made landfall in a lobsterman's trap Saturday. Jay LaPlante with the Miss Meghan's Lobster Catch company caught a blue lobster around 10:45 a.m. ET Saturday off Pine Point, about 10 miles southwest of Portland, Maine. LaPlante and his 14-year-old daughter, Meghan, were hauling traps when she discovered the 2-pound cerulean crustacean, the first time they've ever caught a blue lobster. The find is like winning the lottery: Oceanographers estimate that only 1 in 2 million lobsters is blue, according to Lobster Institute at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine. The coloration comes from a genetic defect that causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein. Every other lobster is a dark green or brown until they hit boiling water. Meghan named the lobster Skyler and said he will avoid the dinner plate. She is donating Skyler to the Maine State Aquarium in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, about 30 miles northeast of Portland.