The grandmother of a boy who went missing in 2011 from Illinois said she believes her grandson is still alive and hopes publicity surrounding a hoax perpetrated by an Ohio man claiming to be the 14-year-old boy will generate new leads in the authorities search for him. Linda Pitzen, 71, said she tried to manage her expectations when she heard Wednesday that Timmothy Pitzen, missing since age 6, might be the teenager who told police he was Timmothy. She said she found it frightening to wonder whether Timmothy would remember his name after "supposedly being kept captive" for so long.

A prosecutor criticized a former Minneapolis police officer for his decision to shoot an unarmed woman who approached his squad car, suggesting Friday that he had "no basis" to believe she had a weapon when he couldn't see her hands. Prosecutor Amy Sweasy pressed Mohamed Noor to explain why he didn't choose another option before he shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond in July 2017, just minutes after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her house. Sweasy asked Noor why he couldn't have told Damond to step back, tell his partner to drive, or tell his partner to get down. "I had to make a split-second decision," Noor testified.

A man suspected of shooting six police officers during an hourslong standoff that ended when tear gas caused the man to surrender was charged with attempted murder. Authorities have said that the criminal background of suspect Maurice Hill should have prevented him from legally owning the firepower used during the standoff that lasted deep into the night.

An 80-year-old Washington state man arrested in a shooting that left one man dead and two women wounded at an apartment building for senior citizens was ordered by a judge to be held without bail after a Friday court appearance.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced Thursday their biggest fentanyl bust ever, saying they captured nearly 254 pounds of the synthetic drug that is fueling a national epidemic of fatal opioid overdoses from a secret compartment inside a load of Mexican produce heading into Arizona.

A Texas prosecutor said Friday that investigators have linked more than 60 killings in at least 14 states to a 79-year-old California inmate who may be the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history.

The organization tasked with policing abuse in Olympic sports has barred Pennsylvania gymnastics coach John Holman from being around minors unsupervised while it investigates a misconduct claim.

A Nebraska woman has been fined $1,000 for climbing the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. Authorities say Alexandria Incontro scaled the massive granite sculpture Friday with bare feet and no rope, making it to about 15 feet from the top.

Baltimore's top prosecutor has begun asking judges to throw out nearly 800 convictions that she said were tainted by officers linked to a corruption scandal. The Baltimore Sun reported Friday that State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's review found 790 criminal cases handled by 25 city officers whom she says she has reason to distrust.

A man who was slain after testifying in the murder trial of a former Dallas police officer had feared being a witness because of another incident in which he was shot and wounded outside a nightclub, an attorney for his family said Monday. Police said Monday that detectives were continuing to investigate the fatal shooting Friday of 28-year-old Joshua Brown, who testified in Amber Guyger's trial.