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Bus with Chinese-speaking tourists crashes in Utah; 4 dead

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A bus carrying Chinese-speaking tourists crashed on the way to a national park in Utah, killing four people and critically injuring as many as 15 others, authorities said Friday.

It appears the driver might have swerved on a two-lane highway leading to Bryce Canyon National Park and then tried to overcorrect, sending the tour bus rolling into a guardrail, Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins said.

The driver survived and was talking with investigators, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Street said. The driver didn’t appear to be intoxicated, but authorities were still investigating, he said.

The crash happened near a highway rest stop about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the entrance to the park known for its narrow red rock spires.

Court denies release for Manson follower Leslie Van Houten

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California appeals court on Friday denied the latest parole bid by Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten.

Two of the three appellate judges upheld former Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to block her parole last year. She is serving a life sentence for helping Manson and others kill Los Angeles grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, in August 1969.

“The Governor’s determination that Van Houten has not taken full responsibility for her role in the crimes, and continues to pose a risk to the public, is supported by some evidence in the record,” the judges ruled. They did not adopt Brown’s other conclusion that her crimes alone provided enough reason to keep her in prison at age 70.

Van Houten was 19 when she and other cult members fatally stabbed the LaBiancas, carved up Leno LaBianca’s body and smeared the couple’s blood on the walls.

The slayings came the day after other Manson followers, not including Van Houten, killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four others.

Van Houten’s attorney, Rich Pfeiffer, said he’ll appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

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