Articles labeled: alaska

Adding a “bear element” definitely would add some interest to the Tour de France.

A 14-year-old girl riding in a 24-hour mountain bike race was attacked by a bear in the middle of the night and severely injured, but was able to make a brief emergency phone call that resulted in her rescue.

The girl suffered head, neck, torso and leg wounds.

She underwent surgery and was in critical condition at Providence Alaska Medical Centre, police said.

The attack occurred along a trail in a 24-hour race organised by the Arctic Bicycle Club in Bicentennial Park.

Rescuers had to hike in more than 3km to reach the girl.

Ex-stripper Mechele Linehan, who was on trial for the murder-for-hire of her fiance in 1996, was found guilty and sentenced to 99 years in prison Wednesday. Since the murder, Linehan married another man and became a mother.

Linehan sat expressionless as Superior Court Judge Philip Volland gave her the maximum sentence allowed.

Judge Volland called her a cold-hearted killer who committed a “heinous crime.”

“In my mind I can find no principled distinction between the puppet who pulls the trigger and the puppeteer who pulls the strings,” Volland said of Linehan’s role in the murder. “And in my judgment, Ms. Linehan was the puppeteer who pulled the strings.”