Nation briefs

WASHINGTON: Black activists defend tea party

Black members of the tea party movement on Wednesday rejected charges that the group's activists are racist, saying they oppose President Barack Obama because of his policies not his skin color. The members gathered at a Washington news conference in the wake of allegations about its rank and file, heightened by the recent split with a Tea Party Express leader who had posted a letter on his blog written from "Colored People" to Abraham Lincoln. The post suggested that black people would choose slavery over having to do real work. The black members said the racism that has been attributed to the tea party movement came from outsiders who infiltrated the groups to discredit their work and it should be rejected.

War general exonerated

More than 30 years after his death, an Air Force general has been exonerated for bombing missions he ordered during the Vietnam War. Gen. John D. Lavelle was busted two ranks and removed from his command in 1972 amid allegations that he ordered unauthorized bombings in North Vietnam and helped keep them secret. The Pentagon said Wednesday that the Nixon tapes and other information declassified and released in 2007 showed President Richard Nixon had authorized the bombing. An Air Force board that works to correct military records also found that Lavelle was not involved in falsifying records.

OKLAHOMA: Puppies on board found dead

Seven puppies have died after flying in the cargo hold of an American Airlines jet. American says it contacted the shipper who put the puppies on a Tuesday morning flight from Tulsa, Okla., to Chicago, and is investigating further. Airline spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said Wednesday the shipper put 14 puppies aboard Flight 851. As the plane sat on the tarmac in Tulsa, it was already 86 degrees before 7 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. Employees tried to cool down the dogs, and they were taken to a vet's office, but five died initially and two others died later, Fagan said.

FLORIDA: Disney ticket prices go up

Visitors to Walt Disney World will have to dig deeper into their pockets to get into the theme park resort in Orlando. Disney World is raising the price of a one-day, one-park adult ticket to $82 starting Thursday. The change in ticket price is a 3.8 percent increase from the current $79. Prices for multiday-ticket packages, which the resort sells in far greater volume than single-day tickets, also are increasing. It will now cost an extra $2, or $54, to get a "park hopper" pass, which allows a buyer of a regular ticket to get into multiple theme parks in one day.