LOS ANGELES – Members of a Los Angeles street gang are facing charges in the 2008 beating of a man who claimed he had a sex tape of Shaquille O’Neal and that the former NBA star was behind the attack.

Sheriff’s department records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times showed investigators probed allegations that O’Neal was connected to the attack, but O’Neal denied any involvement and has not been charged, the paper reported Wednesday. Also, O’Neal is not named in the criminal complaint.

Robert Ross reported being beaten in 2008 but details of the case only came to light publically this week in a preliminary hearing in which Ross testified against seven members of the Main Street Crips facing kidnapping, robbery and assault charges.

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LONDON/REYKJAVIK (Reuters) – Northern Europe was set to bear the brunt of air traffic disruption from Icelandic volcanic ash on Wednesday, but experts said the eruption was rapidly dying down.

The ash from the Grimsvotn volcano has caused far fewer problems than last year, when more than 10 million people were hit by a six-day European airspace shutdown after another Icelandic volcano erupted. Airlines put their revenue loss then at $1.7 billion.

The latest episode forced 500 flight cancellations on Tuesday, with Scotland especially hard hit. It also exposed disarray among the people who decide on aviation safety as they try to apply new rules to avoid another mass airspace shutdown.

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LONDON (Reuters) – Ash from an Icelandic volcano forced the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from Scotland Tuesday but Ireland’s Ryanair said it would protest against “unnecessary” restrictions.

Worries about the effect of the ash cloud pushed forward U.S. President Barack Obama’s planned departure from Ireland and he arrived Monday night in Britain to begin a state visit.

Last year, ash from another Icelandic volcano caused 100,000 flights to be canceled, stranding 10 million passengers and costing the industry an estimated $1.7 billion in lost revenue.

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