ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A motorist was killed when he crashed his car after fleeing police in St. Cloud on Monday night.

According to police, an officer on patrol near St. Cloud State University spotted a speeding car at about 10:41 p.m. Monday. The officer’s radar indicated the vehicle was going 62 mph in the posted 30-mph zone.

The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop but the driver accelerated. As the car reached the west end of the University Avenue bridge, the driver entered the eastbound lane and the officer terminated pursuit. But the car, driven by a 41-year-old St. Cloud man, continued at a high rate of speed and went through the roundabout at Fifth Avenue before colliding with a parked truck and a light pole in the parking lot of an apartment building.

The motorist, who was alone in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 53-year-old St. Cloud man was in the parked truck but wasn’t seriously injured.

Police said the deceased motorist, who wasn’t immediately identified, was driving after a license revocation for reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

The intersection was temporarily closed to allow Xxcel Energy to repair damage to the light pole and power lines.

The pursuit was recorded by both squad and body cameras and the case remains under investigation by St. Cloud police and the Minnesota State Patrol.

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Motley Crue joins the growing lineup at the new Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee with an Aug. 21 show booked with fellow ’80s rockers Tesla and Extreme.

Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster.

Known for such hits as “Home Sweet Home,” “Kickstart My Heart,” “Shout at the Devil” and “Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room,” Motley Crue splintered in 1992 when lead singer Vince Neil left the group (or was fired, depending on who you believe). Neil returned five years later, but soon after, drummer Tommy Lee retired from the group. The full lineup reunited in 2004.

Motley Crue unveiled plans for their farewell tour in January 2014 and went on to play 158 concerts around the world, including two at the former Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and another at Minneapolis’ Target Center.

In 2019, Motley Crue announced they were reuniting, citing renewed interest in the band following the release of “The Dirt,” a Netflix biopic based on Motley Crue’s best-selling 2001 autobiography. Their massive comeback tour, which included Def Leppard and Poison, hit U.S. Bank Stadium in 2022 after several pandemic-related delays. The show confirmed that Neil’s voice remains a weak point in the group.

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Founding guitarist Mick Mars, who has long struggled with the chronic form of arthritis ankylosing spondylitis, departed the group in October 2022 under mysterious circumstances. The rest of the band immediately announced former Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5 was taking his place. The new lineup drew 8,769 fans to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand last year.

Not to be confused with Mystic Lake Casino’s own amphitheater, the 19,000 capacity Mystic Lake Amphitheater will open next year. Live Nation will operate the venue, which is expected to host more than 30 concerts each summer. The lineup so far includes Jack Johnson (July 12), 5 Seconds of Summer (July 22), Train (Aug. 9), Lynyrd Skynyrd and Foreigner (Aug. 16) and Iron Maiden (Sept. 19).

By JAIMIE DING

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The man accused of sparking the deadly wildfire that ripped through a Los Angeles neighborhood in January must remain jailed while he awaits trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.

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Federal officials have said Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, started a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground before reigniting nearly a week later and roaring through coastal Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many of Los Angeles’ rich and famous. The fire, which left 12 dead in the hillside neighborhoods, was one of two blazes that broke out on Jan. 7, killing more than 30 people in all and destroying over 17,000 homes and buildings while burning for days in Los Angeles County.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver denied his bond, saying he must be kept in custody due to his mental health and distress he caused his sister and her family. Rinderknecht’s father testified in support of his release, denying that his son had mental health issues.

Rinderknecht was arrested Oct. 7 in Florida, where he staying at his sister’s house in Orlando. A judge ordered that he remain jailed after a prosecutor said he had traits of an arsonist and his family had worried about his declining mental state. Prosecutors also argued Rinderknecht was a flight risk because he had family in France and spoke French.

He was brought to Los Angeles about two weeks later and pleaded not guilty in court.

FILE – This undated photo provided by the US Attorney’s Office shows Jonathan Rinderknecht. (US Attorney’s Office via AP, file)

Rinderknecht was indicted on one charge of malicious destruction by means of a fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire. If convicted, he would face up to 20 years in federal prison.

His trial is scheduled for April 21, 2026.

Federal officials called the Palisades blaze a “holdover fire” from the Jan. 1 fire that Rinderknecht is accused of starting, which was not fully extinguished by firefighters. LA’s interim fire chief said such fires linger in root systems and can reach depths of 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6.1 meters), making them undetectable by thermal imaging cameras.

Rinderknecht’s attorney Steve Haney said that even if Rinderknecht was the cause of the initial smaller fire on New Year’s Day, there were several “intervening factors” in the week between that day and when the Palisades Fire ignited, mainly the Los Angeles Fire Department’s response to the fire.

By TRISHA THOMAS

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday strongly backed U.S. bishops who condemned the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, as he urged the American people to listen to them and treat migrants humanely.

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History’s first American pope was asked about the “special message” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted during the bishops’ general assembly last week. The text criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants and the “vilification” of them in the current migration debate. It lamented the fear and anxiety immigration raids have sown in communities, and the denial of pastoral care to migrants in detention centers.

Leo, who has previously urged local bishops to take the lead on speaking out on matters of social justice, said he appreciated the U.S. bishops’ statement and urged Catholics and all people of goodwill to listen to what they said.

“I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” said the Chicago-born Leo. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice.”

Speaking to reporters as he left the papal country house south of Rome, Leo acknowledged there are problems in the U.S. migration system. But he stressed that no one has said the U.S. should have open borders, and that every country has the right to determine who can enter and how.

“But when people are living good lives, and many of them for 10, 15, 20 years, to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful to say the least — and there’s been some violence unfortunately — I think that the bishops have been very clear in what they said,” he said.

“I would just invite all people in the United States to listen to them.”

Pope Leo XIV waves to faithful before presiding over special mass for the Jubilee of the poor, in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Sunday, Nov.16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The bishops’ “special message” was rare, the first time since 2013 the bishops had penned such a single-issue statement at one of their meetings. It was accompanied by an Instagram video of individual bishops reading the text on camera, to hammer home its message.

Upcoming travel plans

Leo spoke to reporters gathered outside his villa in Castel Gandolfo, where he usually spends Monday afternoons and Tuesdays relaxing, playing tennis and swimming in the estate’s indoor pool.

He suggested that he is planning more travel starting in 2026, after his Rome commitments ease up with the end of the Holy Year.

Asked if he would return to Peru, where he spent some 20 years as a missionary, Leo said “of course.”

But he also hinted at other possible destinations, including the Fatima shrine in Portugal, the Guadalupe shrine in Mexico, and visits to Argentina and Uruguay.

“I love to travel, the problem is scheduling with all the commitments,” he said.

Leo next week will embark on his first foreign trip as pope, to Turkey and Lebanon.

Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.