Police say a man at the center of an intense police search in Oregon after a violent kidnapping last week was seen walking a dog in the same part of southern Oregon where the victim had been tortured. The Grants Pass Police Department said on Facebook that Benjamin Obadiah Foster was spotted Tuesday morning in the Grants Pass area. Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies have been looking for Foster since a woman was found unconscious, bound and near death on Jan. 24 in Grants Pass. Last Thursday, law enforcement raided a property in the unincorporated community of Wolf Creek, but Foster managed to escape.

Fiction by Percival Everett and Ling Ma, nonfiction by Annie Proulx and biographies of George Balanchine and J. Edgar Hoover are among the finalists for National Book Critics Circle awards. Former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo has won an honorary award for lifetime achievement. Last fall’s National Book Award winner for fiction, Tess Gunty’s “The Rabbit Hutch,” is a nominee for best first book. Other finalists announced Tuesday night include Ed Yong’s “An Immense World” and the poetry collection “Milkweed Smithereens,” by Bernadette Mayer, who died in November at age 77. Winners will be announced March 23 during a ceremony in Manhattan.

ATLANTA (AP) — In the wake of the shooting death of an environmental activist, Atlanta-area officials reiterated Tuesday that they are moving forward with plans to construct a huge police and firefighter training center that protesters derisively refer to as “Cop City.”

Andrea Riseborough will not be stripped of her Oscar nomination for best actress. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences says Tuesday that a review of the awards campaign for the indie drama “To Leslie” found some areas of concern, but nothing that warranted rescinding Riseborough's nomination. The star-studded grassroots campaign for the British actor had prompted skepticism from some academy voters and caused a stir in Hollywood. Shortly ahead of nominations, Riseborough was propelled into the race after a host of celebrities hosted screenings of “To Leslie” and numerous A-listers promoted her on social media. The academy, though, did say that some of the tactics used were of concern.

When two small monkeys were taken from the Dallas Zoo this week and a cut was found in their enclosure, it deepened a growing mystery. Over the last few weeks, the zoo has seen other cut fences, the escape of a small leopard and the suspicious death of an endangered vulture. Police say they’re still working to determine whether or not the incidents are related. They have released photos and video of a man they want to talk to about the missing monkeys. No arrests have been made in any of the incidents.

Omaha police say they fatally shot a man who entered a Target store with an AR-15-style rifle and “plenty of ammunition.” Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said officers searched for victims, including customers and workers “because there were some people hiding in there.” No injured people were immediately found. Officers received multiple 911 calls Tuesday afternoon and arrived within minutes. Evidence suggests the man fired rounds before he was shot by officers, but it wasn't immediately known if he fired at anybody.

The United States will pay more than $10 million in damages over the death of Esther Nakajjigo, a prominent Ugandan human rights activist killed in Arches National Park in 2020. Nakajjigo was decapitated after wind swung an untethered metal gate into her car, killing her immediately as her husband sat in the seat next to her. The amount awarded to Nakajjigo's husband and parents Monday was substantially less than attorneys pursued, yet they celebrated it and said it was the largest federal wrongful death award in Utah history. Nakajjigo rose from poverty to become the host of a solutions-oriented reality television series in Uganda.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced plans to block state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory.