CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A graduate of an exclusive New England prep school was sentenced Thursday to a year in jail for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old freshman girl as part of a competition among upperclassmen to rack up sexual conquests. Owen Labrie, 20, of Tunbridge, Vermont, was also ordered to register as a sex offender, … Continue reading
DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A jet plane’s engine caught fire Thursday as it prepared for takeoff, and more than 100 passengers had to quickly evacuate using emergency slides. One person was seriously injured, officials said. Dozens of passengers could be seen in video footage gliding down the slides of the Dynamic Airways flight bound … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Law enforcement officials say a passenger arriving at New York’s Kennedy Airport had 11 pounds of liquid cocaine packed into oil and vinegar bottles. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the cocaine was found Oct. 5 when Andres Josue Leal Valle (ahn-DREHS’ ho-SWAY’ lay-AHL’ VAH’-yay) arrived with three suitcases and a … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jay Z told a jury Wednesday that he believes he has a valid license to use Arabic music featured on his 1999 hit “Big Pimpin’” that is now the subject of a copyright infringement trial. The rap superstar spent roughly 90 minutes testifying in a federal courtroom Wednesday, recounting his life, … Continue reading
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Parents charged with beating their teenage son to death inside a church are giving diverging versions of what happened, though lawyers for both said Thursday the couple hadn’t intended the brutality that unfolded. An attorney for the mother, Deborah Leonard, said she felt helpless to stop an “intervention” that spiraled … Continue reading
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities are retracing Lamar Odom’s $75,000 visit to the brothel to find out why the former NBA and reality TV star was found unconscious. There’s been no official word on Odom’s condition at a Las Vegas hospital, but the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Wednesday he’s on life support. Odom’s grandmother, Florence … Continue reading
SMITHVILLE, Texas (AP) — A wildfire chewing the same Central Texas forestland scorched by a devastating blaze in 2011 slowed dramatically Thursday as improving weather kept the deadly destruction of four years ago at bay. No rain is in sight to extinguish the latest flare-up that has burned 6 square miles, wiped out roughly three … Continue reading
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A virus that killed more than 8 million baby pigs in 2013 and 2014 nearly matches the DNA of a virus found in China and was likely carried into the United States on reusable tote bags used in international trade, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. A special investigation … Continue reading
JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — The only woman on Georgia’s death row was executed early Wednesday, despite a flurry of last minute legal appeals and pleas for mercy from her children and the pope. Kelly Renee Gissendaner, who was the first woman put to death by the state in seven decades, was pronounced dead by injection … Continue reading
FOREST ACRES, S.C. (AP) — Police Officer Gregory Alia had welcomed a baby son into the world just months before a man with a stolen gun killed the policeman at a South Carolina mall, authorities said Wednesday. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said 34-year-old Jarvis Hall of Eastover has been charged with murder in … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles prosecutors are reviewing an investigation into a model’s accusations that Bill Cosby sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion, an official said Thursday. District attorney’s spokeswoman Jane Robison said Thursday that police detectives presented evidence Wednesday afternoon for a possible criminal case. There’s no timetable for when a decision … Continue reading
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Janet Jackson is canceling her Oct. 9 and Oct. 10 shows at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino to rest her vocal chords, and the Las Vegas stop on her “Unbreakable” tour will move to a new 20,000-seat arena in May. Live Nation Entertainment said Thursday that ticketholders will be refunded and … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — There are plenty of places that get young people ready for Broadway — Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon, Yale and New York University. But don’t forget “So You Think You Can Dance.” The Fox TV show, which just concluded its 12th season, has turned into a reliable springboard for scores of Broadway dancers, … Continue reading
HONOLULU (AP) — The recently identified remains of a Marine hailed for his bravery in battle are heading home 72 years after he was killed on a remote Pacific atoll during World War II. First Lt. Alexander “Sandy” Bonnyman died at age 33 while leading Marines against entrenched Japanese forces during a three-day fight for … Continue reading
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. (AP) — A daughter was worried about her elderly parents trying to flee a massive California wildfire on horseback. A couple needing help evacuating waited for deputies in a creek near their home. A woman fretted that her mother with Alzheimer’s disease wouldn’t know to leave. Those were just a few of the … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 