Officials uncover terror plot in Europe targeting Britain, France
LONDON (AP) — Intelligence officials have intercepted a credible terror plot against Britain and France, raising security fears at the Eiffel Tower but failing to raise the overall threat level.
Iceland’s former prime minister faces possible charges in meltdown
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Iceland’s former Prime Minister Geir Haarde has been referred to a special court in a move that could make him the first world leader to be charged in connection with the global financial crisis.
After a heated debate Tuesday, lawmakers voted 33-30 to refer charges to the court against Haarde for allegedly failing to prevent Iceland’s 2008 financial crash — a crisis that sparked protests, toppled the government and brought the economy to a standstill by collapsing its currency.
Four Houma high school students killed in wreck returning from LSU
HOUMA (AP) — Vandebilt Catholic High School opened the school week with a Mass for four students who died in a pickup truck that overturned and sank in a bayou canal near Houma, a school official said Monday.
Students were then given time to talk and grieve with each other Monday about the deaths of 17-year-old seniors T.J. Cantrelle, Megan Hitt and Gabrielle Hebert and 15-year-old sophomore Ian Haydel, school president David Keife said.
State appeals court upholds $5M jury award for fatal Jeep accident
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A state appeals court has upheld a jury award of more than $5 million to a Louisiana couple whose unborn son was fatally injured when their 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee backed up and pinned the mother against a brick column.
August and Juli Guillot’s lawsuit claimed the car’s transmission had a defective design that caused it to suddenly shift from park to reverse after the St. Bernard Parish couple had exited the vehicle.
Suspect arrested Tuesday for deadly Baton Rouge home invasion
(AP) — A suspect was arrested Tuesday in last week’s deadly home invasion that left a woman dead and her 9-year-old daughter severely wounded, police said.
Aramis Jackson, 20, was booked on one count of first-degree murder and other charges in the Sept. 24 shooting death of Alexandra Engler, 42. The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab linked him to DNA evidence found at the shooting scene, police said. Engler’s daughter, Ariana, was shot six times but survived and is recovering after two surgeries.
Gunman opens fire with assault rifle at UT in Austin, kills himself
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A student wearing a dark suit and a ski mask opened fire Tuesday with an assault rifle on the University of Texas campus before fleeing into a library and fatally shooting himself. No one else was hurt.
The shooting began near a fountain in front of the UT Tower — the site of one of the nation’s deadliest shooting rampages more than four decades ago, when a gunman ascended the clock tower and fired down on dozens of people.
Within hours of Tuesday’s gunfire, the school issued an all-clear notice, but the university remained closed, and the area around the library was still considered a crime scene.
“Our campus is safe,” school President Bill Powers said.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo expected the school to be “completely open and back to normal” by Wednesday morning.
Judge tosses out Columbia University biologist’s lawsuit in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has tossed out the lawsuit of a Columbia University-trained biologist who said New York City ruined his good name by falsely saying he had sexually tortured a college student he met in an Internet chat room.
Federal Judge Paul Crotty said Oliver Jovanovic was not prejudiced at trial by city statements.
Man wins $2M in lottery months after winning $1M in June
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The odds against winning $1 million in the Lottery: Astronomical. How about doing it twice?
It happened to a man from Bonne Terre, Mo., Missouri Lottery officials said Tuesday. Ernest Pullen, 57, won $1 million with a “100 Million Dollar Blockbuster” Scratchers ticket in June. And this month, he won $2 million with a “Mega MONOPOLY” Scratchers ticket.