US jets fly through China defense zone

US jets fly through China defense zone

WASHINGTON

Days after China asserted greater military control over a swath of the East China Sea to bolster claims to a cluster of disputed islands, the U.S. defied the move Tuesday as it flew two B-52 bombers through the area.

The U.S. said what it described as a training mission was not flown to respond to China’s latest military maneuver, yet the dramatic flights made clear that the U.S. will not recognize the new territorial claims that Beijing laid out over the weekend.

The two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers took off from their home base in Guam and flew through China’s newly designated air defense zone, then returned to base, U.S. officials said.

Pope issues mission statement for papacy

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis denounced the global financial system that excludes the poor as he issued the mission statement for his papacy Tuesday, saying he wants the Catholic Church to get its hands dirty as it seeks to bring solace and mercy to society’s outcasts.

In a 224-page document, Francis pulled together the priorities he has laid out over eight months of homilies, speeches and interviews, pushing to shift the church away from a focus on doctrine to one of joyful welcome in a bid to draw in believers in a world marked by secularization and vast income inequalities.

Colonial psalm book brings $14.2M

NEW YORK

A tiny book of psalms from 1640, believed to be the first book printed in what’s now the United States, sold for just under $14.2 million Tuesday, setting an auction record for a printed book.

The Bay Psalm Book, which was auctioned at Sotheby’s in Manhattan, had a pre-sale estimate of $15 million to $30 million. A copy of John James Audubon’s “Birds of America” was the previous record-holder, selling for $11.5 million at Sotheby’s in 2010.

Only 11 copies of the Bay Psalm Book survive in varying degrees of completeness.

Man charged in hospital stabbing

LONGVIEW, Texas

A nurse died and four people were injured Tuesday in a stabbing attack at an East Texas medical complex.

A 22-year-old man has been charged with murder in the stabbings, which happened about 7 a.m. Tuesday at the Ambulatory Surgical Center of Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview.

Gregg County Jail booking records show Kyron Rayshawn Templeton of Longview also is accused of four counts of aggravated assault. His bond has been set at $2.6 million. Jail records didn’t list an attorney for Templeton.

Officer Kristie Brian, a Longview police spokeswoman, said it’s not yet clear what led to the attack.

Judge rejects O.J.’s bid for new trial

LAS VEGAS

A judge in Las Vegas rejected O.J. Simpson’s bid for a new trial Tuesday, dashing the former football star’s bid for freedom based on the claim that his original lawyer botched his armed robbery and kidnapping trial in Las Vegas more than five years ago.

“All grounds in the petition lack merit and, consequently, are denied,” Clark County District Judge Linda Marie Bell said.

Simpson lawyer Patricia Palm said she wanted to speak to Simpson before commenting on the decision. Ozzie Fumo, her co-counsel in the effort, said he expected they would appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Associated Press