Number implicated in probe doubles

Number implicated in probe doubles

WASHINGTON

The cheating scandal inside the Air Force’s nuclear missile corps is expanding, with the number of service members implicated by investigators now roughly double the 34 reported just a week ago, officials said Tuesday.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information by name while the investigation is ongoing.

The Air Force announced Jan. 15 that while it was investigating possible criminal drug use by some airmen, it discovered that one missile officer at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., had shared test questions with 16 other officers. It said another 17 admitted to knowing about this cheating but did not report it.

Anti-protest laws in Ukraine overturned

KIEV, Ukraine

In back-to-back moves aimed at defusing Ukraine’s political crisis, the prime minister resigned Tuesday and parliament repealed anti-protest laws that had set off violent clashes between protesters and police.

The two developments were significant concessions to the anti-government protesters who have fought sporadically with police for the last 10 days after two months of peaceful around-the-clock demonstrations.

The protests erupted after President Viktor Yanukovych turned toward Russia for a bailout loan instead of signing a deal with the European Union and have since morphed into a general plea for more human rights, less corruption and more democracy.

The departure of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov removes one of the officials most disliked by the opposition forces whose protests have turned parts of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, into a barricaded maze.

Washington girl phoned for help

YAKIMA, Wash.

A 15-year-old girl on her way to school Monday was kidnapped by four masked teenage boys armed with a gun who put her in the trunk of a car, law enforcement officers said.

But the girl had her cellphone, called for help and identified one of the abductors as an ex-boyfriend, police said.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports that three boys later got out of the car, leaving her with the ex-boyfriend. According to court documents, he discussed the possibility of being killed by police and “taking her with him.”

The Washington State Patrol stopped the stolen car about two hours later on Highway 410 near Bumping Lake in the Cascade Range.

The driver surrendered without incident, and the girl was not harmed, officers said.

Associated Press