Police: Teen plotted to kill his family, bomb high school

Police: Teen plotted to kill his family, bomb high school

WASECA, Minn.

Authorities said Thursday that they prevented an “unimaginable tragedy” by foiling a teenager’s elaborate plot to kill his family and bomb the junior and senior high school in the southern Minnesota city of Waseca.

Police arrested the 17-year-old suspect Tuesday and charged him in juvenile court Thursday with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, six counts of possessing explosive or incendiary devices and two counts of criminal damage to property. The charges say he told police he intended to kill “as many students as he could.”

Capt. Kris Markeson told reporters that authorities believe the teenager was acting alone and would have carried out the attack in the next few weeks if he had not been caught. Markeson said he was disturbed by the amount of guns and other material the youth obtained.

Malaysia releases preliminary report on missing plane

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia

Air-traffic controllers did not realize that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was missing until 17 minutes after it disappeared from civilian radar, according to a preliminary report on the plane’s disappearance released Thursday by Malaysia’s government.

The government also released other information from the investigation into the flight, including audio recordings of conversations between the cockpit and air-traffic control, the plane’s cargo manifest and its seating plan.

It provided a map showing the Boeing 777’s deduced flight path and a document detailing actions taken by authorities during the hours of confusion that followed the jet’s disappearance near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace. Many of the details previously had been disclosed.

Video shows teens on sinking ferry

SEOUL, South Korea

Soon after the ferry began to tilt, there was nervous laughter, jokes about the Titanic and talk of selfies and Facebook posts from the doomed high school students huddled below deck.

But the lighthearted atmosphere soon turned serious as the listing worsened. Fear began building, and one student asked, “Am I really going to die?”

The shaky video — at times poignant and heartbreaking as the teens said last words to their loved ones — was found on the cellphone belonging to 17-year-old Park Su-hyeon when his body was recovered after the disaster on the morning of April 16 off South Korea.

3 VA workers placed on leave

PHOENIX

Three executives of the veterans hospital in Phoenix have been placed on administrative leave amid an investigation into allegations of corruption and unnecessary deaths at the facility, federal officials announced Thursday.

Phoenix VA Health Care System Director Sharon Helman and associate director Lance Robinson would be placed on leave “until further notice,” U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said. The third employee was not identified in a statement Shinseki issued from Washington.

The Phoenix facility has been under fire in recent weeks over allegations that up to 40 patients may have died because of delays in care and that the hospital kept a secret list of patients waiting for appointments to hide the treatment delays.

Associated Press