Gun-firing drone sparks probe

Gun-firing drone sparks probe

CLINTON, Conn.

An 18-year-old Connecticut man may be in trouble with federal aviation officials after posting a video online that shows shots being fired from a drone that had been jury-rigged with a handgun.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is investigating whether Austin Haughwout of Clinton violated its regulations, which prohibit the careless or reckless operation of a model aircraft.

Haughwout’s father told WFSB-TV last week that his son created the drone with the help of a Central Connecticut State University professor. The 14-second video shows a four-propeller drone with a semiautomatic handgun strapped on top hovering as it fires four shots in a wooded area.

Car bomb kills 14

BAGHDAD

An Iraqi police official in Baghdad says a car bomb detonated in front of a busy clothing store, killing 14 people and wounding 30.

The explosion happened in the predominantly Shiite district of New Baghdad late Tuesday. A hospital official corroborated the casualties. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, however, the Islamic State group has been targeting Shiites across the country as it seeks to destabilize the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.

Study: Dads gain 3 to 5 pounds

NEW YORK

Many men gain a new sense of responsibility and purpose when they become fathers. A new study suggests they also gain 3 to 5 pounds.

The research wasn’t designed to prove fatherhood causes weight gain and raises more questions than it answers. But one outside expert, while noting its limitations, said the research is provocative and should spark further study.

Doctors pay attention to the weight gain of mothers — both before and after pregnancy. But the waistline of dads? That’s not on most doctors’ radar, said Tom Wadden, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders.

Netanyahu faces criminal probe

JERUSALEM

Israel’s prime minister faced a new scandal Tuesday after the attorney general ordered a criminal investigation into excessive spending at his residences.

Though the investigation shows no sign of threatening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hold on power, it nonetheless gave him a new headache at a time of growing international isolation and domestic turmoil with a narrow and fractured coalition.

Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, have for years faced scrutiny over their spending and have fended off accusations that their lifestyles are out of touch with regular Israelis. The prime minister long has been saddled with an image as a cigar-smoking, cognac-swilling socialite, while his wife has come under fire for her own expensive tastes and purported abusive behavior toward staff.

Action delayed on transportation bill

WASHINGTON

With a deadline looming for a cutoff of highway aid to states, Senate Republicans failed Tuesday to muster enough votes to take up a bill that would extend transportation programs for six years.

Democrats complained they’d had only an hour to read the 1,040-page bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would give Democrats more time, but added he intends to push forward with the bill even if it means keeping the Senate in session over the weekend.

Associated Press