Mass graves in Iraq

Mass graves in Iraq

BAGHDAD

Mass graves containing the remains of members of Iraq’s Yezidi minority community, who are believed to have been killed by the Islamic State, have been uncovered in the town of Sinjar, a Kurdish official said Sunday. Sinjar was recaptured from the extremist group Friday.

Eight graves of 50 Yezidi civilians were found Sunday near the town of Kar Azir, which is under Islamic State’s control, said Mehana Khali, the Sinjar police chief.

On Saturday, a large grave containing the remains of 80 Yezidi women was found on the outskirts of Sinjar.

Last convict in school bus kidnapping is seeking parole

SACRAMENTO, CALIF.

The last of three men who kidnapped a school bus full of children 39 years ago in California is asking this week to be released from prison.

Frederick Woods and two brothers, James and Richard Schoenfeld, were young men from wealthy San Francisco Bay Area families who spent more than a year planning what they thought would be the perfect crime.

They hijacked the bus near Chowchilla, then buried the 26 children and their driver under mounds of dirt. The kidnapping lasted more than a day before the children and driver were able to dig their way out.

After spending most of their adult lives in prison, only Woods remains behind bars. His parole hearing is set for Thursday.

Police: 2 babies found dead had autopsies

PHILADELPHIA

Autopsies previously had been performed on two babies whose bodies were found next to a trash-littered used car lot in Philadelphia, police said Sunday.

The bodies of a baby boy and girl were discovered in the Kensington neighborhood just before 10:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. The babies were pronounced dead minutes later by a medical unit and homicide detectives were notified.

Police said Sunday night that while processing the scene, the medical examiner discovered the babies “had an autopsy performed on them by unknown medical personnel at an unknown time.”

Officials said a 9-year-old boy and his 12-year-old neighbor apparently found the babies on Saturday evening and told their parents.

Students battle sugary-drink pact

SAN FRANCISCO

Students at a San Francisco university are objecting to plans to give “pouring rights” to Coca -Cola, Pepsi or another sugary drink company.

The rights would allow the chosen company to sell all the fountain drinks at San Francisco State University residence halls and sporting events, as well as stock vending machines and campus stores, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

University President Leslie Wong said the school has made no decisions and is trying to figure out whether to enter into such an agreement.

Hog manure fuels natural-gas project

ALBANY, MO.

Supporters of a biogas project taking shape in northern Missouri say that manure from about 2 million hogs will be converted into renewable natural gas and sold by summer 2016.

They also say the project will keep tons of methane out of the atmosphere.

The joint venture between Roeslein Alternative Energy and Smithfield Food Hogs Production has an estimated $120 million price tag and is one of the largest biogas projects of its kind.

About half of the 88 existing manure lagoons on nine Smithfield farms already are enclosed by impermeable covers, which will produce biogas to be cleaned and used as an alternative energy.

Combined dispatches