Teen electrocuted during experiment

Teen electrocuted during experiment

VERMILION, OHIO

A 15-year-old boy was electrocuted apparently while attempting to conduct an experiment he saw on YouTube that involves a high-voltage traveling arc of electricity, authorities said Wednesday.

Morgan Wojciechowski’s parents found him Tuesday in the garage of their Vermilion Township home in northern Ohio, said Jared Oliver, chief deputy with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities weren’t sure whether the parents heard something or just went to check on their son, Oliver said. Emergency crews called to the home took the boy to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Life expectancy dips for white women

NEW YORK

Life expectancy for white women has fallen a little, according to a new government report. White women lost about five weeks from their predicted lifespan in 2014, compared with 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.

Life expectancy held steady for black women and white men and increased for black men, Hispanic men and Hispanic women.

Senate OKs bill to boost energy sources

WASHINGTON

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a far-reaching energy bill Wednesday that reflects significant changes in U.S. oil and natural gas production over the past decade and boosts alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power.

The bill also would speed federal approval of projects to export liquefied natural gas to Europe and Asia, where prices are higher than in the U.S. following a yearlong boom in domestic gas production.

The bill would boost renewables such as solar and wind power, as well as hydropower, geothermal energy and even critical minerals such as cobalt, beryllium and lithium that are used in cellphones, computers and other electronics.

The bill also would encourage so-called clean-coal technology and increase public-private partnerships to develop advanced nuclear technologies.

Norwegian court: Mass killer’s rights were violated

STAVANGER, Norway

Norwegian authorities have violated the human rights of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik by holding him in solitary confinement in a three-cell complex where he can play video games, watch TV and exercise, a court in Oslo ruled Wednesday.

In the surprise decision, the Oslo district court said the isolation that Breivik faces in prison for killing 77 people in a bomb-and-gun massacre in 2011 is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court ordered the government to pay Breivik’s legal costs of about $41,000.

Federal appeals court dismisses Davis’ suit

FRANKFORT, KY.

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit that a Kentucky clerk filed against the state for requiring her to issue marriage licenses that contained her name to same-sex couples.

Kim Davis refused to issue such licenses to same-sex couples, arguing it violated her religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union sued her. A federal judge ordered Davis to issue the licenses.

Davis sued then-Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and another state official, but Beshear left office in December. Republican Gov. Matt Bevin replaced him and signed an executive order removing the names of county clerks from marriage license forms.

The court dismissed the case, saying Davis is not experiencing irreparable harm. The ACLU’s lawsuit is pending.

Associated Press