Paris attacks suspect charged

Paris attacks suspect charged

PARIS

The lone known surviving suspect in the Paris attacks was returned Wednesday to the city where Islamic State extremists unleashed a night of mayhem and charged with a host of terrorism offenses, raising hopes that he may be able to help French investigators trace the pathways of IS fighters thought to be hiding out in Europe.

Salah Abdeslam was whisked in secretly by helicopter after being transferred from the prison cell in Belgium where he had been held since his capture last month.

The 26-year-old faces preliminary charges of participating in a terrorist organization, terrorist murders and attempted murders, attempted terrorist murders of public officials, hostage-taking, and possessing weapons and explosives, French prosecutors said in a statement.

Ex-reserve deputy convicted in death

TULSA, Okla.

A former Oklahoma volunteer deputy sheriff who said he mistook his handgun for his stun gun when he fatally shot an unarmed suspect last year was convicted of second-degree manslaughter Wednesday.

Jurors handed down the verdict in the case of 74-year-old Robert Bates, a wealthy insurance executive accused of fatally shooting Eric Harris while working with Tulsa County deputies last year during an illegal gun-sales sting. Harris, who had run from deputies, was restrained and unarmed when he was shot.

Midwest storms

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

Springtime storms lashed parts of the Midwest and South on Wednesday, but on a smaller scale than the night before when tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas injured more than a dozen people and damaged homes.

Gusts up to 75 mph were expected near Louisiana’s Gulf coast during the latest round of storms, and forecasters said 15 million people along the Mississippi River between Iowa and New Orleans had at least a slight chance to see severe weather at some point.

Tornadoes touched down in Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Military buildup, fighting in Syria

BEIRUT

A military buildup in northern Syria, coupled with heavy fighting and mounting civilian casualties, spells the end of a cease-fire that for two months brought some relief to a war-weary country. The renewed violence is ushering in what could be an even more ruinous chapter in the 5-year-old conflict.

About 200 civilians have been killed in the past week, nearly half of them around Aleppo. There even has been shelling in Damascus, along with a car bomb – both rarities for the capital.

With peace talks in Geneva completely deadlocked, Syrians are regarding the escalating bloodshed with dread, fearing a return to full war and slow destruction.

Religious-counseling law signed in Tenn.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Tennessee’s Republican governor said Wednesday that he signed a bill into law that allows mental health counselors to refuse to treat patients based on the therapist’s religious or personal beliefs.

The American Counseling Association called the legislation an “unprecedented attack” on the counseling profession and said Tennessee was the only state to ever pass such a law. Opponents say the legislation is part of a wave of bills around the nation that legalizes discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.

Associated Press