Gunman kills officer and self; woman found dead

Gunman kills officer and self; woman found dead

CANONSBURG, Pa.

A gunman with a history of domestic abuse fatally shot a police officer and wounded another Thursday before he and a woman were found dead after a fight at their apartment, authorities said.

Officer Scott Bashioum and the other officer were responding separately to an emergency call from neighbors at 3:15 a.m. when they were “ambushed upon their arrival” and immediately shot, state police Trooper Melinda Bondarenka said. The officers had arrived almost simultaneously, though authorities said other details of the initial confrontation were unclear.

Bashioum, a father of four, died less than an hour later at a hospital, a coroner said. The 52-year-old had been on the police force for seven years.

The wounded officer, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in Pittsburgh in stable condition after surgery.

Iraq troops slow Mosul advance

BAGHDAD

Iraqi troops fired at positions held by the Islamic State group in and around the northern city of Mosul on Thursday but did not advance as they regrouped and cleared neighborhoods once occupied by the extremists, military officials said.

Troops are screening residents fleeing from Mosul, searching for any IS militants trying to sneak out among the more than 34,000 civilians fleeing to displacement camps and host communities in nearby provinces.

Amnesty International reported allegations against security forces of arbitrary detention, forced disappearances and ill-treatment of prisoners, including an account that up to six people were “extrajudicially executed” in late October over suspected ties to IS.

Newspaper reports US will accept asylum seekers

CANBERRA, Australia

The United States and Australia were close to announcing a deal in which the United States would resettle hundreds of asylum seekers banished by Australia to Pacific island camps, a newspaper reported.

The U.S. has agreed to accept up to 1,800 refugees held for up to three years at Australia’s expense in camps on the impoverished island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea, The Australian newspaper reported.

That could empty the camps that have been condemned by human-rights groups as a cruel abrogation of Australia’s responsibilities as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention.

Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull declined to comment on negotiations with the United States.

Flint ordered to make home water deliveries

FLINT, Mich.

A federal judge has ordered the state of Michigan and the city of Flint to deliver bottled water to lead-tainted homes under certain conditions.

Judge David Lawson granted an injunction Thursday sought by the American Civil Liberties Union and Natural Resources Defense Council. They’ve argued that many residents can’t get to water distribution sites or have other challenges.

Flint residents are urged to use bottled water or filtered tap water while the city’s water system heals from lead contamination. Corrosive water from the Flint River wasn’t treated properly for 18 months.

Associated Press