Northwestern teacher, Oxford staffer jailed in stabbing case

Northwestern teacher, Oxford staffer jailed in stabbing case

SAN FRANCISCO

Far from their prestigious campuses, a Northwestern University professor and a University of Oxford finance officer were jailed in the San Francisco area Saturday after eight days as fugitives sought in the death of a young hairdresser, James Cornell-Duranleau, in Chicago. He was stabbed repeatedly until the knife broke, police said.

The Northwestern microbiologist, Wyndham Lathem, had a personal relationship with the victim, although the nature of it wasn’t clear, and Lathem had made a video apologizing for what he called “the worst mistake of my life,” police said.

Lathem, 42, was being held without bail in Alameda County and faced a court appearance in the city of Pleasanton. The other suspect, Andrew Warren, a treasury assistant at one of Oxford’s residential colleges in England, was being held at the county jail in San Francisco.

UN imposes new sanctions on N. Korea

UNITED NATIONS

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions Saturday to punish North Korea for its escalating nuclear and missile programs including a ban on coal and other exports worth more than $1 billion – a huge bite in its total exports, valued at $3 billion last year.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called the resolution “the single largest economic sanctions package ever leveled against the North Korean regime” and “the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation.”

US in rare bullseye for total solar eclipse

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

It will be tough eclipsing this eclipse.

The sun, moon and Earth will line up perfectly in the cosmos Aug. 21, turning day into night for a few wondrous minutes, its path crossing the U.S. from sea to shining sea for the first time in nearly a century.

Never will a total solar eclipse be so heavily viewed and studied – or celebrated.

“We’re going to be looking at this event with unprecedented eyes,” promises Alex Young, a solar physicist who is coordinating NASA’s education and public outreach.

Venezuela assembly removes prosecutor

CARACAS, Venezuela

A newly installed constitutional assembly ousted Venezuela’s defiant chief prosecutor Saturday, a sign that President Nicolas Maduro’s embattled government intends to move swiftly against critics and consolidate power amid a fast- moving political crisis.

Cries of traitor and justice erupted from the stately, neo-classical salon where 545 pro-government delegates voted unanimously to remove Luisa Ortega from her post as the nation’s top law-enforcement official and replace her with a staunch government supporter.

They said they were acting in response to a ruling by the government-stacked Supreme Court, which banned Ortega from leaving the country and freezing her bank accounts while it weighs criminal charges against her involving purported irregularities.

3 US Marines missing after aircraft crashes off Australia

SYDNEY

U.S. military officials have called off a search and rescue operation for three U.S. Marines who were missing after their Osprey aircraft crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia while trying to land.

The U.S. Marine base Camp Butler in Japan said in a statement the rescue operation was suspended this morning. The military has launched a recovery effort instead.

Twenty-three of 26 personnel aboard the aircraft have been rescued, the Marine base Camp Butler in Japan said.

The MV-22 Osprey involved in the mishap had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard and was conducting regularly scheduled operations when it crashed into the water, the statement said. The ship’s small boats and aircraft immediately responded in the search and rescue efforts.

The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but flies like an airplane. They have been involved in a series of high-profile crashes in recent years.

Police confirm Minn. mosque was attacked, FBI takes lead

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.

Someone apparently threw a bomb through the window of a suburban Minneapolis mosque Saturday as people were preparing for morning prayers, damaging the imam’s office but not causing any injuries, authorities said.

Minneapolis police said a preliminary investigation shows a destructive device caused the explosion, “in violation of federal law,” and that the FBI has taken the lead in the investigation. An FBI spokesman didn’t return a phone message Saturday seeking details about the investigation.

The blast happened at about 5 a.m. at the Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, south of Minneapolis. Worshippers managed to extinguish the blaze before firefighters arrived, according to a statement from the Muslim American Society of Minnesota.

Philadelphia-bound flight encounters turbulence, injuring 10

PHILADELPHIA

American Airlines says 10 people on a flight from Greece to Philadelphia were injured during severe turbulence.

The airline says Flight 759 was heading to the city from Athens with 287 passengers and a dozen crew members Saturday when it briefly encountered severe turbulence shortly before landing. American says the fasten seat belt sign was on at the time.

After the flight landed at 3:10 p.m., three passengers and seven crew members were taken to a hospital for evaluation. There was no immediate word on their injuries or whether any would be admitted.

American says it wants to “thank our team members for keeping our passengers safe.”

Gunfire caused destructive blaze near California’s Yosemite

MARIPOSA, Calif.

Fire investigators say gunfire caused a wildfire near Yosemite National Park that destroyed 131 structures, including 63 homes, last month.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Friday that a gun fired on public lands caused the wildfire that burned 127 square miles July 16.

The fire, which prompted evacuations in several areas including the town of Mariposa, destroyed 63 homes and 67 other buildings.

2 more homes are condemned as huge Fla. sinkhole grows

LAND O’LAKES, Fla.

Officials in Florida said Saturday a sinkhole that swallowed two homes last month is growing.

Pasco County officials during a news conference that a large chunk of the hole’s edge has collapsed. Two more homes in Land O’Lakes, a Tampa suburb, have been condemned.

The sinkhole, which opened up July 14, is now about 260 feet wide at its widest point.

Associated Press