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Turnpike crash report issued

FILE Ð This Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020 image from video provided by KDKA TV shows the scene near Greensburg, Pa. along the Pennsylvania Turnpike where five people were killed and dozens were injured in the crash that involved multiple vehicles. A preliminary report released by the National Transit Safety Board Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, said all aspects of the crash remain under investigation. (KDKA TV via AP)

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Light snow was falling during a bus crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that killed five people last month, and the bus had just passed a sign warning to keep below 55 mph (89 kph) on a curve, according to a preliminary investigative report released Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board’s three-page report said all aspects of the crash remain under investigation. The report did not say how fast the bus was traveling when the driver lost control near Mount Pleasant, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. The posted speed limit on that stretch is 70 mph, but there is an advisory sign before the crash site with the lower speed limit, the report said. The bus, operated by Z&D Tour Inc., had been traveling from Rockaway, New Jersey, to Cincinnati when the crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. Jan. 5 in a rural, mountainous area of the turnpike, which is also Interstates 70 and 76 on that stretch. The driver, identified in the report only as a 58-year-old man, was killed in the crash, along with two bus passengers. The others killed were two UPS drivers, Daniel Kepner, 53, and Dennis Kehler, 48, who were working out of Harrisburg, Pa. Nearly all of the 61 passengers in the Z&D Tour motorcoach were injured, the report said, and the bus was designed for 57 passengers. The westbound bus veered toward the median, went back to the right across all travel lanes, hit a steep embankment, rolled onto the passenger side, and stopped in the road with its underside facing oncoming traffic, the report said. The road had been treated with salt. The bus was then struck by a FedEx tractor-trailer occupied by a driver and co-driver, who were slightly injured. The UPS truck that contained Kepner and Kehler then struck the FedEx truck. A passenger car and a third truck were also then involved in the pile-up, but those occupants were uninjured, the report said. The NTSB said it is looking into the commercial drivers’ records, the snow and ice removal process, and the “safety culture” of Z&D Tour.

Smart: sexually assaulted on jet

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah kidnapping and rape survivor Elizabeth Smart said Thursday that she was sexually assaulted on an airplane last year while she was sleeping. Smart, now a 32-year-old mother of three, referenced her kidnapping from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 in describing her reaction to the attack to “CBS News This Morning.” She said she was asleep during a flight when the man next to her began rubbing her inner thigh with his hand. “The last time someone touched me without my say-so was when I was kidnapped, and I froze,” she said. She said the man said nothing. Smart later reported the attack to authorities and said she wants to prevent the man from preying on others. Smart’s spokesman, Chris Thomas, said Thursday the attack happened July 19 on a Delta Air Lines flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta. “I called up my husband and I was like, ‘Do I just have a big badge on my forehead that says ‘Easy Prey’ or ‘Victim?'” Smart told CBS. “Because I’m sick of it.” In 2002, Smart was held captive and repeatedly sexually assaulted for nine months before she was rescued. After last year’s flight, she said she began training in self-defense, and now runs a program to train other women and girls.

Crossbow used to save man kills

ADAMS, Mass. — A man was shot and killed in his apartment by a crossbow bolt that a neighbor had fired at dogs who were attacking the man. The death appears to be accidental, according to Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington. The neighbor heard a commotion and the victim, who was a friend, shouting for help just after noon. The neighbor made his way into the apartment, then returned to his own unit to get the crossbow, which he was licensed to own and used for hunting. He stood at the bottom of a stairwell and fired up at a dog on the landing. The bolt struck the dog with a glancing blow, went through the door and hit the man in the room where he was trying to barricade himself. A young girl in another room was unharmed. One of the dogs belonged to the man who died. The other belonged to his girlfriend, who also lived in the home. The adult male pit bulls were known to fight and were usually kept in separate cages, Harrington said. They had a history of being aggressive, and one had previously attacked a person who required medical attention. The neighbor who fired the arrow is a “good Samaritan” who is cooperating with the investigation, the district attorney’s office said. Harrington does not anticipate criminal charges. “The neighbor was reacting in a very stressful circumstance” and is “very distraught,” she said. The dogs showed aggression toward officers, who shot and killed both.

Porn ‘facilitator’ pleads guilty

GREENBELT, Md. — A man once described by an FBI agent as the world’s largest “facilitator” of child pornography websites pleaded guilty Thursday to operating a web hosting service that allowed users to anonymously access hundreds of thousands of images and videos depicting the rape and torture of infants and older children. Eric Eoin Marques, 34, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years after his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography. A plea agreement will ask U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland to sentence Marques to 15 to 21 years in prison, but the judge is not bound by the recommendation. Marques, who spent years fighting his extradition from Ireland to the U.S., operated a web hosting service on the darknet that allowed thousands of users to view and share child pornography, according to a court filing Thursday. Marques, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Ireland, has remained in custody since his August 2013 arrest in Dublin after an extradition request from the U.S. He was living in Ireland at the time of the alleged offenses. The server that he allegedly used was in France.

Storms sweep over Deep South

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A powerful winter storm raked the Deep South on Thursday with high winds, rain and floods that killed two people and injured several more across a dozen states. Rescue crews repeatedly pulled people from cars that got stuck in high water, but couldn’t reach a person whose vehicle disappeared into a rain-swollen creek. The storm front destroyed mobile homes in Mississippi and Alabama, caused mudslides in Tennessee and Kentucky and flooded communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region. In Florida, high winds prompted the closure of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge spanning Tampa Bay, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Afternoon tornado watches were in effect for a huge swath of the Southeast, from the Florida Panhandle up through North Carolina. In Harlan County, Kentucky, two mobile homes floated away as dozens of families were evacuated amid rising water, authorities said. “Its a very bad situation that continues to worsen by the hour,” said Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley. He said about 20 people were sheltering in the Harlan Baptist Church, after being taken from their homes. The rain kept falling over a path of splintered trees and sagging power lines that stretched from Louisiana into Virginia. School districts cancelled classes in state after state as the weather rolled through.

Doctor who sounded alarm dies

BEIJING — A Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak died Friday after coming down with the illness. The Wuhan Central Hospital said on its social media account that Dr. Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, was “unfortunately infected during the fight against the pneumonia epidemic of the new coronavirus infection.” “We deeply regret and mourn this,” it added. Li was reprimanded by local police for “spreading rumors” about the illness in late December, according to news reports. The outbreak, centered in Wuhan, has now infected over 28,200 people globally and killed more than 560, triggering travel restrictions and quarantines around the world and a crisis inside the country of 1.4 billion. The World Health Organization tweeted: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did” on the virus.

Vaccine may not come in time

WASHINGTON — The flu-like virus that exploded from China has researchers worldwide once again scrambling to find a vaccine against a surprise health threat, with no guarantee one will arrive in time. Just days after Chinese scientists shared the genetic map of the culprit coronavirus, researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health had engineered a possible key ingredient for a vaccine they hope to begin testing by April. Scientists from Australia to France, along with a list of biotech and vaccine companies, jumped in the race, pursuing different types of inoculations. And Texas researchers froze an experimental vaccine developed too late to fight an earlier coronavirus — SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome — but are pushing U.S. and Chinese authorities to give it a try this time around. Because the new virus is a close cousin of SARS, it just might protect, said Dr. Peter Hotez of Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. All that work is coming at lightning speed compared to past outbreaks. Yet many experts agree it still may take a year — if every step along the way goes well — for any vaccine to be ready for widespread use. That’s if it’s even needed by then.

Weinstein defense gets its turn

NEW YORK — Prosecutors in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial rested their case Thursday after more than two weeks of testimony punctuated by harrowing accounts from six women, including some who said he ignored pleas of “no, no, no” and justified his behavior as the cost of getting ahead in Hollywood. Now Weinstein’s lawyers are calling witnesses of their own as the landmark celebrity trial moves one step closer to a verdict. They haven’t said whether Weinstein himself will testify. Doing so could bring big risks because prosecutors would be able to grill him about each of the allegations that jurors have already heard about in vivid detail. When the prosecution rested, Weinstein attorney Donna Rotunno immediately asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing that testimony from the woman he is charged with raping “does not in any way show a forcible act by Mr. Weinstein.” The judge rejected the request. The defense’s first witness, an industry executive who remains a Weinstein ally, seemed blindsided when a prosecutor confronted him with text messages that appeared to justify the movie mogul’s behavior and bash his accusers. Paul Feldsher, a former agent who once knew accuser Annabella Sciorra, scolded Weinstein in November 2018 for “behaving like a cad.” But in another message read to the jury, he stuck up for Weinstein, telling him: “I think the dog pile of actresses who are suddenly brave and recalling repressed memories are hideous.”

Venezuela rounds up US oil execs

MIAMI — Six American oil executives under house arrest in Venezuela were rounded up by police hours after President Donald Trump met Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s chief opponent at the White House, according to family members of the men. Alirio Zambrano said early Thursday that the executives of Houston-based Citgo were abruptly taken from their homes last night by the SEBIN intelligence police. Zambrano, the brother of two of the six detained men, said their current whereabouts are unknown. “We demand to know they are safe but more importantly their freedom!” Zambrano said on social media, adding that he was very worried about the detainees. The State Department and Maduro’s government have yet to comment. But the move comes two months after the men were granted house arrest and just hours after Trump welcomed opposition leader Juan Guaido to the White House in a show of support for his flagging, year-old campaign to oust Maduro.

DNC chair calls for ‘recanvass’

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday called for a “recanvass” of the results of the Iowa caucuses, saying it was needed to “assure public confidence” after three days of technical issues and delays. “Enough is enough,” party leader Tom Perez wrote on Twitter. With 97% of precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are nearly tied for the lead, and both candidates have declared themselves victorious in the contest. The Associated Press has not called the race. The Iowa Democratic Party apologized for technical glitches with an app that slowed down reporting of results from Monday’s caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results. However, it was unclear if the state party planned to follow the directive of the national leader to recanvass those results, a process that would likely require state officials to review caucus math worksheets completed at more than 1,600 caucus sites to ensure the calculations were done correctly and matched the reported results. Iowa chairman Troy Price suggested in a statement Thursday that he would only pursue a recanvass if one was requested by a campaign.

Internet finds stolen purse

NEW ORLEANS — A good Samaritan used the power of social media to track down the owner of a stolen pink purse, returning the purse — and some photos he took of New Orleans on the camera that was tucked inside — to the surprised tourist. 23-year-old Saarah Yob of Florida, was already having a horrible day when her purse was stolen on a trip to New Orleans to celebrate the College Football National Championship to be played there. On the early morning trip to New Orleans, she got in a car wreck and had to rent a car. Later that day, after hanging out with friends in the French Quarter she discovered someone had stolen her purse from the rental car. They didn’t get her wallet or cellphone since she’d carried those with her. But the Michael Kors purse adorned with a purple feather charm, her GoPro camera, some money and a necklace were gone.Later that day, James Elmes, 21, was leaving the French Quarter and spied the now-abandoned purse sitting on the curb with the camera still inside. With no identification inside the purse to help him track down the owner, he turned to the camera. He posted a photo Yob had taken of her and some friends on a beach onto Twitter on the remote chance someone would see the photo and put him in touch with the owner of the purse. The tweet read: “I found a stolen purse in the French Quarter, New Orleans. Wallet was missing, so I have no identification. This girl has traveled all over the world … with a GoPro I found. Looking for her to return her lost memories. Help me find her.” Within 16 hours and 800 retweets later, he’d found Yob and was able to return the purse.

St. Louis opera gets $45M gift

WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. — An Illinois woman has left a $45 million bequest to the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which will more than double the company’s endowment fund, the company announced Thursday. The gift from Phyllis Herndon Brissenden, of Springfield, Illinois, will increase the opera’s endowment fund to about $80 million from the current $35 million. The organization said it is one of the largest gifts in American opera history. Brissenden, 86, was a life board member and generous contributor to the Webster Groves-based company since it opened in 1976. She died of heart failure on Dec. 17 in Springfield.

Trump unleashes ‘celebration’

WASHINGTON — Exulting in his impeachment acquittal, a defiant President Donald Trump took a scorched-earth victory lap Thursday, unleashing his fury against those who tried to remove him from office and pointing ahead to his reelection campaign. Triumphantly waving newspaper front pages that declared him “ACQUITTED,” Trump denounced the impeachment proceedings as a “disgrace” and portrayed himself as a victim of political foes he labeled “scum,” “sleaze bags” and “crooked” people. Hours earlier, he unleashed broadsides that stunned the crowd at an annual bipartisan prayer breakfast “It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops,” Trump declared in a packed White House East Room, where he was surrounded by several hundred of his most loyal supporters. “This should never ever happen to another president, ever.” He conceded nothing in regard to charges that he improperly withheld a White House meeting and U.S. military aid in an effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and other political matters. “We went through hell, unfairly,” he insisted. “Did nothing wrong.”

Syrian army enters key town

BEIRUT — Syrian government troops entered a strategic town in the country’s last rebel stronghold Thursday after fierce clashes with opposition fighters, even as Turkey sent reinforcements seeking to curtail the offensive, Syrian state media reported. The push by President Bashar Assad’s forces into towns and villages in the northwestern Idlib province has caused the displacement of more than a half million people in just over two months, compounding a humanitarian disaster in the region packed with internally displaced people. It has also angered Turkey and risked a military confrontation between Turkish and Syrian troops. The town of Saraqeb, near the Turkish border, has been at the center of intense fighting for days. Opposition fighters pushed out government soldiers who entered it Wednesday, while Turkey sent in new reinforcements Thursday and threatened to use force to compel the Syrian forces to retreat by the end of the month. The town sits at the intersection of two major highways, one linking the capital Damascus to the north and another connecting the country’s west and east. State news agency SANA and state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV said Syrian army units entered the town before nightfall and were combing it for remaining fighters and explosives.

States use clergy abuse lists

In the wake of revelations that scores of Roman Catholic priests and religious workers credibly accused of child sexual abuse are living unsupervised in communities across the country, state officials face a quandary: Should they screen former clergy members who seek licenses for jobs that put them in contact with children? And, if so, how? An Associated Press investigation last fall found nearly 200 accused clergy members had been granted teaching, mental health or social work licenses, with roughly six dozen still holding valid licenses to work in those fields in 2019. Since then, at least 20 states have started using church-released lists of priests and employees who faced credible allegations to screen applicants or check for current state teaching, foster care and therapy licenses — and, in some cases, have revoked credentials. As part of the church’s attempt to be more transparent about its ongoing sexual abuse crisis, more than 170 dioceses and religious orders have publicly released lists of clergy members they found to be credibly accused of abuses ranging from rape to child pornography. Over 5,300 priests, clergy members and a handful of lay employees — more than 2,000 of them still living — are on the lists. But because most were never convicted of a crime, the allegations of child abuse never appeared in licensing background checks, the AP’s investigation revealed.

King angry at CBS promo

NEW YORK — In the wake of a social media backlash, CBS’ Gayle King says she is embarrassed and angry with how the network promoted part of her interview with WNBA star Lisa Leslie that concerned the late Kobe Bryant. King responded via Twitter on Thursday to address the reaction to a video clip from her wide-ranging “CBS This Morning” interview with Leslie that aired Tuesday. The clip, distributed online and on CBS News’ social media accounts, focused on a portion of the interview where Leslie addressed a sexual assault charge that had been brought against Bryant and dismissed. Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Jan. 26. “I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw, I’d be extremely angry with me, too,” King said. “I am mortified, I am embarrassed and I’m very angry.” CBS responded by agreeing that the excerpt “did not reflect the nature and tone” of the complete interview. “We are addressing the internal process that led to this and changes have already been made,” CBS said.

Bryant memorial set for Feb. 24

LOS ANGELES — A public memorial service for Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others killed in a helicopter crash is planned for Feb. 24 at Staples Center, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press on Thursday. The arena is where Bryant starred for the Los Angeles Lakers for two decades and the date 2/24 corresponds with the No. 24 jersey he wore and the No. 2 worn by his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. No official announcement about the memorial has been made. The person who provided the information to the AP is knowledgeable about the planning and spoke only on condition of anonymity. The Los Angeles Times was first to report the event, citing two anonymous sources with knowledge of the planning. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has said a memorial would be held but his office had no immediate comment, nor did the Lakers or Staples Center. Staples has played host to other memorials, including for Michael Jackson and, last year, for rapper Nipsey Hussle.

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