IN BRIEF

RUSSIAN MISSILE IMPLICATED IN MALAYSIA FLIGHT 17

A Dutch- led criminal investigation into the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 released Wednesday found evidence the airliner was struck by a Russian- made Buk missile that was moved into eastern Ukraine from Russia.

The report confirmed multiple findings in the past of the cause of the crash of the Boeing 777, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, killing all 298 people aboard.

Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Dutch Central Crime Investigation Department, said communications intercepts showed pro- Russian separatists had called for the missile to be deployed and reported its arrival in rebel- held parts of eastern Ukraine.

— Jane Onyanga- Omara

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AVERTED; ZIKA FUNDS OK’D

Congress approved a stop- gap spending deal Wednesday to avert a government shutdown and provide $ 1.1 billion in long- awaited aid to combat the Zika virus.

The House voted 342- 85 to pass the legislation, which will keep the govern- ment funded through Dec. 9 and give lawmakers time to work out a long- term spending bill for the fiscal 2017 year that begins Saturday. The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 72- 26 earlier in the day, clearing the way for Congress to leave town until after the Nov. 8 election.

The White House issued a statement Wednesday saying that it supports the compromise bill, which President Obama is poised to sign into law no later than Friday.

Without congressional action, federal agencies would have run out of money to operate at midnight Friday. — Erin Kelly

N. J. HOLDING SUSPECT IN NYC BUILDING BLAST

New Jersey authorities are holding the man wanted in New York in connection with a building explosion that killed a fire department battalion chief.

Julio Salcedo Contrer, 34, was arrested Tuesday in Cliffside Park, N. J. and is being held in the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, N. J., as a fugitive from justice, jail spokesman Anthony Cureton said Wednesday.

Contrer will be held without bail pending extradition to New York for questioning and potential charges in the blast that killed fire Battalion Chief Michael Fahy, 44, of Yonkers, N. Y. Contrer apparently was a tenant in the house that exploded. — Steve Lieberman, The ( Lower Hudson Valley, N. Y.) Journal News