NATION BRIEFS
Hurricane Lane dumps 12 inches of rain on Hawaii’s Big Island
HONOLULU – Hurricane Lane soaked Hawaii’s Big Island on Thursday, dumping 12 inches of rain in as many hours as residents stocked up on supplies and tried to protect their homes ahead of the state’s first hurricane since 1992.
The National Weather Service warned that some areas could see up to 30 inches before the system passes. Bands of rain extended 350 miles from the hurricane’s center.
Lane was not projected to make a direct hit on the islands, but officials warned that even a lesser blow could do significant harm.
Autopsy finds student died from ‘sharp force injuries’
BROOKLYN, Iowa – The Iowa college student who was allegedly abducted by a stranger while running last month in a small town was stabbed to death, investigators announced Thursday.
Preliminary autopsy results from the state medical examiner’s office determined that 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts was the victim of a homicide who died from “multiple sharp force injuries,” the Division of Criminal Investigation announced in a news release.
The man charged with first-degree murder in Tibbetts’ death, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, allegedly led investigators to her body early Tuesday in a cornfield outside of Brooklyn, Iowa, the town where the University of Iowa psychology major was last seen one month prior.
Prosecutors allege that Rivera abducted Tibbetts while she was out for an evening run in Brooklyn on July 18, killed her and disposed of her body in
the secluded location.
Secretary of state to visit N. Korea next week
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday appointed a senior executive with Ford Motor Co. to be his special envoy for North Korea and said the two would visit Pyongyang next week.
Pompeo announced that he had chosen Stephen Biegun to handle day-today negotiations with the North over dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Pompeo has been leading the effort for President Donald Trump and has already made three trips to Pyongyang since April, although there have been few visible signs of progress in the talks.
Pompeo said he and Biegun would be traveling to North Korea “to make further diplomatic progress toward our objective” of its complete denuclearization.
California congressman, wife plead not guilty to charges
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter was swarmed by several dozen demonstrators yelling “shame on you!” as he left a federal courthouse Thursday in San Diego after pleading not guilty to charges of illegally using his campaign account for personal expenses.
The California Republican and his wife, Margaret, entered their pleas in federal court, where prosecutors said bond could be set low because the couple are living paycheck to paycheck. The judge agreed to set bail at $15,000 for the congressman and at $10,000 for his wife.