In the news

■ Raj Shah, a White House spokesman, called “completely false” a claim by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., that top economic adviser Gary Cohn faked bad reception to get President Donald Trump off the phone during a meeting on tax legislation.

■ Randy Bresnik, a U.S. astronaut aboard the International Space Station, said that after feasting on single-serve pouches of Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes and candied yams, he’ll appreciate next year’s holiday with his wife’s home cooking that much more.

■ Elmer Alvarez, a homeless man in Connecticut who found a $10,000 check and returned it to its owner because he wanted to “do the right thing,” was rewarded with housing and a job interview, arranged by the real estate agent who lost the check.

■ Julia Poff, 46, of Brookshire, Texas, faces several charges after, court documents say, she mailed homemade explosives to former President Barack Obama and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that could have maimed or killed them.

■ Brendan Evans, 31, was arrested after Hollywood, Fla., police traced his DNA to an abandoned suitcase with a young pit bull, suffering fatal beating and stabbing injuries, stuffed inside.

■ Art Gukasayan of Fog Shots distillery in Los Angeles said burglars sawed through deadbolts to get inside a storage room and steal 1,800 gallons of vodka, about 90 percent of the company’s holiday inventory.

■ Carlos Gonzalez-Oliver, 41, who purchased a birthday cake for one of his New Britain, Conn., roommates, got into an argument with another roommate who destroyed the cake and was fatally stabbed in the altercation, police said.