Obama supports Va. candidates
FAIRFAX, Va. — Former President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance in northern Virginia Monday to rally supporters for Sen. Tim Kaine and state Sen. Jennifer Wexton on the eve of Election Day, part of a series of stops during the past week to help Democrats win control of at least the House.
Carrying a box of doughnuts, Mr. Obama startled a crowd of about 60 mostly young campaign staffers and volunteers inside a Wexton field office. He cast the election as a referendum on the country’s future.
“You vote, you might save a life; that’s pretty rare when that happens,” Mr. Obama told the crowd, referring to the potential for a Republican-controlled Congress to follow through on promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Democrats argue that would hurt people with preexisting health conditions.
And he attacked President Donald Trump for what the ex-president has called “fear mongering” and repeated lies.
“Most important, the character of this country is on the ballot,” Mr. Obama said. “The politics we expect is on the ballot. How we conduct ourselves in public life is on the ballot.”
Newlyweds die in crash
A newlywed couple died after the helicopter carrying them from their wedding crashed into the side of a mountain in Uvalde, Texas, authorities said.
Will Byler and Bailee Ackerman Byler married Saturday evening at the Byler family ranch before departing on the helicopter in front of family and friends. Uvalde is in northwest Uvalde County, about 100 miles west of San Antonio.
The Sam Houston State University seniors were on the way to their honeymoon in San Antonio when their helicopter crashed into the mountain, game warden Rachel Kellner with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said.
Authorities were notified of the crash just after midnight on Sunday morning, Mr. Kellner said. Rescue crews were unable to reach the helicopter overnight because of the difficult terrain and “pitch dark” conditions, she said.
Winner comes forward
CLIVE, Iowa — After hearing someone from Iowa had won half of a nearly $700 million Powerball jackpot, Lerynne West couldn’t find the ticket she’d bought the day before so she asked her sister to check her pickup truck.
There it was, on the pickup floor — a scrap of paper worth a share of $688 million.
The win was a shock to the single mom, who struggled to persuade her three daughters and other relatives that it was for real.
“Nobody believed me,” Ms. West said Monday after submitting her winning ticket at lottery headquarters in suburban Des Moines. “They thought I was crazy.”
Ms. West will share the $688 million jackpot drawn Oct. 27 with someone who bought the other winning ticket in New York City but hasn’t claimed the prize.
Shooting suspect sought
LOS ANGELES — Authorities are searching for a suspect in a shooting that killed one person and injured two others at a detox facility in Marin County, Calif., officials said Monday.
Detectives with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office determined the shooting was an isolated incident and that the community was under no threat.
The Sheriff’s Office said authorities received a call at 1:33 a.m. local time from the Helen Vine Detox Center in San Rafael reporting that staff members had been shot.