NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
Officers shot: Authorities have arrested two men suspected of wounding two St. Louis police officers in an attack that also left a 24-year-old woman in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. Acting Police Chief Lawrence O’Toole said the third victim was in her home directly behind the officers when they were attacked Friday. A 35year-old male officer and 32year-old female officer were treated for gunshot wounds to their legs and hands and facial wounds caused by shrapnel. They were in stable condition. O’Toole said the suspects are 22 and 24 years old and have criminal records. The injured officers are members of a unit that investigates gang crimes. O’Toole said they were patrolling in their car and were “ambushed” by the suspects. West Nile deaths: California’s Department of Public Health has confirmed three recent deaths from the West Nile virus, the first this year. This is the peak transmission period for the mosquito-borne disease, which doesn’t pose a grave risk for most people but can afflict about 1 percent with serious neurologic illnesses. The department said the three people who died were residents of Kern, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. In all, the department has recorded 87 human cases of the virus in 13 California counties this year. Standard precautions against mosquitoes are the best ways to prevent infection.
NASA leader: President Trump plans to nominate an Oklahoma congressman to serve as the next administrator of NASA. Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine serves in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and is a former director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. He was elected to Congress in 2012 and currently serves on House Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. If confirmed by the Senate, Bridenstine would play a key role in Trump’s plans to add human exploration of Mars to NASA’s mission. NASA is aiming for astronauts on Mars in the 2030s.
Trail record: A former Boston College cross-country runner has traversed the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail in record time after a sleepless, 37-hour sprint to the top of Maine’s Mount Katahdin. Joe McConaughy reached the mountain summit Thursday, finishing his trek in 45 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes. He averaged about 48 miles daily. The 26-year-old said he loves running, hiking, the outdoors “and pushing myself.” His unofficial time beat the previous best by about 10 hours. The Seattle native used global-positioning data and social media time stamps to back his claim. The Appalachian Trail Conference doesn’t keep official records. Panda party: Atlanta’s zoo is celebrating the first birthday of the only giant panda twins in the United States. Zoo Atlanta has a holiday weekend full of surprises planned to celebrate the first birthday of Ya Lun and Xi Lun, which is Sunday. The twins will get to enjoy ice cake creations, and visitors can craft birthday greetings for them. Ya Lun and Xi Lun were born 47 minutes apart on Sept. 3, 2016. They were the sixth and seventh cubs born to 20year-old mother Lun Lun and 19-year-old father Yang Yang.