NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
Missouri governor: In his first interview since acknowledging an extramarital affair, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens said Saturday that there was “no blackmail” and “no threat of violence” by him in what he described as a months-long “consensual relationship” with his former hairdresser. Greitens, 43, told the Associated Press that he has no plans to resign from office, despite calls to step aside from several Republican and Democratic state lawmakers. St. Louis station KMOV reported Jan. 10 that Greitens had an extramarital affair in 2015 as he was preparing to run for governor. “The mistake that I made was that I was engaged in a consensual relationship with a woman who was not my wife,” the Republican said. “That is a mistake for which I am very sorry.”
Boat blast: An explosion rocked a tugboat while it was docked for repairs in Kentucky, killing three people and injuring several others, authorities said. Work was being done on the vessel and dozens of people were either aboard the boat or at the site when the blast occurred Friday outside Calvert City, state police said. Authorities offered no immediate word about a cause. There was no early indication of foul play. Six people were taken to hospitals for injuries ranging from minor to serious, state police said.
Montecito mudslide: U.S. Highway 101 along the coast has been cleared of debris and could reopen by Monday while the search is widening for two people still missing after a major mudslide, authorities said. The highway has been cleaned of mud in Santa Barbara County, and workers are now clearing drainage areas and stabilizing embankments, said Tim Gubbins of the California Department of Transportation. More than a dozen new teams of search dogs joined hundreds of firefighters in the search for two people missing since the Jan. 9 slide: 2-year-old Lydia Sutthithepa, and John Cantin, 17. The body of Fabiola Benitez, 28, was recovered Saturday, bringing the death toll to 21 people.
Carter health: Former President Jimmy Carter is scaling back his Sunday teaching schedule at his hometown church in Plains, Ga. The Carter Center said the 93-year-old will begin limiting his duties at Maranatha Baptist Church in the coming months. He’ll continue to attend church with his wife, Rosalynn, and greet visitors. Carter still is scheduled to teach Sunday and Jan. 28, along with three Sundays each in February and March. The former president remains active but was hospitalized last year when he became dehydrated during a Habitat for Humanity project.
Smuggling case: Two Southern California men have been arrested on federal charges that they illegally exported computer chips with military applications to China. The U.S. attorney’s office said part-time Los Angeles resident Yi-Chi Shih and Kiet Ahn Mai of Pasadena were arrested Friday. Prosecutors said the men conspired to have a U.S. company make special high-speed computer chips that were illegally exported to a Chinese company.