HOLLANDE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION

paris» French President Francois Hollande announced Thursday that he would not seek a second term in next year’s presidential election, saying he hoped to give his Socialist party a chance to win “against conservatism and, worse still, extremism” by stepping aside.

The 62-year-old president — the country’s least popular leader since World War II — said he was “conscious of the risks” his lack of support posed to a successful candidacy.

“What’s at stake is not a person, it’s the country’s future,” he said.

Parents disarmed their son who brought guns to school B

bountiful, utah» Police said two fast-acting Utah parents disarmed their 15-year-old son at a Utah junior high school Thursday after the teenager brought the family’s shotgun and handgun to school and fired a round into the ceiling of a classroom without injuring anyone.

Bountiful Police Chief Tom Ross said the boy’s mother and father became concerned about their son Thursday morning. They went to Mueller Park Junior High after they noticed a handgun and shotgun were missing from their home. Ross said the parents confronted their son and disarmed him.

Hostages freed; bank robbery suspect in custody B

jacksonville, fla.» After a bank robbery suspect put a gun to the back of one hostage’s head, SWAT team members resolved at the first chance they had Thursday to storm a north Florida