Man denies raping girl, says she might have raped him
— Prosecutors say a 38-year-old Massachusetts man charged with impregnating an 11-year-old girl denies raping the girl, and instead suggested that she might have become pregnant by having sex with him as he slept.
The Republican newspaper reports that Justin Armstrong, of Springfield, was held on $50,000 bail after pleading not guilty Monday to forcible child rape.
His lawyer said he denies the allegations, is cooperating with investigators and voluntarily submitted a DNA sample for testing.
Prosecutors say Armstrong initially told police the girl said she had been abused by a relative.
Ex-Marine killed passionate about fight against IS
—A former Marine believed so strongly in the war against the Islamic State group that he secretly traveled to Syria, where he was killed this month while fighting for a Kurdish militia group.
David Taylor, a 25-yearold former Florida resident, had kept his plans to join the Kurdish group a secret from his family and only told a high school friend, who he swore to secrecy. Taylor’s father said Tuesday that he didn’t even know of his son’s plans until after he had arrived in Syria last spring and was training with the group known as YPG.
“I got an email and he said, ‘Pops, don’t worry. I’m with the YPG,’” David Taylor Sr. told The Associated Press from his West Virginia home. “He said, ‘I’m doing the right thing. It’s for their freedom.’”
Libyan rivals agree in France to cease-fire, elections
LA CELLE SAINT-CLOUD, FRANCE — Two rival Libyan leaders committed themselves on Tuesday to a cease-fire, working toward presidential and parliamentary elections and finding a roadmap to secure lawless Libya against terrorism and trafficking of all kinds, according to a document released by the French presidency.
The meetings at a chateau in La Celle SaintCloud, west of Paris, brought together Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the U.N.-backed unity government, and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the Egyptianbacked commander of Libya’s self-styled national army. Macron met separately with each ahead of an encounter between the two Libyans in the presence of U.N.’s newly appointed special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS