Mystery and confusion surround Russian plane crash in Egypt that killed 224
Mystery and confusion surround Russian plane crash in Egypt that killed 224
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Mystery and confusion surrounded the final moments of a Russian jetliner that plummeted suddenly from high altitude to the Egyptian desert, killing all 224 people aboard. The airline Monday ruled out pilot error or a technical fault, but Russian aviation officials dismissed those comments as premature.
Some aviation experts raised the possibility that a bomb on board the Metrojet Airbus A321-200 brought it down, while others cited an incident in 2001 when the aircraft grazed the runway with its tail while landing.
James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said that while there is no direct evidence of any terrorist involvement yet, it couldn’t be excluded that the plane was brought down by Islamic State extremists in the Sinai Peninsula.
“It’s unlikely, but I wouldn’t rule it out,” he told reporters in Washington.
Asked if a terrorist attack could be ruled out, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said: “No versions could be excluded.”
Vatican arrests priest and laywoman in latest probe of leak of confidential documents
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said Monday it had arrested a high-ranking priest and another member of a papal reform commission on suspicion of leaking confidential documents — a stunning move that comes just days before the publication of two books promising damaging revelations about the obstacles Pope Francis faces in cleaning up the Holy See’s murky finances.
The developments threatened to become a new “Vatileaks” — the 2012 scandal that began with the publication of a blockbuster book by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi detailing the corruption and mismanagement in the Holy See. The scandal ended with the conviction of Pope Benedict XVI’s butler — and Benedict’s resignation a year later.
The latest arrests of two advisers hand-picked by Francis to help in his effort to overhaul Vatican finances threatened to further expose infighting and rifts surrounding the pope’s efforts at reform and a more open church.
Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, a Spaniard, and Francesca Chaouqui, an Italian public relations executive, had served on a now-defunct financial reform commission set up by Francis in 2013 as part of his drive to clean house at the Vatican, especially in its scandal-tainted economic affairs.
A Vatican statement said the arrests followed a monthslong investigation and that the two had been interrogated over the weekend. It said Vallejo Balda was being held in a jail cell in Vatican City, while Chaouqui was released Monday because she was cooperating with the investigation.
A year from Election Day, GOP faces primary chaos while Dems start to focus on next November
WASHINGTON (AP) — After a devastating loss in the 2012 presidential election, the Republican Party entered a period of intense self-reflection and emerged with a firm promise to learn from its mistakes.
The GOP vowed to avoid a prolonged and vicious 2016 primary. It concluded it must embrace an overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws and adopt a more welcoming tone to win over women and minorities.
Yet a year from Election Day 2016, the GOP primary is a rough and bumpy competition. More than a dozen candidates are fighting for the support of voters — and skirmishing among themselves over the process of picking the nominee. And there are few signs the candidates are committed to expanding the party’s appeal beyond its conservative base.
“For Republicans, a free-for-all is good — I guess,” says Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committeeman from New Hampshire. “We always anticipated a vigorous contest, but I never anticipated 16 candidates.”
Meanwhile, there’s no such drama among Democrats. The party appears to be coalescing behind front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is building a campaign operation aimed at turning out the general election voters who catapulted Barack Obama to the White House.
Environmental Protection Agency says Volkswagen cheated a 2nd time on pollution tests
WASHINGTON (AP) — Volkswagen cheated a second time on emissions tests, programming about 10,000 cars with larger diesel engines to emit fewer pollutants during tests than in real-world driving, according to the U.S. government.
The German automaker installed software designed to defeat the tests on VW, Porsche and Audi vehicles with six-cylinder diesel engines, the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board said Monday. While on the road, the cars emit up to nine times more nitrogen oxide pollution than allowed by EPA standards, the agency said.
The latest charges follow VW’s admission in September that it rigged emissions tests for four-cylinder diesel engines on 11 million cars worldwide, including almost 500,000 in the U.S. The so-called defeat device in the six-cylinder engines was discovered by EPA and CARB with tests put in place in late September.
In a notice of violation sent to VW, EPA officials said the automaker “knew or should have known” that by employing the software, the cars were not in compliance with Clean Air Act emission standards.
In a statement, Volkswagen said “no software was installed in the 3-Liter V6 diesel motors to change the emissions values in any impermissible way.” It pledged to “fully cooperate with the EPA to clarify this situation.”
Supreme Court seems divided in dispute over website that published false personal data
WASHINGTON (AP) — No one at the Supreme Court on Monday disputed the fact that an online profile of Thomas Robins was riddled with false and misleading information.
The profile of the Virginia resident compiled by Internet search site Spokeo.com said Robins had a graduate degree, a good job and was married with children. In fact, Robins had no advanced degree and was unemployed, with no wife or children.
But the justices appeared sharply divided along ideological lines over whether Robins can sue the company for a technical violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, even if the mistakes didn’t cause him any specific harm such as a lost job opportunity or denial of credit.
The case pits business groups concerned about exposure to costly litigation against consumer protection advocates who say such lawsuits are the only way to hold companies accountable for mistakes.
Robins is pursuing a class action case against Spokeo on behalf of thousands of plaintiffs, which could lead to damages in the billions of dollars.
Jimmy Carter says he’s feeling fine, builds with Habitat for Humanity despite cancer treatment
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jimmy Carter resumed his role as Habitat for Humanity’s most prominent booster on Monday, donning a white hard hat and a worn leather belt stocked with his own tools to hammer and saw with other volunteers building a home in Memphis, Tennessee.
“We haven’t cut back on my schedule yet,” Carter said, seeming invigorated during an Associated Press interview. “I know it’s going to come, particularly if my cancer progresses, but we don’t yet know what the result will be from the treatments.”
The former president celebrated his 91st birthday in October, and is undergoing treatment on cancer found in his liver and brain. But he was sure-footed on the construction site as he moved from one task to another.
Arriving ahead of schedule, Carter installed a hammer, measuring tape and thick pencil on his tool belt. Then he helped place pre-framed walls, hammered nails into place and sawed boards into smaller pieces, occasionally shouting questions or suggestions at the rest of the crew.
His wife, Rosalynn Carter, 88, hammered brackets to secure the walls, pulling the nails from her own leather tool belt. “Hard work,” she said with a soft laugh.
Judge orders Bill Cosby deposition in Janice Dickinson defamation lawsuit against comedian
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bill Cosby and his former attorney can be deposed by lawyers for Janice Dickinson in the model’s defamation lawsuit against the embattled comedian, a judge ruled Monday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Debre Katz Weintraub ruled Cosby and his former lawyer Martin Singer must give their sworn testimony before Nov. 25.
Dickinson, who is among dozens of women alleging that Cosby molested them, is suing Cosby for defamation over statements last year denying the comedian drugged and raped Dickinson in 1982.
The ruling states Dickinson’s lawyers can only seek answers as to whether the denials were made maliciously, and Cosby and Singer can assert attorney-client privilege and refuse to answer some questions.
Dickinson never reported the rape to authorities and has said she was afraid if she did that her career would be damaged and Cosby would retaliate.