Nation and World briefs for August 4

Scammers, bug spray companies capitalizing on Zika fears

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Worried you might catch the Zika virus? Scammers and bug spray companies are counting on it.

Marketers know this is the time to pounce: The summer Olympics are about to start in Brazil, where the recent Zika epidemic started, and 14 mosquito-borne cases of Zika were identified recently in the Miami area, the first in the U.S. So companies and entrepreneurs are capitalizing on Zika fears wherever mosquitoes buzz, hawking questionable products like anti-Zika wristbands and promoting all manner of mosquito repellents for people and pets.

“From a marketing point of view, it’s a golden opportunity,” said Jonathan Day, a University of Florida mosquito expert and researcher.

In a first for a bugspray, Off! became the official insect repellent supplier for an Olympic Games, and agreed to send 115,000 sprays, spritzers and towelettes to the Rio Olympics. Rival Cutter in June signed on to sponsor the U.S. men’s and women’s national soccer teams.

Both companies are likely to benefit from Zika fears far beyond supplying athletes and fans in Brazil. Pharmacies in New York City, for example, have Off! displays warning consumers to “Repel the mosquitoes that may carry the Zika virus.” The tropical mosquito responsible for the Zika epidemic, called Aedes aegypti, is not found in New York, though state health officials still recommend that people use bug spray.

FBI: Transit officer 1st lawman charged under US terror law

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Prosecutors brought the first-ever federal terrorism charges against a law enforcement officer in the U.S., alleging Wednesday that a patrol officer with the D.C. region’s transit police bought about $250 worth of gift cards for someone he thought was working with the Islamic State group.

Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, was arrested Wednesday at Metro Transit Police headquarters in Washington and charged with a single count of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist group. According to an FBI affidavit , Young bought the gift cards last month that he intended for the Islamic State to use to purchase mobile messaging apps. Young actually gave the codes for the gift cards to an undercover FBI officer, the affidavit said.

He made a brief court appearance Wednesday afternoon, wearing a T-shirt and what appeared to be his uniform slacks.

David Smith, who was appointed to represent Young after the hearing, said he could not comment because he had not yet been able to research the details of the case.

If convicted, Young could face up to 20 years in prison.

Japan picks defense chief who downplays wartime past

TOKYO (AP) — A woman who has downplayed Japan’s wartime actions and is known for far-right views was named defense minister in a Cabinet reshuffle Wednesday, a move that could unsettle Tokyo’s relations with Asian neighbors with bitter memories of its World War II-era atrocities.

Tomomi Inada, a former reform minister who most recently was policy chief in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, replaced Gen Nakatani as defense minister. She is the second female to fill the post.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe changed more than half of the 19-member Cabinet in a bid to support his economic and security policies, as well as push for revising Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution.

A lawyer-turned-lawmaker with little experience in defense, Inada is one of Abe’s favorites. She regularly visits Yasukuni Shrine, which honors war dead including convicted war criminals, a gesture seen as an endorsement of Japan’s militaristic past.

She also has defended Japan’s wartime atrocities, including forcing many Asian women into sexual servitude in military-run brothels, and has led a party committee to re-evaluate the judgment of war tribunals led by the victorious Allies.

4 dead identified as cause of California bus crash probed

ATWATER, Calif. (AP) — A husband and wife traveling from Mexico to see their daughter in Washington were among the four identified Wednesday as those killed when a bus slammed into a highway sign that tore through the vehicle in California’s Central Valley.

The identities were released as investigators started piecing together what led to the crash early Tuesday. Among the possible factors being examined are driver fatigue and mechanical problems.

“At this point we don’t know what occurred immediately before the crash,” said Don Karol, a senior highway accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Driver fatigue is a natural place to look considering the collision happened around 3:30 a.m., said Henry Jasny, senior vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

“We’re daytime creatures,” Jasny said. “Our bodies want to sleep at night.”

N. Korea fires mid-range missile toward waters near Japan

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A medium-range ballistic missile fired Wednesday by North Korea flew about 620 miles and landed near Japan’s territorial waters, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, one of the longest flights by a North Korean missile.

The U.S. Strategic Command said North Korea fired two presumed Rodong missiles simultaneously, not just one. The command said initial indications were one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the second was tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan.

According to South Korean and Japanese announcements, one suspected Rodong missile lifted off from the North’s western Hwanghae province and flew across the country before falling in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it “strongly condemns” the missile launch because it explicitly shows the North’s intentions of being able to launch missile attacks on South Korea and neighboring countries.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missile landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical mile offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources. Japanese media reported it was the first North Korean missile that has splashed down in Japan’s EEZ.

GOP governor’s allies suffer in backlash in Kansas primary

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback assured the public that the income tax cuts he championed would stimulate the Kansas economy, supply plenty of money for schools and give other states a “pro-growth” policy model to follow.

But voters, including many Republicans, appear to have rejected that idea in the face of budget woes and court battles over education funding. On Tuesday, they ousted 11 of the conservative governor’s allies in favor of more centrist candidates.

The GOP incumbents who lost in the primary included the Senate’s majority leader. Another three conservative House members were trailing Wednesday in still-undecided races.

“It’s a mandate when you see the incumbents that supported the policies that have us in the position that we’re in today,” said John Skubal, a city council member in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, who defeated a conservative state senator. “The people are saying they don’t work.”

Kansas has struggled to balance its budget since the GOP-dominated Legislature slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging. That created concerns among educators about future spending on schools, even as many Republicans regarded the $4 billion-plus a year the state now spends as generous.