Nation and world news in brief for October 3

Doctor pleads guilty in death of ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — One of two California doctors who were among the five people charged in the overdose death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry pleaded guilty on Wednesday to illegally distributing the drug ketamine.

Dr. Mark Chavez of San Diego entered the plea during an appearance in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. He could face up to 10 years in prison at his sentencing, which was scheduled for April.

Another physician charged in the case, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, has pleaded not guilty, as has co-defendant Jasveen Sangha, who authorities said was an illicit supplier of the drug and was known as the “ketamine queen.” The pair are scheduled to go on trial in March.

Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who admitted to injecting Perry with the drug, and the alleged middleman who said he obtained ketamine from Sangha, have already pleaded guilty to charges they faced.

FAA ends enhanced oversight of United Airlines after safety review

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it had found no significant safety issues in a review of United Airlines and ended its enhanced oversight and approval process for the carrier to add aircraft and services.

The FAA in March opened a review to ensure the Chicago-based carrier’s compliance with safety regulations after a series of safety incidents earlier this year.

“The review did not identify any significant safety issues,” the FAA said in a statement.

United declined to comment on Wednesday.

Trump campaign says it raised over $160 million in September

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign raised over $160 million in September and closed the month with $283 million of cash on hand, the former president’s campaign said on Wednesday.

The figures marked a 23% rise from the $130 million the campaign had said it raised in August.

Mexican soldiers open fire on migrants, killing six

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) — Mexican soldiers killed six migrants when they opened fire on a group of 33 migrants traveling in a pick-up truck that had tried to evade a military patrol, the defense ministry announced in a statement on Wednesday.

Another 10 migrants were injured in the incident on Tuesday evening, the ministry added, from the group which included Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Indian and Pakistani nationals.

The ministry said in a statement the incident took place just before 9 p.m. on Tuesday while the patrol traveled on a highway near the town of Huixtla, some 40 km (25 miles) from Tapachula, by the Guatemalan border.

The pick-up truck was followed by two vehicles similar to those used by criminal groups in the area, it said, and soldiers reported hearing explosions after which two officers opened fire.

In its statement, the defense ministry said the two soldiers were removed from their posts and reported to the federal prosecutors for corresponding legal actions, while a military tribunal carries out its own investigation.

Three men arrested after explosions near Israeli embassy in Denmark

(NYT) — Police in Copenhagen, Denmark, arrested three men in connection with two explosions that occurred near the Israeli Embassy just north of the city early Wednesday.

The assailants probably used two hand grenades, according to Jens Jespersen, the Copenhagen Police Department’s chief police inspector.

Police arrested two of the men at Copenhagen’s Central Station, and a third man in another part of the city, police said in a statement Wednesday. The three men arrested were Swedish and between 15 and 20 years old, Jespersen said during a news conference Wednesday.

Jespersen added that police were not looking for any more suspects.

The explosions, which took place around 3:20 a.m., according to the Copenhagen Police Department, were reported in Hellerup, a seaside suburb just north of Copenhagen that is home to several embassies, police said. Security personnel at the embassy heard the explosions and reported them, police said.

No one was injured, police said.

School bus fire in Thailand kills at least 23

BANGKOK (Reuters) — At least 23 people died in Thailand when a school bus carrying more than 40 students and teachers on a field trip caught fire in the outskirts of the capital Bangkok, police said on Tuesday.

Twenty three bodies have been identified, Trairong Phiwpan, forensic science commissioner told reporters, with an investigation on the causes underway.

Sixteen students and three teachers were sent to a hospital for treatment, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said.

CDC warns of overdose risk from fake prescription medicines online

(Reuters) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday alerted public health officials and clinicians about the potential risk for drug overdose among individuals ordering counterfeit prescription medicines from online pharmacies.

The counterfeit pills sold through illegal internet-based pharmacies frequently contain fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is the leading cause of drug overdoses in the United States, the health agency said.

Nearly 95% of websites offering prescription drugs online operate illegally, the CDC said, citing data from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

The CDC urged individuals to be cautious of online pharmacies that operate without a license, do not require a doctor’s prescription and offer deep discounts.

Melania defends abortion as Donald Trump says states should decide, Guardian reports

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Melania Trump writes in her upcoming memoir that a woman has the right to an abortion, The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday, while her husband, Donald Trump, backs the ability for U.S. states to restrict the procedure.

“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body?” Melania Trump writes in her memoir that is due to be published four weeks before the Nov. 5 election,.

The Guardian said it has obtained a copy of the book, titled “Melania,” that is due to be published on Oct. 8. A spokesperson for the former first lady did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Mo. man who took right-wing extremist flag into Capitol on Jan. 6 is sentenced

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (TNS) — A southwest Missouri man who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 carrying a flag associated with the anti-government Three Percenters movement has been sentenced to two years probation.

Joseph Kerry Hicks, 50, of Willard, faced a maximum of one year in prison and a $10,000 fine for convictions on two misdemeanors in connection with the Capitol riot: disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

The sentence was handed down Friday by Judge Jia M. Cobb via video conference in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The government had asked that Hicks receive six months’ jail time, 36 months’ probation and 60 hours of community service.