Colorado
Cantaloupe farmers are arrested in 2011's fatal listeria outbreak
The owners of a Colorado cantaloupe farm were arrested Thursday on charges stemming from a 2011 listeria epidemic that killed 33 people in one of the nation's deadliest outbreaks of foodborne illness. Federal prosecutors said brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen were arrested on misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. They pleaded not guilty to six counts each.
Federal regulators are assessing environmental toll of oil spills
When floodwaters surged into Colorado, they swamped oil wells, sweeping huge oil tanks off their foundations. As the waters drain east, regulators have moved in to assess the environmental toll. There are about 20,000 oil and gas wells across hard-hit Weld County, and about 1,900 of them had to be closed off. So far, state officials say the damage appears to be limited with about 37,380 gallons spilled so far.
Maryland
Man with razor blades in shoe is stopped at Baltimore airport
Two razor blades were found "manufactured into the sole" of a man's shoe at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The metal blades were spotted by security in the man's carry-on bag as it passed through an X-ray machine, the TSA said in a statement. The man, who was not arrested, was permitted to catch his flight.
India
12 killed in attack in Kashmir in advance of U.N. meeting
An attack on the Indian-held side of disputed Kashmir reportedly killed 12 people, including three teenage militants, days before the leaders of India and Pakistan were to meet in New York. The attack appeared to follow a long-established pattern, with extremists attempting to derail any steps toward rapprochement between the wary neighbors.
Afghanistan
U.S. service member is killed in Afghan 'insider attack'
A U.S. service member was killed in eastern Paktia Province when a man in an Afghan National Army uniform opened fire at a joint military training base, provincial officials said. The assailant was killed in return fire by NATO forces. The Taliban said in a Twitter message that it was responsible for the attack.
El Salvador
2 former Guantanamo detainees, both Uighurs, have left El Salvador
Two former prisoners from Guantanamo prison who were transferred to El Salvador 17 months ago have quietly slipped out of the Central American nation. When and how the two men, both ethnic Uighurs, left El Salvador is unknown, but their departure is sure to fuel worries that the United States has lost track of some Guantanamo detainees who have been released. Uighurs familiar with the case said it is likely the two men headed to Turkey.
news services
An international panel of appeals judges unanimously upheld a 50-year jail sentence against Charles G. Taylor, the former president of Liberia, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a lengthy summary, read out in a courtroom near The Hague, the judges ruled that Taylor's sentencing had been "fair and reasonable," rejecting the defense appeal for his immediate release and the prosecution's request for his jail term to be extended to 80 years. Taylor, who sat impassively through the 90-minute hearing, was found guilty in April 2012 on all counts of an 11-count indictment alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to his role in aiding murderous rebels who committed atrocities in Sierra Leone, Liberia's northern neighbor, during its civil war in the 1990s. He was accused of fomenting widespread brutality that included murder, rape, the use of child soldiers, the mutilation of thousands of civilians and the mining of diamonds to pay for guns and ammunition.
