Missing mexican students burned, dumped in river
MEXICO CITY — Forty-three missing college students are thought to have been murdered and burned near a municipal garbage dump in the southern state of Guerrero and their remains thrown into a river, Mexico’s chief prosecutor said Friday.
Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam played video showing hundreds of charred fragments of bone and teeth fished from the river and its banks. About 74 people have been detained so far in a case that prosecutors have said started when police attacked student protesters Sept. 26 in the city of Iguala.
Associate charged in family’s slaying •SAN BERNARDINO, calif. — Prosecutors filed murder charges against a business associate of a California man who disappeared with his wife and two young sons in 2010 until their bodies were found in desert graves last year, authorities said Friday. Charles “Chase” Merritt, 57, of Homeland was due in court later in the day to face four counts of murder in the deaths of Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their sons, 4-year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph.
Palestinians protest clampdown at shrine •JERUSALEM — Hundreds of Palestinians knelt on prayer carpets in a Jerusalem street Friday, faced by a cordon of Israeli riot police who blocked them from reaching Islam’s third-holiest shrine in the nearby Old City — a walled, hilltop plateau known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount. The worshippers dispersed peacefully.
Williams’ autopsy finds no alcohol, illegal drugs •SAN FRANCISCO — Robin Williams’ autopsy found no alcohol or illegal drugs were in his body when he killed himself at his northern California home in August, sheriff’s officials said Friday. The coroner ruled Williams’ death a suicide that resulted from asphyxia due to hanging.
Ukraine accuses Russia of sending in tanks •KIEV, ukraine — Ukraine on Friday accused Russia of sending dozens of tanks and other heavy weapons into rebel-controlled eastern regions. Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at least 32 tanks, 16 artillery systems and 30 trucks loaded with fighters and ammunition had crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia.
Detroit’s bankruptcy exit approved •DETROIT — A judge cleared Detroit to emerge from bankruptcy Friday, approving a hard-fought turnaround plan with a fervent plea to the people of this one-time industrial powerhouse to “move past your anger” and help fix the Motor City.
Dad confronts kidnapper, saves 5-year-old daughter •SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah dad foiled an attempt to kidnap his daughter from her bed early Friday after confronting a man carrying her across the lawn.
The attempted kidnapper entered the home through an unlocked door about 4:30 a.m. in Sandy, a middle-class suburb south of Salt Lake City, said police Sgt. Dean Carriger.
The girl’s stepfather went to the door and saw the man carrying his 5-year-old daughter in the front lawn. He ran outside and confronted the man, and the man handed her over, Carriger said.
10th Circuit court won’t block same-sex marriage in Kansas •TOPEKA, kan. — The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Friday cleared the way for same-sex marriages to start in Kansas, rejecting a request from the state to keep its ban in place while it considered a legal challenge from two couples. Denver Post wire services
