Salem News Channel

Rex Heuermann Sentenced To Life In Prison For Serial Killings

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island architect who lived a secret life as the Gilgo Beach serial killer has been sentenced to to life in prison without parole. Rex Heuermann had previously admitted in court to killing eight women, many of them sex workers. Police discovered the remains of several of the women along a coastal parkway not far from Long Island’s Gilgo Beach. Family members of victims delivered emotional statements during the court hearing. Jasmine Robinson, a cousin of victim Jessica Taylor, said, “You fill me with so much repugnance, I can’t stand it.”

Tropical Storm Arthur Forms Near Texas Coast, With Life-Threatening Flooding Expected

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Arthur is the first of the Atlantic season and threatens the southern United States with dangerous flash flooding. The National Hurricane Center announced the storm Wednesday and said Arthur would skirt over the Gulf Coast with heavy rain through Friday. The storm loomed over a World Cup match in Houston between Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also formed amid days of heavy rain that has been drenching southern Texas. Authorities near Houston said a teenager appears to have drowned in a retention pond Tuesday following a period of heavy rain.

G7 Leaders Back Trump's Plan To End Iran War

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — Leaders at the Group of Seven summit have backed U.S. President Donald Trump's tentative agreement with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and extend a ceasefire. They called it a “historic opportunity” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The deal, expected to be signed Friday in Switzerland, would allow Iran to sell oil without restrictions if a final agreement is reached. Trump has not released the agreement's text but described it as “very strong.” G7 leaders also pledged support for Ukraine against Russia and vowed to tackle global drug gangs and migrant smugglers.

Mangione Will Use Psychiatric Defense In Murder Case

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione will assert a psychiatric defense at his state murder trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Judge Gregory Carro said Wednesday that Mangione’s lawyers have informed him they will attempt to show that he was suffering from “extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the occurrence.” By asserting a psychiatric defense, Mangione would effectively be admitting that he killed Thompson but did so because of mitigating circumstances. If a jury finds that Mangione was emotionally disturbed at the time of the killing, it could convict him of manslaughter instead of murder, meaning he’d be sentenced to less time in prison.

1 Killed When Small Plane Crashes On Texas Highway

A business jet reporting mechanical problems to a nearby airport crashed and caught fire on a Texas highway, killing one person and sending motorists racing from their cars to help rescue passengers from the burning wreckage. The plane went down late Tuesday in Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border after its crew radioed the local airport seeking to make an emergency landing. Police said six people were on board and one of them died in the crash. The jet barreled into a car, sending one motorist to a hospital in stable condition. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Eastern Washington Wildfire Forces Evacuations And Destroys Homes

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — High winds drove a wildfire into a Spokane neighborhood, forcing the evacuation of about 1,200 people and potentially damaging or destroying up to 15 structures, according to fire officials. The Upriver Fire started at 12:17 p.m. Tuesday near Upriver Drive in northeast Spokane, said Fire District 9 spokesman Robert Gray. “It moved rapidly up the hill and once it reach the top the wind shifted and it went right into the Northwoods neighborhood,” Gray said. Fire crews from Washington state and Idaho attacked the fire from the ground and air, but it quickly grew to 225 acres (.35 square miles) in an area called Beacon Hill. The blaze was 10 percent contained by Wednesday morning, according to a report by the National Interagency Fire Center. The wind had died down overnight, but the fire was still burning on the ground, so there was potential to expand on Wednesday, said Isabelle Hoygaard, a spokesperson with the Washington state Department of Natural Resources.

Suspect In Fatal Shooting Inside Delaware Hospital Taken Into Custody

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Officials say the suspect in a fatal shooting inside a Delaware hospital has been taken into custody in Philadelphia. The city of Wilmington said in a statement Tuesday that the 23-year-old man is expected to be charged in the shooting at Wilmington Hospital and extradited to Delaware. Officials have declined to release information about the identities of the victims or the condition of a person who was shot and survived. The city said the shooting is believed to have been targeted and isolated.