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CATANIA, Sicily (AP) — The lawyer for the suspected captain of the smugglers' ship that capsized in the Mediterranean's worst migrant disaster says his client was a regular paying passenger like everyone else on board. As many as 800 people drowned during the weekend crossing from Libya. Speaking today before his client was questioned by prosecutors, the lawyer acknowledged that his defense is "delicate," given that survivors and even a suspected crew member identified his client as the captain.
PARIS (AP) — France's prime minister says investigators are searching for possible accomplices in a planned attack on a church. The plot was uncovered when the suspect apparently shot himself by accident. The country's prime minister told French radio today that the would-be attacker could have been part of a terror network, or had people who provided logistical support. The 24-year-old Algerian computer science student was arrested Sunday after he called for an ambulance for his wounded leg. Police found an arsenal in his car. France's Interior Ministry says six planned attacks have been thwarted since summer 2013.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have opened lower, as investors await more earnings results. Shares turned lower earlier today in Europe, amid gloomy manufacturing data from the eurozone, China and Japan. But Asian markets closed mostly higher, on hopes for economic stimulus.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Government scientists say more than a dozen regions in the United States have experienced a rise in man-made earthquakes in recent years. A report released today found that 17 areas in eight states have seen small quakes triggered by oil and gas drilling. They include parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. The U.S. Geological Survey says most of the shaking is caused by the oil and gas industry injecting wastewater deep underground, which can activate dormant faults. A few cases stemmed from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
CHICAGO (AP) — Catholics are preparing to say their final goodbyes to the late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who had a reputation for being an intellectual leader in the church. A funeral Mass is planned today at Holy Name Cathedral. George will be buried in his family's plot at a suburban cemetery. George died last Friday at age 78 after a long battle with cancer. The Chicago native who grew up in a working-class neighborhood was appointed leader of the nation's third-largest archdiocese in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.
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