Canada welcomes Syrian refugees...Officer convicted of sexual assaults...Threat of mudslides

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TORONTO (AP) — The first Canadian government plane carrying Syrian refugees has arrived in Toronto. The military plane transported 163 refugees. The newly elected Liberal government has pledged to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees fleeing civil war and Islamic extremists. Canada's welcoming stands in stark contrast to the U.S., where many governors oppose resettlement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An FBI laboratory is testing a white powdery substance that was sent in an envelope to a Muslim advocacy group in Washington. It was opened Thursday at the headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, near the U.S. Capitol. The group's spokesman says initial testing showed the substance was not harmful. The envelope also contained a "hate message."

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A former Oklahoma City police officer could spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of raping and sexually victimizing eight black women in the neighborhood he patrolled. Daniel Holtzclaw, who turned 29 on Thursday, sobbed and put his head on a table as the verdict was read. A judge must decide if the jury's recommendation of a total of 263 years in prison will have to be served consecutively.

JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) —Officials at Arkansas State University say campus activities are to resume Friday following a lockdown on Thursday involving an armed man. Police and university officials say the man posted on Facebook that he was homicidal and suicidal. He drove onto the campus -- in Jonesboro -- with a shotgun and containers of gasoline and propane. The incident lasted about an hour before the man was taken into custody.

SEATTLE (AP) — Forecasters are warning that there is a high risk of mudslides in parts of the Pacific-Northwest through the weekend. Storms this week have sent rivers out of their banks, closing roads and killing at least two people. And mudslides have closed roads including a portion of Interstate 5, where some motorists were stranded for hours. One lane was reopened late Thursday. All lanes could be reopened by late Sunday.