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SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Russia's top investigative agency says it has located a man who filmed a Russian military plane as it crashed in the Black Sea. The Investigative Committee says it has found several people who witnessed Sunday's crash, including a man who filmed the jet's brief flight and its crash. The Defense Ministry plane crashed two minutes after taking off on its way to a Russian military base in Syria, killing all 92 people aboard.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of President-elect Donald Trump's main advisers on U.S.-Israel relations will be his special representative for international negotiations. Trump's transition team says attorney Jason Greenblatt has been named to the role. In a statement, Trump says Greenblatt has the expertise to "bring parties together and build consensus on difficult and sensitive topics."
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An unusual budget provision passed earlier this month by Congress means no one who qualifies for a government farm loan will be denied in the next four months. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican who chairs an agricultural appropriations panel, says the budget patch gives the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency authority to meet the spike in loan demand by using future funding. There is no limit to how much the USDA can lend through April 28.
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A former "Survivor" contestant has been sentenced to at least a year in prison for possessing child pornography. In court today in Michigan, Michael Skupin (SKOO'-pihn) asked for mercy from the judge and said he's "deeply sorry." But he denied downloading the photos on his laptop. In a separate case, he was placed on probation and ordered to pay nearly $32,000 to victims of a financial scheme. It was during that investigation that authorities say child porn was found on Skupin's laptop.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ninety-six-year-old Cyrus Porter is a devoted Taylor Swift fan and has traveled to her shows, but yesterday, he didn't have to go anywhere. Swift came to him. A day after Porter hosted 72 people for Christmas, a van pulled into the driveway of his Missouri home. Out stepped Swift and her parents. The 27-year-old singer stayed about an hour and sang "Shake It Off" as Porter's relatives sang along. Swift had learned about the World War II combat veteran's fandom and decided to surprise him.
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