WASHINGTON
Strike kills top IS leader
A top Islamic State group leader in Afghanistan was killed in a U.S. drone strike last month, the Pentagon confirmed Friday, saying his death will affect the group’s recruiting and operations. Gordon Trowbridge, deputy press secretary, said Hafiz Saeed Khan died in southern Nangarhar Province on July 26. The State Department last year designated Khan a global terrorist, saying he is the leader of the Islamic State in Khorasan, which includes former members of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban. Khan had previously been a Tehrik-e Taliban commander, but last year pledged loyalty to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
BELLEFONTE, Pa.
Sandusky asserts innocence
Jerry Sandusky forcefully asserted his innocence and described his own sexual history Friday during an hour of testimony as he seeks to have his child sexual abuse conviction overturned or be granted a new trial. The former Penn State assistant coach was the first witness called in what is scheduled to be a three-day proceeding that focuses largely on whether he received adequate legal representation during his 2012 trial. He emphatically denied being guilty of sexual abuse and claimed to have never had oral or anal sex with anyone, contradicting victims’ trial testimony.
NEW ORLEANS
Dozens rescued from flooding
Heavy downpours pounded parts of the central U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday, forcing the rescue of dozens of people stranded in homes by waist-high water and leaving two people dead who became trapped by floodwaters. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency as rescue workers in the southeastern part of the state braced for more precipitation through the weekend.
OLDMANS TOWNSHIP, N.J.
Teddy bear headed home
The New Jersey Turnpike is reuniting a New York boy with the teddy bear that he lost on a road trip to North Carolina. The 12-year-old’s mother, Julissa Viana, of New City, N.Y., tweeted that the bear was missing when the family reached the Outer Banks on Aug. 6. She said the family had stopped at one of the turnpike’s service areas and the bear likely fell out while her husband sorted belongings. Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney tells NJ.com he saw the tweet and asked the patron services office to check with southbound service areas. The staff at the Clara Barton Service Area in Oldmans Township found the bear and Feeney tweeted a photo. Viana says she was elated. The authority is mailing the bear.
Compiled from wire reports