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Kaitlyn Hunt pressed to take plea deal; Anthony Stokes makes transplant list; Two Louisiana hostages die in bank robbery

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Anthony Stokes. (28313)
Anthony Stokes.
UPS cargo plane Flight 1354 crashed and burned on approach to Brimingham, Alabama airport on Wednesday, August 14, 2013. The pilot and co-pilot were killed. It appears the plane, an Airbus A300, broke into at least two pieces. the jet went down on a street that runs parallel to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. The crew had not reported any trouble. (28046)

Alabama

The pilot and co-pilot of a UPS cargo plane did not issue a distress call prior to crashing while on approach Wednesday to Birmingham’s airport, a National Transportation Safety Board official said. While UPS said the status of its crew remained unconfirmed, Birmingham Airport Authority Chairwoman Gaynell Hendricks and the city’s mayor confirmed the pilot and co-pilot died in the crash. “It’s a grim scene,” Hendricks told CNN affiliate WBRC. The plane, an Airbus A300-600F, broke into pieces, spreading the majority of the debris over an area of about 300 yards, said Robert Sumwalt of the NTSB. The plane, which took off from Louisville, Ky., went down around 4:45 a.m. on a street that runs parallel to the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, about a half-mile north of the runway.

Israel Keys. (28303)

Alaska

Federal agents say they’ve now linked 11 killings to admitted serial killer Israel Keyes and are looking into possible ties to killings in other countries. Keyes killed himself in December, about nine months after his arrest in the slaying of an Anchorage coffee barista. Police said he admitted to at least seven other slayings, from Vermont to Washington state, before his death. In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the FBI office in Anchorage said agents have now added three more to that grim tally. They also asked the public to share any information they had regarding Keyes’ travels in Canada, Mexico and Belize between 2001 and 2008. “Keyes traveled internationally and it is unknown if he committed any homicides while outside of the United States,” the FBI statement said.

Aaron Hernandez. (28305)

Connecticut

The search of a pond in Bristol, in connection with the murder investigation involving Aaron Hernandez failed to turn up any new evidence, authorities said. “No evidence was recovered and, at the present time, no more dives are planned,” Lt. Kevin Morrell told CNN’s Susan Candiotti. Investigators have refused to say what they were searching for, but a law enforcement source previously told CNN they were searching for the .45 caliber handgun believed to have been used to kill Odin Lloyd. Authorities have conducted an extensive search at Pine Lake without success. They turned their attention to a small retention pond directly across the street from the lake on Tuesday. Hernandez, the former New England Patriot, is charged with Lloyd’s murder in Massachusetts last June and has pleaded not guilty.

Kaitlyn Hunt. (28304)

Florida

Prosecutors are pressing teenager Kaitlyn Hunt to accept a plea deal—one that would keep her out of jail, even if she’d have to admit wrongdoing—tied to charges she’s facing for having sex with a then-14-year-old girl, a state attorney said Wednesday. Hunt, who turned 19 on Wednesday, is charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious battery after the parents of the 14-year-old went to authorities. Hunt’s family says their relationship was consensual, though in Florida a person under the age of 16 is not legally able to give consent to sex. Bruce Colton, state attorney for the 19th judicial circuit, told CNN that his office offered Hunt the latest plea deal in July. Under its terms, she would plead to two misdemeanor battery counts and one felony count for interference of child custody—a charge that could be expunged later from her record. In exchange, Hunt would be subject to a curfew, community service and probation, but she would not face jail time, have to wear an ankle bracelet, nor have to register as a sex offender.

Anthony Stokes. (28313)

Georgia

A teenage boy with a failing heart had been denied a chance at a heart transplant. But that decision was reversed this week, turning his family’s frustration to joy. Anthony Stokes has been at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston since July 14. The hospital told his family the 15-year-old was ineligible for a spot on the heart transplant waiting list because of “noncompliance,” said family friend Mark Bell. Noncompliance generally means that doctors doubt that a patient will take his medicine or go to follow-up appointments. Bell said Anthony is excited and his mother overjoyed after the hospital’s reversal, due to what many believe was media pressure. The teen is now considered top priority for a heart transplant; he just has to wait for one to become available.

Hawaii

A German tourist was in critical condition after a shark severed her right arm while she snorkeled in Hawaii on Wednesday, authorities said. The 20-year-old woman, who was unconscious when first responders arrived, was taken to Maui Medical Center for treatment, according Lee Mainaga with the Maui Fire Department. The attack took place about 50 yards offshore at White Rock Beach in Maui. The beach has been closed one mile on either side of where the attack happened. Officials are continuing to assess when the beach can be reopened. This shark attack is the fourth in Maui this year, with two happening on the same day in February, and the other in late July.

Louisiana

A second person who had been taken hostage at a rural bank this week has died, a hospital official said Thursday. Laden McDaniel, a woman who police said was among three Tensas State Bank employees taken hostage on Tuesday, died at Rapides Regional Medical Center. Authorities said Fuaed Abdo Ahmed shot McDaniel and Jay Warbington as police stormed the bank in St. Joseph just before midnight Tuesday. Police shot and killed Ahmed, State Police Col. Michael Edmonson said. Warbington died later, police said Wednesday. The third hostage had been freed before the shooting began. Ahmed had with him a book on torture and a bag with items he could use to torture people, state police Trooper Albert Paxton said Thursday. He also had a book on hostage negotiations, Paxton said. Police said Ahmed, 20, was known to police, and Edmonson described him as a paranoid schizophrenic.

Michigan

Citing inaction by city police, some residents in a Detroit neighborhood attacked and beat a man they suspected of raping a teenage girl. Authorities confirm they investigated a reported rape in July, and that the alleged victim—a 15-year-old girl with Down syndrome—was taken to a hospital and evidence was collected. Authorities also confirm that processing in the case was delayed in the days and weeks after the alleged incident. Despite questioning of a man identified by the girl’s family and area residents as the suspect, no charges have been filed. On Aug. 5—more than two weeks after the alleged rape was reported—some residents of the Hubbard Farms neighborhood in southwestern Detroit decided they weren’t going to wait for police and prosecutors to act. They recognized the man from handbills posted around the neighborhood that included the man’s picture, and some residents went into action, chasing the man when he ran and hitting him with blows that including knee strikes with a baseball bat. No arrests have been made in the beating or the rape.

Compiled By Juliana Norwood. CNN News Wire contributed to this report.

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