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Kaitlyn Hunt pleads no contest; Elderly couple charged with murder; Paul Oliver commits suicide

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Alabama

Detectives are trying to determine why four people were found shot to death in a car on a rural Alabama road. The car, which was parked in a remote area, was spotted Wednesday morning by a woman going to work and then again that night when that woman was heading home, Winston County Sheriff Rick Harris said. That is when she called police. One female and three males were found in the car, Harris said. Authorities released little information on the victims, and Harris said the car was located on a narrow road that is difficult to get to. The vehicle had an out-of-state license plate, Harris said. “Right now we have more questions than answers,” Harris told CNN affiliate WBRC. Winston County is about 80 miles northwest of Birmingham.

California

Last month Google announced a new medical company called Calico, whose explicit aim is to take on aging itself. Calico—or the California Life Company—has been set up to research subjects related to aging and its associated diseases. Announcing Calico at a media briefing, Google said that the new and independent company will largely focus on age-attendant conditions such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and heart disease. Larry Page, Google’s ever youthful CEO said: “Illness and aging affect all our families. With some longer term, moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives.” But the question is, what will Calico actually do? At the moment, the company isn’t giving many details away: “(Incoming CEO Arthur Levinson) and I are excited about tackling aging and illness,” Page wrote in his Google+ blog post. But repeated requests from CNN to interview either Page or Levinson were politely declined. In the absence of any real information, many commentators have speculated that Calico will pursue a ‘big-data’ approach to health: gathering massive amounts of information from patients and ‘crunching it’ to help speed the way to healthcare discoveries.

Colorado

Fundraising efforts for victims of the Colorado floods have fallen far short of the billions of dollars in estimated damage. Last month’s historic flood damaged nearly 20,000 homes—roughly 1,500 of which are completely destroyed—and displaced more than 10,000 residents. The total economic toll is estimated to be more than $2 billion, according to Eqecat, which conducts loss estimates for the insurance industry. Yet, major aid organizations have raised less than $7 million for Colorado flood relief thus far. The Red Cross had raised only $3 million as of last Thursday. Meanwhile, the Salvation Army has raised about $1 million through online and phone donations, while a relief fund set up by a local United Way chapter for efforts specifically in Boulder and Broomfield counties has raised just $2.1 million. “We still have a long way to go to be able to provide the recovery assistance we project in the coming months,” said Heather Spencer, communications manager for the Foothills United Way.

Kaitlyn Hunt (35546)

Florida

Kaitlyn Hunt, the 19-year-old who has been jailed in Florida over a sexual relationship she had with a 14-year-old girl, pleaded no contest Thursday to five charges as part of a deal brokered by prosecutors and her attorneys. Hunt pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor contributing to the dependency of a child and two counts of felony interference with child custody. Hunt has been in jail since Aug. 20 for violating a court order not to contact the alleged victim. Under the terms of the agreement, Hunt will be sentenced to four months in jail, to be followed by two years of house arrest with electronic monitoring, and nine months of monitored probation after that, according to prosecutor Brian Workman. If she has no violations, she will not be a convicted felon under Florida law, and she will have the possibility of sealing her file and having the case expunged after 10 years, he said.

Paul Oliver (35545)

Georgia

Former NFL defensive back Paul Oliver, who committed suicide last week in his Georgia home, shot himself in the head in front of his wife and two young sons, the police report on the incident said. The report, obtained by CNN, said Oliver, 29, was depressed about the end of his career and marital issues. He hadn’t played pro football since the 2011 season. “Paul has been somewhat depressed over being released, and ending his professional football career,” his wife, Chelsea Oliver, told police in the report. She also said the couple had been having problems. Her husband was unhappy with their relationship, she said, and had started talking about a divorce. Chelsea Oliver told Cobb County Police that her husband, who played six seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, had made statements in the past about wanting to end his life. But, the report says, “He was never specific and the police have never been called regarding any suicide threats or attempts.”

Louisiana

A hurricane watch is in effect for parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast after Tropical Storm Karen formed in the southeastern portion of the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday. A hurricane watch covers the area from Grand Isle, La., east to Indian Pass, Fla., where the center of the storm is expected to arrive Saturday, according to forecasters. “Karen is expected to be at or near hurricane strength on Friday,” according a center advisory. The storm prompted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to recall some its workers, furloughed during the government shutdown, and reactivate its Hurricane Liaison Team at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. FEMA officials in the Atlanta and Denton, Texas, offices are monitoring Karen. A tropical storm watch is in effect from west of Grand Isle to Morgan City, La., an area that includes metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Maurepas and Lake Ponchartrain.

Alice and Gerald (35548)

Missouri

Alice and Gerald Uden seemed the typical family to outside observers. They raised two children in rural Missouri, kept to themselves and attended church regularly. Even their next-door neighbors had little clue of the deadly secrets investigators say were kept buried. But this week the Udens, both now in their 70s, have been charged in slayings in cold cases dating back more than 30 years. Now the elderly couple have been charged with killing their ex-spouses in separate, chilling incidents. Gerald Uden has also been charged with the murder of his ex-wife’s two children, who were 10 and 12 when they died in 1980, authorities said. Authorities in Christian County, arrested the couple, who are now in jail awaiting extradition to Wyoming, where the alleged killings took place. Alice is suspected of killing her ex-husband, Ronald Holtz in late 1974 or early 1975, when he was 25 years old. She was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of first degree murder. She allegedly told an unnamed witness years ago about shooting her husband in the back of his head while he slept, according to a court affidavit.

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

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