NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Officer wounded:
A man listed in a database as an Aryan Nations gang member shot an officer in Knoxville, Tenn., during a traffic stop and then fled, police said Friday. Police Chief David Rausch said the man opened fire on Officer David Williams with a shotgun Thursday night as Williams attempted to stop him for speeding. Williams suffered a wound to his shoulder and was released after being treated at a hospital. The suspect was identified as Ronnie Lucas Wilson, 31. Authorities recovered Wilson’s vehicle early Friday. He is being sought on an attempted murder warrant.
_2 Test flight:
Virgin Galactic says the latest glide test of its space tourism rocket plane was a success, nearly reaching the speed of sound high over California. The spaceship, named Unity, was carried aloft by its mother ship on Thursday and released over the Mojave Desert. The craft was immediately put into a steep descent and accelerated to Mach 0.9 to test stability and control under forces approaching what it will endure when its rocket is fired for suborbital flights into the lower fringes of space. It was the seventh glide flight for Unity.
_3 Celebrities hacked:
A Connecticut man charged with hacking into more than 250 iCloud accounts of Hollywood stars and ordinary people has agreed to plead guilty. Federal prosecutors say the case against George Garofano, 26, stems from the investigation into the 2014 “celebgate” scandal in which the private photos of Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst and others were made public. The North Branford man agreed to plead guilty to unauthorized access to a protected computer. He faces up to five years in prison. Prosecutors say Garofano sent emails that appeared to be from Apple encouraging victims to reveal usernames and passwords.
_4 Police shooting:
A man suspected in the shooting death of the mother of his baby was killed and an officer was wounded in a shootout outside police department headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., authorities said. Jonathan Bennett, 23, was shot Thursday night after ambushing officers as they gathered for a briefing in a parking garage next to headquarters, police Chief Kerr Putney said Friday. Several shots were fired at officers, who returned fire, killing Bennett, Putney said. Officer Casey Shue was shot in the leg and was taken to a hospital for injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening. Bennett was a suspect in Thursday’s shooting death of Brittan White, 24.
_5 Lottery winner:
A 20-year-old Florida man claimed the $451 million Mega Millions jackpot on Friday, choosing to get $282 million at once instead of more in annual installments. Shane Missler, of Port Richey, claimed the jackpot from the multistate game’s Jan. 5 drawing. “I’m only 20, but I hope to use it to pursue a variety of passions, help my family and do some good for humanity,” Missler said in a statement. The winning ticket was bought at a 7-Eleven. Missler grinned widely when he turned in his ticket at Florida Lottery headquarters with his father and his lawyer.