1. Virgin Galactic spaceship crashes, killing pilot
One person was killed and another injured when Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, a commercial spacecraft prototype, splintered and crashed Friday during a test flight. The craft went down in California's Mojave Desert, scattering debris over a two-mile area and raising questions about the safety of the nascent commercial space tourism industry. The test flight was SpaceShipTwo's first with a new engine and specially-formulated fuel, though investigators have yet to determine what caused the crash. "Space is hard — but worth it," Virgin founder Richard Branson said in a statement. "We will persevere and move forward together."
The Los Angeles Times
2. Maine judge rejects Ebola quarantine
A judge in Maine on Friday rejected the state's efforts to impose a strict quarantine on nurse Kaci Hickox, who recently returned to the U.S. after treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone. District Court Chief Judge Charles LaVerdiere said Hickox could move freely about so long as she submits to "direct active monitoring" and notifies health officials if she becomes symptomatic. LaVerdiere on Thursday issued a temporary quarantine order at the behest of Maine officials, but lifted most of those restrictions after reviewing the case.
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3. Dueling military officers claim presidency in Burkina Faso
Two military leaders claim to have taken control of Burkina Faso following the resignation Friday of President Blaise Compaoré. The country's top military officer, General Honore Traor, initially claimed control after unrest forced Compaoré to step down. Yet Lieutenant Colonel Issaac Zid, previously the second-ranking officer in the presidential guard, said overnight that he had overruled Traore and taken command of the West African nation.
The New York Times BBC
4. Hit-and-run kills three trick-or-treaters
A hit-and-run driver on Friday struck and killed three 13-year-old girls who were out trick-or-treating in Santa Ana, California. The girls, two of whom were twins, were crossing a street in the crosswalk when an SUV struck them. The two suspects, whom police said are believed to be two males, then ditched the vehicle and fled.
The New York Times
5. Mexico frees jailed ex-U.S. Marine
Mexico on Friday released retired Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi after holding him in prison for seven months on weapons charges. Tahmooressi, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, was arrested in March after crossing into Mexico with three loaded guns and ammunition. Tahmooressi claimed he took a wrong turn, and a Mexican judge ordered him released because of his mental condition.
CNN CBS
6. Eastern Ukraine to vote in disputed election
The United States and its European allies say they will not recognize the outcome of elections to be held Sunday in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions. "We deplore the intent of separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine to hold illegitimate so-called local 'elections,'" the White House said Friday in a statement. The United Nations says 4,035 people have died over the past six months in fighting between separatists and Ukrainian forces, including 300 in the past 10 days.
AFP Reuters
7. Third victim in Marysville school shooting dies
Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, a 14-year-old girl who was critically injured in last week's school shooting in Marysville, Washington, died Friday afternoon. Chuckulnaskit was shot in the head when classmate Jaylen Fryberg opened fire in the school cafeteria. Two other students, Zoe Calasso and Gia Soriano, also died in the shooting, and another two remain hospitalized. Fryberg died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
USA Today
8. ISIS kills 85 in mass executions in Iraq
ISIS militants killed 85 more Albu Nimr tribesmen in two separate incidents as they continued a mass slaughter in Iraq's Anbar province. ISIS lined up and killed execution style 50 members of the displaced group on Friday in the village of Ras al-Maa, and Iraqi security officials said they found 35 more bodies dumped elsewhere in a mass grave.
Reuters The Associated Press
9. Boko Haram rejects truce with government
The leader of Boko Haram has denied reports that the Islamic group reached a cease-fire agreement with the Nigerian government and would release more than 200 abducted schoolgirls. Rather, he said the girls had been married off since they were kidnapped earlier this year. "The issue of the girls is long forgotten because I have long ago married them off," Abubakar Shekau said in a video released Friday, adding, "there is no going back."
The Associated Press The Guardian
10. Chicago Cubs hire ex-Rays manager Joe Maddon
The Chicago Cubs made it official Friday after a week of swirling rumors, announcing the hiring of former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon. Respected as one of the most inventive skippers in baseball, Maddon had opted out of his contract with the Rays one week earlier after GM Andrew Friedman departed for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
ESPN
