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Chicago police said on Wednesday they would soon release images of "persons of interest" in the assault of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett in which two men yelled racial and homophobic slurs and wrapped a rope around his neck. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2CUxCZz

The state of Texas on Wednesday executed a man convicted of shooting a Houston police officer to death during a botched robbery of an adult book store in 1988, the state's Criminal Justice Department said. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2CTOPCE

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Wednesday it would send a team of eight to probe a deadly Jan. 3 crash in Florida that killed seven, including five children traveling to Disney World. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2WyeYjt

The California parole board recommended on Wednesday that Leslie Van Houten, the youngest of Charles Manson's murderous "family" of followers, be released early from the life prison term she is serving for her role in the cult's 1969 killing spree. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2TiN2Oi

Accused Mexican drug boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's repeated escapes from the law prove that he "knows he's guilty," a U.S. prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments at his trial on Wednesday, urging them not to let him escape again. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2RsziyK

A Utah man has sued Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow for $3.1 million, claiming she slammed into him on a ski slope in 2016, breaking four of his ribs and knocking him unconscious before skiing off. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2HE0dbq

U.S. private payrolls increased solidly in January, pointing to sustained labor market strength despite a recent easing in consumer and business confidence that has suggested a loss of momentum in the economy. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2Wsk7JC

The father of two young Saudi women whose bodies were found bound together in New York last October has dismissed a police assessment that they committed suicide and said marks he saw on their faces indicate they were beaten before their deaths. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2MEK8RB

Tyson Foods Inc is recalling some chicken nuggets it manufactured because of possible contamination with rubber, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said late on Tuesday. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2GcCkVK

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday ordered state officials to develop regulations to reduce methane emissions from its oil and gas industry and separately rollback statewide greenhouse gas output over the next decade. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2RWlwJH

After nearly 30 years on death row, Robert Mitchell Jennings is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Texas on Wednesday for killing a police officer during a botched robbery. from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2S0a14f

Trade tensions with the United States and a slowing economy are keeping Chinese tourists to budget-friendly destinations closer to home for the Lunar New Year holiday, with more likely opting for Bangkok than Sydney or San Francisco. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2WydHIP

LAS LAJAS, Argentina - When China built a military-run space station in Argentina's Patagonian region it promised to include a visitors' center to explain the purpose of its powerful 16-story antenna. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2FZcWn8