Fellow reservists who served with Maine killer before mass shootings say they warned of his decline

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — U.S. Army reservists, including one who provided the clearest warning ahead of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, answered questions Thursday from the commission that’s investigating the tragedy. Another fellow reservist also said he witnessed the shooter’s decline and tried to intervene. Six weeks before Robert Card killed 18 people at a bar and bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, his best friend and fellow reservist Sean Hodgson texted a warning to supervisors saying he feared Card was about to conduct a mass shooting. The commission heard Thursday from Hodgson, other Army personnel and the state’s director of victim witnesses services.

Body believed to be that of trucker who went missing in November found in Iowa farm field

(AP) — A body believed to be that of a missing truck driver has been found in a northwest Iowa field not far from where his abandoned rig was discovered on an isolated highway just before Thanksgiving, but details of his death remain a mystery. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says someone in his field discovered a body Wednesday, near where 53-year-old David Schultz’s semi was found on Nov. 21. The DPS didn’t identify the body as that of Schultz and says in a news release that a forensic autopsy is planned. But Schultz’s wife, Sarah, told reporters on Thursday that the person found was wearing boots that matched her husband’s, and his keys were found in the pants pocket.

Judge reject’s Trump’s bid for a new trial in $83.3 million defamation case

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in New York has rejected Donald Trump’s request for a new trial after a jury awarded $83.3 million in damages to a longtime magazine columnist who sued the former president for defamation. The judge rejected the former president’s claims that the compensatory and punitive damages awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll in January were excessive. Carroll’s attorney said she was pleased but not surprised by Thursday’s decision. A spokesperson for Trump attorney Alina Habba said she was confident that the decision would be overturned on appeal. Carroll says Trump assaulted her in 1996 in a department store dressing room. He has denied the accusation.

Average long-term US mortgage rate climbs for fourth straight week to highest level since November

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level since late November, another setback for home shoppers in what’s traditionally the housing market’s busiest time of the year. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 7.17% from 7.1% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.43%. The average rates has now increased four weeks in a row. When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford.