Official: Man who attacked Michigan synagogue lost relatives in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — An official in Lebanon says a man with a rifle who crashed into a large Michigan synagogue, in what federal officials are saying was an attack, had lost four family members in his native country in an Israeli airstrike last week. Officials say 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was killed by security after ramming a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit on Thursday. The official in eastern Lebanon told The Associated Press that Ghazali’s two brothers and a niece and nephew were killed at their home in the March 5 airstrike. Ghazali was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016.

Key inflation gauge worsened in January, before Iran war lifted gas prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve moved higher in January in the latest sign that prices were persistently elevated even before the Iran war caused spikes in oil and gas costs. Prices rose 2.8% in January compared with a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Friday, slightly below December’s increase in a report that was delayed by last fall’s six-week government shutdown. The shutdown created a backlog of data that is nearly cleared. Yet excluding the volatile food and energy categories — which the Fed pays closer attention to — core prices rose 3.1%, up from 3% in the prior month and the highest in nearly two years.

Official: Number on gun used in fatal Old Dominion shooting was obliterated

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A law enforcement official says the man who opened fire at Virginia’s Old Dominion University in an attack being investigated as an act of terrorism had a gun with an obliterated serial number. That could complicate efforts to determine how a man with a felony conviction obtained a firearm. The official says investigators will try to re-surface the number in order to trace the gun. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the investigation. The FBI identified the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former Army National Guard member who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to aid the Islamic State extremist group. FBI officials say ROTC students subdued and killed Jalloh to stop the shooting Thursday.

Flu vaccines didn’t work that well in the US, officials find

NEW YORK (AP) — As the U.S. flu season winds down, health officials say the flu vaccine didn’t work very well. It had one of its worst effectiveness rates in more than a decade. A new strain that dominated the early winter was not well matched to the vaccine, leading to an intense early onslaught of flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday posted data that showed a continued decline in doctor’s office and hospital visits for flu symptoms. Officials generally are pleased if a flu vaccine is 40% to 60% effective at keeping people from visiting a doctor for flu symptoms. But this year’s shots were about half that effective.