BERLIN

Black box indicates co-pilot accelerated plane into crash

The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 used the onboard autopilot to put the plane into a descent and repeatedly increased the speed of the Airbus A320 as it headed straight for a mountainside, according to an initial assessment of data recovered from the aircraft’s second black box.

The readings, announced by French investigators on Friday, appeared to add to the growing body of evidence indicating that Andreas Lubitz, the 27-year old German who co-piloted the plane, deliberately locked its more senior pilot out of the cockpit before crashing the jetliner.

Investigators have been waiting for further confirmation of the events on board that could only be provided by the second black box, the data recorder found on Thursday by a ravine and buried under debris. A preliminary review, French investigators said, shows that at various times, he accelerated the plane using the plane’s autopilot settings, building up speed as the craft approached a part of the French Alps where the co-pilot is known to have spent past vacations.

The information gleaned so far is still preliminary.

DENVER

Less snow in river valleys promises little drought relief

Drought-weary Californians can’t expect much encouragement from mountains elsewhere in the West: Snow that fills the Colorado River is lagging, too, officials said Friday.

The snow pack in the Colorado and Wyoming valleys where the river originates now ranges from 51 to 79 percent of normal, said Brian Domonkos, Colorado supervisor of the U.S. Department of Agriculture snow survey.

PHILADELPHIA

Woman held in attempt to join Islamic State group

A Philadelphia woman was arrested Friday on charges she tried to join and martyr herself for the Islamic State group, a day after two women in New York were charged with plotting to wage jihad by building a bomb and using it for a Boston Marathon-type attack.

Authorities said Keonna Thomas, 30, communicated with an Islamic State group fighter in Syria who asked if she wanted to be part of a martyrdom operation. She told the fighter that the opportunity “would be amazing, … a girl can only wish,” according to the documents.

Cop killer returns to prison after treatment for diabetes

Convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal is back in prison after being hospitalized this week for treatment of diabetes.

Abu-Jamal, 60, returned to the Pennsylvania Correctional Institution-Mahanoy on Wednesday night after two days in intensive care, said Johanna Fernandez, one of his supporters.

Abu-Jamal was convicted in the 1981 killing of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

– From news service reports

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