Man arrested in stabbing at Grand Central Terminal charged with hate crimes

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man has been charged with hate crimes following the Christmas Day stabbing of two teenage tourists from Paraguay at a restaurant inside Grand Central Terminal. Authorities say 36-year-old Esteban Esono-Asue made derogatory comments about white people shortly before the unprovoked attack on the girls as they dined with their parents. Esono-Asue is being held without bail after pleading not guilty Tuesday to charges of attempted murder and assault as hate crimes, and child endangerment. A Legal Aid Society attorney representing him has declined to comment.

Trapped in his crashed truck, an Indiana man is rescued after 6 days

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — Police in Indiana say a man was rescued after being trapped for six days in his crashed pickup truck and drinking rainwater to survive. The man was found Tuesday pinned in the wreckage hidden beneath an Indiana highway bridge by two men scouting fishing spots. Authorities said the driver, 27-year-old Matthew Reum of Mishawaka, Indiana, was in critical condition Wednesday at a South Bend hospital. One of the fishermen who found the wreck said he was startled to find Reum awake and “very happy to see us,” despite spending days in the elements.

US online retailer Zulily says it will go into liquidation, surprising customers

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. ecommerce company Zulily says it is closing down, surprising customers, after efforts to salvage the business failed. The Seattle-based company said in a notice on its website that it had tried to fill all pending orders and expected to manage that within the coming two weeks. Zulily said it was trying to ensure orders that could not be filled were canceled and refunded. It offered a contact for customers who did not get their orders or refunds. In closing down to maximize payments to its creditors, Zulily said it was seeking an “orderly wind down.”

Michigan Supreme Court will keep Trump on 2024 primary ballot

(AP) — Michigan’s Supreme Court is keeping former President Donald Trump on the state’s primary election ballot. The court said Wednesday it will not hear an appeal of a lower court’s ruling from groups seeking to keep Trump from appearing on the ballot. Wednesday’s ruling follows a Dec. 19 decision by a divided Colorado Supreme Court, which said Trump is ineligible to be president after his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Michigan’s high court says it is “not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court.”

Head-on crash kills 6 and critically injures 3 on North Texas highway

CLEBURNE, Texas (AP) — Six people are dead and three others critically injured after a head-on crash on a north Texas highway. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened late Tuesday near the town of Cleburne. Investigators believe a southbound pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old entered the northbound lanes in a no-passing zone and slammed into a minivan. Six people in the minivan were killed, including the 28-year-old driver from Irving, Texas. The other five people killed ranged in age from 9 to 64 and were from Alpharetta, Georgia.