WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defense chief’s use of e-mail detailed

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ashton Carter used his personal e-mail account for government business for nearly a year, until December 2015, when news reports revealed the practice, according to hundreds of Carter e-mails released by the Defense Department. The 1,336 pages of e-mails and attachments from Carter’s personal account were released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests by news organizations. None contained classified information, and most pertained to routine business such as scheduling and logistics. (AP)

ALABAMA

4 killed in crash of ambulance copter

GOODMAN — Four people were killed in a helicopter crash in southeast Alabama on Saturday, officials said. Three crew members and a patient were aboard the ambulance helicopter when the crash occurred around 12:17 a.m. The downed helicopter was found after 7 a.m. Investigators said the copter crashed after responding to a car crash in which the patient had a broken leg and was unconscious. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. (AP)

IOWA

Police, prisoner, driver die in wreck

DES MOINES — Two police officers and a prisoner they were transporting were killed early Saturday in a fiery crash on an interstate highway in Iowa that investigators say was caused by a wrong-way driver, who also died. Des Moines officers Susan Farrell and Carlos Puente-Morales, who had been on the job less than six months, were killed in the crash that occurred around 12:40 a.m. Saturday on Interstate 80 west of Des Moines. The officers had been returning the prisoner from Council Bluffs to Des Moines when their sport utility vehicle was struck. (AP)