Ex-jailer charged in escape of inmate

HERNANDO, Miss.>> A former employee of a Mississippi jail has been arrested and charged in the June escape of Joshua Zimmerman, an inmate who fled to Chicago and was captured there last week after a 15-hour standoff with police at a restaurant just blocks from the Democratic National Convention.

Ronnie Hunt was charged with conveying articles useful for the escape of a prisoner, Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin said Tuesday. Martin said “additional charges are probable.” She did not respond to a question about whether Hunt is represented by an attorney.

Adult dies after testing positive for encephalitis virus

A New Hampshire resident infected with the mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis virus has died, state health authorities said.

The Hampstead resident’s infection was the first in the state in a decade, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday.

The resident, whom the department only identified as an adult, had been hospitalized due to severe central nervous system symptoms, the department said.

There is no vaccine or antiviral treatment available for infections, which can cause flu-like symptoms and lead to severe neurological disease along with inflammation of the brain and membranes around the spinal cord.

White House official: U.S. and China hope to avoid conflict

BEIJING>> The United States and China are working to ensure the competition between them does not veer into conflict, a top White House official said Tuesday as the two sides started talks on a relationship that has been severely tested during President Joe Biden’s term in office.

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, is meeting over two days with Wang Yi, a senior foreign policy official for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a scenic lake area on the northern outskirts of Beijing.

“President Biden has been very clear in his conversations with President Xi that he is committed to managing this important relationship responsibly,” Sullivan said in brief remarks to media before the talks began.

Police fire tear gas at rally against death of resident doctor

KOLKATA, India>> Police in India fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of a top elected official in the country’s east, accusing her of mishandling an investigation into a rape and killing of a resident doctor earlier this month.

The Aug. 9 killing of the 31-year-old physician while on duty at Kolkata city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered protests across India, focusing on the chronic issue of violence against women in the country. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal state.

— Denver Post wire services