Small plane crashes into river, killing three; NTSB investigating

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a small plane crash in Nebraska that killed all three people on board.

The single-engine Cessna 180 was traveling along the Platte River when it crashed into the water south of Fremont at 8:15 p.m., Sgt. Brie Frank of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office said during a news conference.

The bodies of three people were recovered, Frank confirmed.

Authorities did not immediately release the victims’ names.

An NTSB investigator was en route to examine the crash site.

“Once on site, the investigator will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft. The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation,” the agency said.

The Federal Aviation Administration also will be investigating, local officials said. Fremont is about 37 miles west of Omaha.

Ex-congresswoman wins race for mayor

Progressive icon and former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee declared victory Saturday as the new mayor of troubled Oakland, a California city reeling from economic stagnation, crime and homelessness.

Lee issued a statement Saturday as mayor-elect, saying that her chief opponent, Loren Taylor, had called to concede the April 15 race.

“While I believe strongly in respecting the democratic voting process and ballots will continue to be counted ... the results are clear that the people of Oakland have elected me as your next mayor,” she said. “Thank you, Oakland!”

Lee, 78, is a Black female trailblazer who represented the city in Congress for more than two decades before retiring last year after running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

“Oakland is a deeply divided city,” she said, adding that she “answered the call to run” so the community could work together to solve its problems.

Houthi rebels report U.S. airstrikes in capital, coastal city

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Saturday that the U.S. military launched a series of airstrikes on the capital, Sana, and the Houthi-held coastal city of Hodeida, less than two days after a U.S. strike wrecked a Red Sea port and killed more than 70 people.

The Houthis’ media office said 13 U.S. airstrikes hit an airport and a port in Hodeida, on the Red Sea. The office also reported U.S strikes in Sana.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said it continues to conduct strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

Thursday’s strike hit the port of Ras Isa, also in Hodeida province, killing 74 people and wounding 171, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. It was the deadliest strike in the U.S. ongoing bombing campaign on the Iranian-backed rebels.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was “gravely concerned” about the attack on Ras Isa, as well as the Houthis missile and drone attacks’ on Israel and the shipping routes, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Saturday.

— Denver Post wire services