US agency issues safety notice at Washington state hospital

Ship that ran aground off Antarctica freed, researchers safe

US, Russia-brokered cease-fire goes into effect across Syria BEIRUT (AP) — A cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia went into effect across Syria on Saturday, marking the biggest international push to reduce violence in the country's devastating conflict, but the Islamic State group and al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, were excluded. The cease-fire aims to bring representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition back to the negotiating table in Geneva for talks on a political transition. The U.N.'s envoy, Staffan de Mistura, announced that peace talks would resume on March 7 if the cessation of hostilities "largely holds." If it does, it would be the first time international negotiations have brought any degree of quiet in Syria's five-year civil war. But success requires adherence by multiple armed factions — and the truce is made more fragile because it allows fighting to continue against the Islamic State group and Nusra Front, which could easily re-ignite broader warfare. The Syrian government and the opposition, including nearly 100 rebel groups, have said they will abide by the cease-fire despite serious skepticism about chances for success. Speaking to reporters in Geneva after the truce took hold at midnight, de Mistura said initial reports indicated that within minutes both Damascus and the nearby rebel-held town of Daraya suddenly "had calmed down." He said there was a report of one "incident" that his team was investigating but did not give details. ___ Sheriff: Cop who killed Kansas gunman a 'tremendous hero' HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — A man who stormed into a Kansas factory and shot 14 people, killing three, had just been served with a protective order involving a former girlfriend that probably set off the attack, authorities said Friday. The assault at the Excel Industries lawnmower-parts plant in the small town of Hesston ended when the police chief killed the gunman in a shootout. Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton described the officer as a "tremendous hero" because 200 or 300 people were still in the factory and the "shooter wasn't done by any means." Had the officer "not done what he did, this would be a whole lot more tragic," Walton said. The gunman was identified as Cedric Ford, a 38-year-old worker at the factory. As a convicted felon, he was prohibited from owning any kind of firearm. A woman was charged with supplying him with an assault rifle and a pistol. ___ Trump wins Christie endorsement, robbing Rubio of momentum FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday endorsed GOP front-runner Donald Trump, delivering a surprise and powerful boost to the billionaire businessman, whom he called the best Republican candidate to lead the country and beat Democrat Hillary Clinton. "I've gotten to know all the people on that stage and there is none who is better prepared to provide America with the strong leadership that it needs both at home and around the world than Donald Trump," Christie said at a news conference in Texas. Reporters were visibly stunned when he walked into the room. "I can guarantee you that the one person that Hillary and Bill Clinton do not want to see on that stage come next September is Donald Trump," said Christie, who dropped his own bid for the presidency earlier this month following a disappointing finish in New Hampshire. The endorsement, the first for Trump from a sitting governor and a former rival, comes at a particularly opportune time for the real estate mogul, who on Thursday night faced a barrage of new attacks from rival Marco Rubio during the final debate ahead of next week's Super Tuesday contests, where large numbers of delegates are at stake. And it underscored the extent to which Trump has managed to dominate the news cycle and starve rivals of momentum just as they appear to be on the rise. Rubio hit at Trump's business record, history of hiring foreign workers and his vague policy positions during the debate. The broadsides clearly irritated Trump and threatened to provide Rubio with a jolt of new momentum as he seeks to turn the contest into a two-man race. ___ CDC: Zika infections confirmed in 9 pregnant women in US NEW YORK (AP) — Zika infections have been confirmed in nine pregnant women in the United States, including one who gave birth to a baby with a rare birth defect, health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's investigating 10 more reports of pregnant travelers with Zika. All got the virus while visiting or living in places with Zika outbreaks. Also on Friday, the CDC issued a caution to people planning to attend the Olympics this summer in Rio de Janeiro. The U.S. cases add to reports out of Brazil. Officials there are exploring a possible link to babies born with unusually small heads, a rare birth defect called microcephaly, which can signal underlying brain damage. Zika has become epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean since last fall. The virus, mainly spread through mosquito bites, causes mild illness or no symptoms in most people. ___ Reformists leading in Iran parliament vote TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Reformists and moderate conservatives were leading in parliamentary elections according to early results Saturday, an indication President Hassan Rouhani may face a more friendly house to pursue his domestic agenda. Early returns from Friday's polls show that none of the three competing political factions will win a majority in the 290-seat parliament. But reformists seeking greater democratic changes are heading toward their strongest presence since 2004 at the expense of hard-liners. Officials are yet to release early results but reports in the semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies and a count conducted by The Associated Press show that hard-liners are the main losers of the vote. Friday's election for Iran's parliament and a powerful clerical body known as the Assembly of Experts was the first since Iran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers last year. Reformists seeking greater democratic changes and moderates supporting Rouhani appear to be cashing in on the lifting of international sanctions the moderate president achieved under last summer's historic agreement. ___ Snyder lawyer called Flint water 'scary' before lead crisis LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder's newest release of state emails and documents related to Flint's water disaster appears to indicate that his aides' reluctance to brief him, his own mismanagement — or both — led to delays in addressing the public health threat. A full year before his administration helped the city reconnect to Lake Huron water after lead contamination was exposed, two top advisers were already advocating the move, citing E. coli and a General Motors plant's rusting parts. Snyder's chief legal counsel even told the chief of staff that using Flint River water was "downright scary." Yet the Republican governor insists those specific warnings — weeks before his re-election — were never given directly to him, and state officials decided then that it would cost too much to rejoin Detroit's system. With documents revealing such discussions in Snyder's inner circle, even the governor's allies acknowledge how badly the issue seems to have been handled. "The right people were raising the right issues, they were sounding the alarms," said John Truscott, a public relations strategist who was the spokesman for former GOP Gov. John Engler. "Why wasn't it followed through on?" ___ Teen who killed teacher gets life with chance for parole SALEM, Mass. (AP) — A teenager who raped and killed his high school math teacher was sentenced Friday to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 40 years. The 2013 slaying of Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer by Philip Chism was "brutal and senseless," Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy said as he pronounced the sentence. "Colleen Ritzer lived a life of quiet heroism," the judge said. "The crashing waves of this tragedy will never wane." Chism was 14 when he followed Ritzer, who was 24, into a school bathroom, strangled her, stabbed her at least 16 times and raped her. His lawyers acknowledged he killed her but argued he was mentally ill, a contention rejected by the jury. Chism, now 17, will serve life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years on a murder charge, but he received 40-year concurrent sentences on rape and robbery charges. The net result will leave him eligible to be paroled in 40 years, when he would be in his 50s. ___ Which is safer _ Uber or a taxi? There's no clear answer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The deadly shooting rampage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, raises anew a question that has dogged Uber and other taxi competitors: Their rides may be cheaper and more convenient than a cab, but are they as safe? It's not just whether Uber's part-time drivers are better (or worse) behind the wheel. It's whether passengers are more likely to be assaulted, kidnapped or raped by an Uber driver than a cabbie. The answer is that there seems to be no reliable answer. Police and transportation authorities around the U.S. say they know of no rigorous comparison of cabbies and Uber drivers. The taxi industry, facing an existential threat from Uber, has highlighted a series of incidents as evidence that an Uber trip is a gamble passengers should not take. Then again, taxi drivers have assaulted customers, too. If any place might have analyzed which is safer, how about San Francisco, where Uber was launched more than five years ago and keeps its headquarters? ___ Fantasy, imagination and craft inform Oscar worthy costumes LOS ANGELES (AP) — Costume design is one of those arts that's often taken for granted during awards season. There's an old saying in the below-the-line crafts that if you're noticing their work, it's only because there's a problem. But for the designers behind the scene and the directors and actors they support, they couldn't be more essential. This year, the Oscar nominees for best costume design span a wide variety of genres, from action and fantasy to romance. The Associated Press spoke to each of the nominated designers about their process and their work. PACO DELGADO, "THE DANISH GIRL" ___ Soccer's world body elects Gianni Infantino as president ZURICH (AP) — Gianni Infantino is the new president of soccer's corruption-scarred world governing body, winning election after promising national leaders of the sport that he would share the wealth from FIFA's $5 billion World Cup revenues. Infantino was chosen on the second-ballot Friday to fill the unexpired term of longtime FIFA leader Sepp Blatter, who was forced out by the pressure of U.S. and Swiss investigations of bribery and corruption that emerged two days before the previous vote in May 2015. The stunning outcome seemed to catch the 45-year-old Infantino off-guard. He had to compose himself before starting his acceptance speech and saluted voters by patting his heart with his right hand. "We will restore the image of FIFA and the respect of FIFA. And everyone in the world will applaud us," said Infantino, who only became a candidate when a case of financial wrongdoing removed his own boss, Michel Platini, at Europe's soccer body UEFA. "I am convinced a new era is starting," said the Swiss-born former lawyer. Blatter headed FIFA for more than 17 years.

AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EST