Atlantic hurricane season ends with 14 named storms

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — In Oregon, mass timber is increasingly being viewed as a construction material that could help the state build more affordable homes and revive rural logging towns. Mass timber is made from wood products that are fastened together to make large panels or beams. A new prototype of a affordable mass timber housing unit was unveiled at the Port of Portland on Friday. The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition aims to open a factory at the port that could mass produce homes. The coalition says the increase in production would help alleviate the state’s housing shortage. Some environmental groups say the material could lead to deforestation.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Federal Reserve Board has denied a Wyoming cryptocurrency bank’s application for Federal Reserve System membership. The decision deals a setback to the crypto industry’s attempts to build acceptance in mainstream U.S. banking. Many in crypto were looking to Cheyenne-based Custodia Bank’s application as a bellwether. Approval would have meant access to Federal Reserve services including its electronic payments system. The denial announced Friday adds to doubts about crypto banking’s viability. The Federal Reserve Board says in a statement that the crypto bank would’ve been risky for depositors. Custodia CEO Caitlin Long denies that, saying in a statement that the application went “above and beyond all requirements.”

MONTARA, Calif. (AP) — The driver of a car that plunged 250 feet off a treacherous cliff in northern California, injuring his two young children and his wife, has been released from the hospital and jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse. The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday that Dharmesh Patel is being held without bail. The Pasadena man was behind the wheel of a Tesla sedan that went over the cliff at Devils Slide on Jan. 2. Rescuers initially hailed the family’s survival as a miracle, but the California Highway Patrol later arrested Patel, saying investigators had cause to believe the plunge was an intentional act.

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A 23-year-old Missouri man charged with raping eight teenage girls has been given 16 consecutive life sentences. Dominic Yocco was sentenced Thursday in St. Louis County for 16 counts, including nine counts of rape. He was subject to a life sentence because jurors in September found him to be a predatory sexual offender. Prosecutors said Yocco contacted the girls using social media. He then gave them alcohol and drugs before assaulting them. Yocco was 17 and 18 when the attacks occurred between 2016 and 2018. The girls were 16 and younger. He read a statement denying that he had done anything wrong.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has ruled that New York state should pay former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legal bills as he defends himself against a lawsuit accusing him of sexually harassing a state trooper. Cuomo filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Letitia James in August arguing that she violated state law by denying him public assistance for his defense. Cuomo said the trooper’s allegations stem from a time when “he was acting within the scope of his employment or duties.” A judge in New York City said Friday that it’s for a judge or jury to determine if Cuomo sexually harassed the state trooper, and that his state-funded defense can’t be denied.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prisoner who alleged in a lawsuit that he was not being properly treated for cancer has died. Attorneys and the family of John Keith Calvin say he died Wednesday at the El Dorado Correctional Facility. In a lawsuit filed last month, Calvin says Kansas Department of Corrections officials had not provided proper treatment for his colon cancer. An emergency court filing asking that he be moved to a hospital was denied. Calvin was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2002 killing of John Coates. He always maintained he was innocent and a co-defendant later said Calvin did not kill Coates. Calvin would have been eligible for parole in May.