Nation, world briefs 12/31/15

Driver crashes into Secret Service car

CONCORD, N.H. -- An unlicensed driver trying to pass a car on a snowy road in New Hampshire died after colliding head-on with a car carrying four Secret Service agents on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's protective detail, police said Wednesday. The accident happened shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday in Wakefield, near the Maine state line. The agents were in a Ford Taurus heading south on Route 16, Wakefield police said. A northbound Mercury Sable with three people inside crossed over a double yellow solid line and hit the agents' Taurus. The Sable driver, Bruce Danforth, 45, died. Police said an autopsy has been done, and they were awaiting blood-analysis results. A Secret Service spokeswoman said the agents sustained injuries that were not life-threatening. Their names have not been released. Police Chief Kenneth Fifield said the accident injured all the passengers, including the two people in Danforth's car, Kristina Buswell, 21, and Natasha Meroski, 35. "There was no improper driving at all on behalf of the Secret Service agents," State Police Lt. Kevin Duffy said.

Iran tested rocket near U.S. ships

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The U.S. on Wednesday accused Iran of launching a "highly provocative" rocket test last week near its warships and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The strategic Persian Gulf waterway, which sees nearly a third of all oil traded by sea pass through it, has been the scene of confrontations between the United States and Iran, including a one-day naval battle in 1988. But Saturday's incident brought no response from Iranian officials or media, and French authorities downplayed its danger. Military vessels taking part in the war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria also pass through the waterway between Iran and Oman. On Saturday, the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, the USS Bulkeley destroyer and a French frigate, the FS Provence, were passing through it, said Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a U.S. Central Command spokesman. As they passed, Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels, hailing other ships in the strait over maritime radio, announced they'd be carrying out a live-fire exercise, Raines said. After 23 minutes, the Iranian boats fired "several unguided rockets" about 1,500 yards from the warships and commercial traffic, he said. The rockets weren't fired in the direction of any ships.

Insurer apologizes for early robocalls

QUINCY, Mass. -- A Massachusetts health insurer is apologizing after sending automated phone calls to as many as 10,000 senior citizens in the wee hours of the morning. Tufts Health Plan accidentally sent the robocall reminding patients to get their flu shots between 3 and 5 a.m. Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the insurer said the call was supposed to go out between 3 and 5 p.m. and attributed the mistake to "human error." She said the calls went out to people over 65 enrolled in the Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO option. Several clients called the health-care provider to ask about the early call. One man said he was having coffee at 4:45 a.m. when the phone rang and thought it was an emergency.

-- From wire reports