National briefs

10 die when prison bus strikes train

ODESSA, Texas -- Eight inmates and two corrections officers died Wednesday when a prison bus skidded off an icy West Texas highway, slid down an embankment and collided with a passing freight train, authorities said. The overpass on Interstate 20 was slick with ice Wednesday morning when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice bus left the roadway in Penwell, Texas, according to Ector County Sheriff Mark Donaldson. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice confirmed the 10 deaths in a statement, adding four prisoners and one corrections officer were injured. The bus driver and another corrections officer were among those killed. Tiffany Harston, spokeswoman for Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, said four of the injured are in critical condition and one is in serious condition.

4 Secret Service execs reassigned

WASHINGTON -- Four of the highest-ranking Secret Service executives have been reassigned following a series of security mishaps and reports questioning leadership within the agency, the Secret Service said Wednesday. The agency's assistant directors for investigations, protective operations, technology and public affairs have all been reassigned within the Secret Service. Acting director Joseph P. Clancey said in a statement Wednesday he was making leadership changes based on a December report from an independent panel that described the agency as "insular" and "starved for leadership."

Two men reach top of Yosemite peak

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- A pair of Americans on Wednesday completed what had long been considered the world's most difficult rock climb, using only their hands and feet to ascend a 3,000-foot vertical wall on El Capitan, the forbidding granite pedestal in Yosemite National Park that has beckoned adventurers for more than half a century. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson became the first to free-climb the rock formation's Dawn Wall, a feat that many had considered impossible. They used ropes and safety harnesses to catch them in case of a fall, but relied entirely on their own strength and dexterity to ascend by grasping cracks as thin as razor blades and as small as dimes. The effort took 19 days.

Alleged Cosby victim meets with police

LOS ANGELES -- A model who claims Bill Cosby drugged and sexually abused her at the Playboy Mansion met with Los Angeles police Wednesday to pursue criminal charges against the comedian over the 2008 incident. An attorney for Chloe Goins said after the meeting his client is the first woman accusing Cosby of sexual misconduct whose case may fall within the statute of limitations. More than 15 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, including several who say the comedian drugged and raped them in incidents dating back at least four decades. Her attorney, Spencer Kuvin, said she came forward after hearing about other women describing abuse by Cosby and realizing she might have a valid criminal case.

-- Associated Press