Nation

South Carolina

Attorney general wins governor runoff

COLUMBIA — South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson won a runoff election on Tuesday, swiftly routing the candidate initially endorsed by President Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee for governor.

Wilson defeated Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, whom Trump backed in the closing days of the primary campaign. The president later said he supported both candidates, hedging his bets in the race after his candidates for governor lost in Iowa and Georgia earlier this month.

Arizona

Guthrie family still seeking answers

TUCSON — “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie made an emotional appeal to viewers Tuesday to come forward with any information about her missing mother, a day after news organizations said a ransom note received months ago had indicated that she was dead.

“We are in agony, and we cannot be at peace. … We love our mom. We’ll never stop looking for her,” Guthrie said at the “Today” desk in New York, holding a tissue in her left hand.

New York

Student gets 5 years in prison for arson

NEW YORK — A high school senior who admitted to setting a fire that severely burned a homeless man on the subway was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan federal court to 5¢ years in prison.

Judge Lewis J. Liman gave Hiram Carrero, 19, a sentence that was longer than the mandatory minimum required for arson, after the teen plead guilty in March to the charge.

World

South Korea

Kim claims progress on nuclear navy

SEOUL — North Korea has commissioned a 5,000-ton destroyer that leader Kim Jong Un touts as a symbol of the country’s growing naval and nuclear capabilities, state media reported Wednesday, as Pyongyang seeks to expand its ability to project military power at sea.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim told a commissioning ceremony Tuesday at the western port of Nampo that warships such as the Choe Hyon show that the nuclear armament of his navy is progressing as planned.

Puerto Rico

US hits Cuba with new sanctions

SAN JUAN — The U.S. hit Cuban state companies on Tuesday with new sanctions that analysts say are expected to spook foreign investors and deepen a severe economic crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions target five Cuban entities, including three linked to Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate run by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Germany

Trains halted due to system issues

BERLIN — A problem with a communications system forced Germany’s railway network to halt all trains late Tuesday, leaving passengers stranded across the country.

Trains were held at stations and would-be travelers stood in long lines at information desks as they tried to figure out how to get to their destinations.