DISCOVERY BAY, Calif. (AP) — A newspaper says a Northern California teenager has confessed to stabbing to death a 9-year-old boy.

The Contra Costa Times reported Monday (http://tinyurl.com/m2xyu7g) that 18-year-old William Schultz said he killed the sleeping boy because he wanted to know what it felt like to murder someone before the world ended. The Times interviewed Schultz in jail.

Schultz was arrested Sunday after spending the night in the boy’s home in Discovery Bay. Schultz said his family has been concerned with his mental health.

Schultz was briefly hospitalized Saturday. He said a doctor discharged him and sent him in a cab to his mother’s home.

After fighting with his mother, he spent the night at the victim’s home.

The Schultz family couldn’t be reached for comment. A county spokeswoman didn’t return a call.

PHOENIX (AP) — A jury has convicted an Arizona mother of murder in the death her 5-year-old daughter who disappeared in 2011 and was never found.

The verdict was reached Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Authorities say 41-year-old Jerice Hunter beat and kept her daughter Jhessye Shockley in a bedroom closet at the family’s suburban Phoenix home depriving her of food and water until she died.

Prosecutors say Hunter stuffed the remains of the child in a suitcase and put it in a trash bin.

The disappearance of Jhessye Shockley set off an intense search of landfills as officers picked through 9,500 tons of garbage over three months.

Hunter’s lawyers say there’s no proof that Jhessye is dead.

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A Texas high school English teacher has been named the 2015 National Teacher of the Year.

The Council of Chief State School Officers announced the honor Monday for Shanna Peeples.

Peeples, who works at Palo Duro High in Amarillo, will be recognized by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House on Wednesday.

She says growing up around domestic violence helps her connect with students who are refugees from war-torn countries and are traumatized by what they’ve seen.

She came to teaching after working as a disc jockey, medical assistant, pet sitter and journalist.

Peeples teaches AP English and serves as the English department chair and is an instructional coach for other teachers.

She is the first teacher from Texas to win the award since 1957.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — An 11-year-old is in custody after accidentally firing a stolen handgun at a Las Vegas school. No one was hurt.

The student fired the gun Wednesday as he reached into a backpack, shooting a hole in a desk at Deskin Elementary School.

Clark County School District police say the fifth-grader was getting ready to leave school when the .45-caliber gun went off in a classroom. Cpt. Ken Young says staff members immediately separated the boy from other students.

Young says it’s not clear where the boy got the gun, but he and the firearm’s owner don’t appear to be related.

The boy is being held at a juvenile detention center and faces several charges, including felony possession of stolen property.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prosecutors and lawyers for the would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan are disagreeing over what conditions should be imposed if he’s allowed to leave a mental hospital for good and live full-time with his mother in Virginia.

John Hinckley Jr.’s attorney, Barry Levine, said Wednesday during the opening of a multi-day hearing that his client is “clinically ready” to live in the community, a position supported by his treatment team.

Levine says the mental illness that drove Hinckley to shoot the president in 1981 has been in “full and stable remission” for decades and conditions including regular visits with a psychiatrist and therapist can ensure he remains healthy.

Prosecutors say the conditions the hospital suggests imposing aren’t enough. They’re asking a judge to impose nearly three-dozen restrictions on Hinckley’s freedom.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scientists say more than 143 million Americans in the Lower 48 states now live in earthquake-prone areas.

That’s because more people are living in the quake-prone West Coast and some quake zones were recently expanded.

The research doesn’t include Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. But scientists estimated nearly half of Americans — or about 150 million people — live in a quake zone.

About 28 million people face the highest threat, mostly along the West Coast.

The research was presented Wednesday at an earthquake meeting in Pasadena. It was led by the U.S. Geological Survey, which used the latest quake maps and population data.

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities quickly found out why an arriving passenger at Kennedy Airport was so nervous: She had 4 pounds of cocaine hidden in her girdle and underwear.

Authorities said Monday that 70-year-old Olive Fowler seemed nervous when she arrived in New York from Guyana on April 12. Customs and Border Protection officers escorted her to a private room at the airport and found the cocaine while they were searching her.

Officials estimate that the drugs have a street value of more than $73,000.

Fowler is facing federal narcotics smuggling charges.

NJ.com reports that her federal public defender, Peter Kirchheimer, declined to comment.

ATTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A woman has been charged with killing her husband of 30 years and burying his body under a manure pile on the couple’s western New York farm.

State police troopers say they were called to the home of 52-year-old Douglas Mess on Monday in the Wyoming County town of Attica and told by his son that his father didn’t go to work and hadn’t been seen since 8 p.m. Sunday.

Police launched an air and ground search and found Mess’ body concealed in a mound of manure at the back of his farm.

Authorities say Mess had been killed by his 48-year-old wife, Charlene Mess. She’s charged with second-degree murder.

Charlene Mess is being held without bail Tuesday in the county jail. Her public defender couldn’t be reached for comment.

NEW YORK (AP) — This is the last year that the original version of Kraft Mac & Cheese sold in the U.S. will contain artificial preservatives or synthetic colors.

In January, Kraft says its macaroni and cheese will be colored using paprika, annatto and turmeric.

The company is already selling a version, Kraft Mac & Cheese Boxed Shapes, with no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors.

There has been a huge shift away from processed foods in the U.S. and larger food producers are trying to follow their customers in that direction.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. is based in Northfield, Illinois. Its stock rose 87 cents to $87.60 Monday.

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas police say a 2-month-old boy has died after being attacked by his family’s pet pit bull at their home.

Police say the baby was attacked Sunday while in a bouncing seat. Police say the child’s father had gone outside to turn on a sprinkler system and when he returned, the dog was attacking the child.

As the father tried to stop the attack, the mother walked in. She was bitten twice by the dog.

Police say the father was able to grab the dog by the neck, then took the dog outside and shot it twice.

The baby was identified by the Dallas County medical examiner’s office as Brayden Wilson.

Police say the case will be referred to a grand jury to determine whether any charges will be filed.