WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has picked a Connecticut official to run HealthCare.gov ahead of a second open enrollment season looming as a test of competence for the feds.

Kevin Counihan leads Access Health CT, a health insurance marketplace seen as a national model.

As CEO of the federal exchange, Counihan’s challenge will be far bigger. Connecticut enrolled about 80,000 people, while more than 5 million signed up in the 36 states served by the federal marketplace.

Insurance exchanges offer subsidized private coverage to people who don’t have workplace health plans.

The role of federal CEO is new, created by Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell to avoid a repeat of last year’s technical meltdown. Burwell also named Lori Lodes of the Center for American Progress as communications director.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal jury in Omaha has convicted a former acting director of cyber security at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of several child pornography counts.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Nebraska says 56-year-old Timothy DeFoggi, of Germantown, Maryland, is the sixth person to be convicted as part of the investigation targeting three child pornography websites — including one based and administered from Nebraska.

DeFoggi was convicted Tuesday of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to advertise and distribute child pornography and accessing a computer with intent to view child pornography. He faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced Nov. 7.

An attorney for DeFoggi, John Berry, says he likely will appeal.

CORONA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California food company has recalled nearly 93,000 pounds of fully cooked chicken Caesar salad kits sold at Sam’s Club stores over concerns of possible listeria contamination.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says the Daily Chef salad kits were shipped to the warehouse chain for sale in its in-store cafes nationwide.

The affected products by Corona’s APPA Fine Foods come in 11-ounce clear plastic containers with use-by dates through Sept. 17.

The USDA and the company have received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products.

People who consume food contaminated with listeria are at risk of getting listeriosis, which can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion and convulsions.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police in Wisconsin say that before she died, a wounded woman called 911 and identified the person who shot her as her brother-in-law, who had been a sheriff’s deputy.

A police affidavit obtained Tuesday says Kacee Tollefsbol called 911 around 1 p.m. Friday and said Andy Steele had shot her in the back. When police arrived at Steele’s home in the Madison suburb of Fitchburg they also found the body of his 39-year-old wife, Ashlee Steele, who had also been fatally shot.

The affidavit says the 38-year-old Tollefsbol, of Lake Elmo, Minnesota, also told a detective that Andy Steele had shot her before she died at UW hospital.

Steele was arrested but hasn’t been charged.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trial witnesses say a Philadelphia girl abducted from her kindergarten was missing for six hours before her family learned she was gone.

A former day care worker is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the 5-year-old and hiding her at home for nearly a day.

Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements Monday that Christina Regusters of Philadelphia acted alone.

However, they say the girl believes a man is responsible, because that’s what she was told after being blindfolded.

The 21-year-old Regusters had worked at an after-school program the girl attended.

Prosecutors say she posed as the girl’s mother to sign her out that morning. Witnesses say no one realized the mistake until after school.

A defense lawyer says Regusters does not match the description of the school intruder.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The release of a freelance reporter who had been held hostage for nearly two years by an al-Qaida-linked group in Syria comes just days after the U.S. was rocked by the beheading of another American journalist by Islamic militants.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Peter Theo Curtis had been held by an al-Qaida-linked militant group fighting Syria’s government.

Curtis was not believed to be among the hostages held by the Islamic State group that killed James Foley. Islamic State was formally disavowed by al-Qaida earlier this year after being deemed too brutal.

Curtis’ release was likely to renew questions about the intentions of different militant groups in Syria and Iraq and how the U.S. should deal with hostage takers.

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Police in Connecticut say a toddler spent the night in a car outside a bar after her mother went drinking and ended up in the hospital.

Police say the 2-year-old girl was found asleep Saturday morning inside the locked vehicle in Bristol. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Police say her mother, 22-year-old Kelsey James, was found intoxicated and asleep inside the bar late Friday. Emergency responders took James to a hospital for treatment and evaluation.

Several hours later, the hospital called police to say James was awake and asking where her daughter was. Police then located the car.

James is charged with risking injury to a minor and leaving an unsupervised child in a vehicle. Connecticut’s child welfare agency is investigating.

James couldn’t be reached for comment.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska State Troopers say a 1-year-old girl has drowned in a bucket of water at her family’s home in the western Alaska village of Kotlik.

The girl was pronounced dead at the village clinic shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday after CPR efforts failed.

Troopers say the girl fell into a half-full 5-gallon bucket of water being used to wash hands at the home, which has no running water.

Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says the girl’s mother and two siblings were home with the child at the time. Ipsen says the girl spoke with the mother 10 minutes before being found in the bucket by a sibling.

The state medical examiner’s office will perform an autopsy.

Ipsen says foul play is not suspected in the death.

The name of the child was not immediately released.

Kotlik is located 165 miles northwest of Bethel.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — A top U.S. health official plans to travel to West Africa to see firsthand how the Ebola outbreak is unfolding.

Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is scheduled to visit Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea next week.

A CDC spokesman Friday said Frieden wants to meet the African and international health leaders trying to control the outbreak, and to hear what help they need. He also plans to visit hospitals treating Ebola patients.

The Atlanta-based CDC has sent nearly 70 scientists and staff to help in those three countries, as well as Nigeria.

More than 1,400 people have died so far in the largest Ebola outbreak on record.