In brief: Dunford confirmed to lead Joint Chiefs of Staff

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Wednesday confirmed President Barack Obama’s pick to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., who is currently commandant of the Marine Corps, is expected to take over Oct. 1 for Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, who will retire after a 41-year Army career.

Dunford is a widely respected, combat-hardened commander who led the Afghanistan war coalition during a key transitional period during 2013-14.

During his 18 months in Afghanistan, Dunford oversaw the ongoing drawdown of U.S. troops, the transition to Afghan military lead in combat operations and the tumultuous Afghan elections that dragged on and stalled efforts to reach an agreement on the U.S. military’s future presence in the country.

Dunford, 59, is a Boston native who holds master’s degrees in government from Georgetown University and international relations from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The Senate confirmed Dunford on a voice vote.

Grand jury details sealed in Garner death

NEW YORK – An appellate court ruled Wednesday that most details of the grand jury proceeding that cleared a white policeman in the death of Eric Garner should remain sealed, a setback to activists who say Garner, an unarmed black man, was murdered.

In its decision, the state Supreme Court’s 2nd Department Appellate Division said the appellants failed to provide a “compelling and particularized need” for the release of the transcripts.

The ruling by the four-judge panel affirms a lower court’s decision in March. The lower court said the public interest in preserving grand jury secrecy outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, one of the appellants, said after Wednesday’s ruling that it would take the case to a higher court.

Garner died on July 17, 2014, during an altercation with police Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who accused him of selling illegal cigarettes on a Staten Island, N.Y., sidewalk. A bystander’s video captured Garner’s final moments as Pantaleo put an arm around Garner’s neck and held him down as Garner said repeatedly, “I can’t breathe.”

The city’s medical examiner ruled the death a homicide due to compression of the neck and chest. Five months later, a grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo.

Hillary Clinton date set for Benghazi questions

WASHINGTON – The House committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, says Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to appear before the panel on Oct. 22.

Committee spokesman Jamal Ware said Clinton will be questioned about the attacks as well as the unusual email arrangement she used when she was secretary of state.

The committee is investigating the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the diplomatic facility in Benghazi.

Teenager charged in 8-year-old’s death

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Prosecutors charged a 15-year-old boy with murder, kidnapping and rape Wednesday in the death of an 8-year-old girl in an artists complex in a California beach town.

Police say Adrian Jerry Gonzalez lured Madyson Middleton into his family’s apartment from a courtyard where she had been riding her scooter over the weekend. Once inside, he tied her up, sexually assaulted and killed her, according to a charging document.

Gonzalez remains in custody at the Santa Cruz County juvenile detention center, where he has been held since the girl’s body was found in a recycling bin Monday evening.