In brief: No sight of family who abandoned boat

MONTEREY, Calif. – Crews planned to search by sea and air through the night Monday as they ramped up efforts to find a husband, wife and two young children who sent a series of distress calls saying their sailboat was sinking far off the Central California coast and they were fashioning a raft from a cooler and a life ring.

The unidentified family had been sailing a small vessel Sunday west of Monterey Bay, where strong winds, cold water and big swells made for perilous conditions. Forecasters had issued a weekend advisory warning boaters of rough seas.

The group – which included two children under 8 – made its first distress call late Sunday afternoon, Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert said. Investigators used the boat’s radio signal and radar to determine the call came from an area about 60 miles west of Monterey.

The boaters reported that their 29-foot sailboat was taking on water and the electronics were failing.

An hour later, the family members reported they had to abandon the boat and were trying to make a life raft, Lampert said. The Coast Guard then lost radio contact.

So far the Coast Guard has received no reports of missing persons in the case.

Vote on CIA director may follow Libya info

WASHINGTON – A White House commitment to provide lawmakers with additional information about the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, may have cleared the way for a vote later this week on President Barack Obama’s nominee for CIA director, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Monday.

Republicans had demanded the records as a condition of moving forward with John Brennan’s confirmation.

“The administration has agreed to provide the material, (and) some of it is going to be provided tomorrow,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. “It is my hope that that is sufficient and we will be able to schedule the nomination for a vote on Thursday.”

Teen gets 35 years in school shooting

TOWSON, Md. – A high school sophomore has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for a Maryland high school cafeteria shooting that injured a student with Down syndrome.

Deputy State’s Attorney John Cox said 15-year-old Robert Gladden Jr. was sentenced Monday for the shooting at Perry Hall High School outside Baltimore last year.

Gladden pleaded guilty last week to attempted first-degree murder as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Borowy was hit in the back with a shotgun blast on the first day of classes Aug. 27. He missed more than two months of school while recuperating from his injuries.