— From wire reports

Mideast talks — With tensions high and expectations low, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators kicked off their first substantive round of peace talks in nearly five years, huddling together at an undisclosed location Wednesday in search of an end to decades of conflict. The meeting was cloaked in secrecy, an attempt by both sides to prevent leaks to the media and maintain trust. Officials would say only that the talks took place in Jerusalem, and there was no immediate comment from either side. The Israeli government released a brief video showing the chief negotiators shaking hands as the talks continued into the evening.

Jackson sentence — Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Wednesday for illegally spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items, the judge scolding the son of the famed civil rights leader for using the money as a “piggy bank” and sentencing his wife to a year as well. However, Jackson, who emotionally apologized to his father, mother, congressional colleagues and others, was given significantly less prison time than federal guidelines recommend, recognized by the judge as a “complex person” who has done both good and bad. According to court documents, the Jacksons had spent campaign money on televisions, restaurant dinners, an expensive watch and other costly personal items.

Fatal bank standoff — The gunman in a fatal hostage standoff wrote that he was angry at his ex-girlfriend’s family and believed they were responsible for a device in his head, a Louisiana sheriff said. Authorities said 20-year-old Fuaed Abdo Ahmed shot two hostages, killing one, at a rural Louisiana bank on Tuesday before state police ended the hours-long standoff by shooting him dead. The wounded hostage was in critical condition Wednesday morning.

UPS jet crash — A UPS cargo plane crashed into a field near the Birmingham, Ala., airport Wednesday, killing two pilots and scattering wreckage over a wide rural area moments after witnesses heard the massive jet coming in at treetop level. People living near the airfield reported seeing flames coming from the aircraft and hearing its engines struggle in the final moments before impact. “It was on fire before it hit,” said Jerome Sanders, who lives directly across from the runway.

Kidnapping ordeal — Hannah Anderson said a longtime family friend “tricked” her into visiting his house, tied up her mother and younger brother in his garage and kidnapped her, setting off a massive search that stretched across much of the western U.S. And when she later learned they were found dead in her captor’s burning Southern California house, the 16-year-old said she cried all night. “I wish I could go back in time and risk my life to try and save theirs. I will never forgive myself for not trying harder to save them,” she wrote in a harrowing account on a social media site roughly two days after she was rescued and FBI agents killed James Lee DiMaggio in the Idaho wilderness.

Mexico kingpin — The United States has formally asked Mexico to re-arrest a drug kingpin who was released from prison in the middle of the night last week despite his conviction for masterminding the murder of an American drug agent, Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, nearly 30 years ago, officials from both governments said Wednesday. The Justice Department sent Mexico a provisional arrest warrant for the drug lord, Rafael Caro Quintero, as a prelude to an extradition request.

Korea tensions — North and South Korea agreed Wednesday to reopen a joint industrial complex in a sign that the two sides are inching toward a thaw after months of high tension earlier this year. The breakthrough came during what the South billed as a final round of make-or-break negotiations on whether to restart or permanently shut down the Kaesong industrial zone, a factory park which had been the last remaining symbol of the two countries’ earlier economic cooperation.

Doctors Without Borders — One of the world’s most tenacious humanitarian groups said Wednesday that it could no longer endure the risks that come with operating in Somalia, in a move that underscored the continued violence in the country despite recent steps toward stability. After suffering years of attacks on its staff members in Somalia, Doctors Without Borders said that it would shut down all operations in the country after 22 years of working there.

India submarine — Indian naval divers on Wednesday afternoon opened the main hatchway of a stricken Russian-made Indian submarine that caught fire, blew up and sank at dock earlier in the day in one of the worst naval accidents in Indian history. But visibility for the divers within the sunken boat was almost zero, and rescue and recovery operations for the 18 missing crew members was expected to take time.