Midday Roundup: Co-pilot who crashed flight had suicidal past

Deadly secret. The co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that crashed into the French Alps last week received treatment for suicidal tendencies several years ago, prosecutors said today. Andreas Lubitz, 27, continued to see a doctor for follow-up visits, but any sick notes he received did not mention suicidal tendencies or aggression toward others. Prosecutors in Dusseldorf, Germany, revealed Friday that Lubitz had received a doctor’s excuse from work for the day of the crash, but he tore it up. Several news outlets reported over the weekend, citing anonymous sources, that Lubitz might have had a vision problem that threatened his career as a pilot. But a spokesman for the investigation said today there was no documentation showing that Lubitz had any physical ailment affecting his sight.

Abrupt arrival. One man is dead after trying to ram through the gate of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md. Gunfire erupted after the man and a companion, both dressed like women, tried to drive through the front gate and then got into an argument with a guard, Fox News reported. The other man and possibly the guard are believed to have been taken to the hospital.

Nuclear deadline. Iran is accusing the United States of killing two of its advisers in an airstrike near the Iraqi city of Tikrit, where a major offensive against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) is taking place. But U.S. officials say its coalition did not conduct any airstrikes in that area on the date the advisers supposedly died. The allegation comes in the final days of a round of negotiations between six world powers and Iran about its nuclear program. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, have been meeting in the Swiss town of Lausanne since Thursday in an effort to reach terms that would curb Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. With a tentative deadline of midnight Tuesday fast approaching, Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the United States, said “very substantial problems remain to be solved.”

Final Four. Three No. 1 seeded college basketball teams have reached the semifinals of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Seventh-seeded Michigan State joins Duke, Kentucky, and Wisconsin in the Final Four on Saturday. One game, Kentucky vs. Wisconsin, is a replay of last year’s semifinal, which Kentucky won. Connecticut beat Kentucky 60-54 in the 2014 championship game.

Exonerated. An American woman who spent four years in jail in Italy for her British roommate’s murder was vindicated Friday when Italy’s highest court threw out convictions again her and her former Italian boyfriend. Several trials found Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito acted together with Rudy Guede, who was convicted of the roommate’s slaying and sexual assault in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year prison sentence. Sollecito spoke out earlier today, saying he felt like a kidnapping victim who had been set free.

Precious cargo. A church van from the Independent Haitian Assembly of God in Fort Pierce, Fla., crashed early today, killing eight people and injuring 10. The overloaded van, on its way back from a convention in Fort Myers, ran a stop sign and careened down a steep embankment at about 12:30 a.m. The crash killed the male driver and seven passengers. Among the injured was a 4-year-old child who was not in a car seat, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.