MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian nuclear-capable strategic bomber crashed Tuesday on a training mission in the country's far east, killing six members of its crew, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said in a statement that the Tu-95 bomber went down in an unpopulated area in the Amur region, adding that one crewmember survived the crash and was hospitalized with injuries.
The statement said that the bomber wasn't carrying weapons. A team of investigators has flown to the area to determine the cause of the crash, the ministry said.
The regional administration said in a statement that the plane crashed near the village of Krasnoyarovo on the Zeya River near the border with China. It said the pilots “did all they could to steer the plane away from residential buildings.”
The Tu-95 is a nuclear-capable four-engine turboprop strategic bomber that has been in service since the Cold War times. The Russian military has widely used the big warplane to launch conventionally-armed cruise missiles at Ukraine throughout the more than 4 1/2-year conflict.
Some of the Tu-95s of the Russian air force were destroyed or damaged during Ukraine's “Spiderweb" operation in June 2025 when it used drones covertly launched from trucks to hit several air bases hosting long-range bombers across Russia.
FILE - North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted a Russian Tu-95 military aircraft over the Bering Sea off Alaska's western coast on July 22, 2025. (U.S. Department of Defense via AP, File)
A former Ohio music pastor who once appeared on “American Idol” was convicted of murder Tuesday in the killing of his wife while he was having an affair.
Prosecutors said Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a home invasion in February after shooting his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach.
Flynn, who claimed his wife was killed by a burglar, could now be sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. He closed his eyes, shook his head to the side and fought to maintain his composure as the judge read the guilty verdicts to murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
Flynn appeared on “American Idol” in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. He sang before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj but did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood.
Prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he shot his wife at their home in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. Flynn and the couple’s two daughters were home when police arrived.
Flynn also didn’t want to lose his daughters, his high-paying job at his wife’s family business or his position in the church, prosecutors said.
“He wanted to keep his mistress and have his daughters all to himself,” said Matthew Joseph, an assistant Miami County prosecutor.
During the trial, a woman who said she was having an affair with Flynn testified that he said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.
Flynn’s attorney told the jury Tuesday that investigators never found a gun or evidence that Flynn fired a gun that day.
“His being unfaithful doesn’t equal murder,” said defense attorney Patrick Mulligan. “The issue here isn’t, ‘Was he a good husband?’”
Text messages Flynn sent to his lover complaining about his wife were meant to make her feel good, Mulligan said.
Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. Botner read some of her text messages with Flynn.
About six months before the killing, Flynn wrote: “I was up until 4 a.m. last night crying, literally trying to think of ways to kill her and not go to jail.”
Caleb Flynn listens to court proceedings inside the Miami County Court of Common Pleas on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Troy, Ohio. (AP Photo, Pool)
Caleb Flynn, left, sits next to Emily Smith, right, one of his attorneys on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in the Miami County Court of Common Pleas in Troy, Ohio. (AP Photo, Pool)
