Two emergency landings occur in Vt.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. ( AP) — A Vermont airport responded to two emergency landings in one day Wednesday.

A Delta flight carrying 33 passengers and three crew members from Detroit to Quebec landed safely Wednesday around 4 p. m. No injuries were reported.

Joe Williams, a spokesman for regional jet operator Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., said the main passenger door of the CRJ200 regional jet was making a noise so the pilot diverted to the nearest available airport.

The flight was canceled and passengers were booked into hotels because the crew had reached the maximum time allowed to remain on duty. The passengers are expected to fly to Quebec this morning.

Earlier Wednesday, a Chicago bound United Airlines regional jet made an emergency landing at the Burlington International Airport shortly after takeoff. The United Express Flight 3785 had been in the air about 10 minutes when it landed safely at 6:28 a.m. after a report of smoke in the cargo hold, said airport operations specialist Patrick Sharrow.

No injuries were reported. The CRJ700 plane was carrying 66 passengers and four crew members.

New book reveals Petraeus almost quit

WASHINGTON ( AP) — Four-star general-turned-CIA director David Petraeus almost resigned as Afghanistan war commander over President Barack Obama’s decision to quickly draw down surge forces, according to a new insider’s look at Petraeus’ 37- year Army career.

Petraeus decided that resigning would be a “selfish, grandstanding move with huge political ramifications” and that now was “ time to salute and carry on,” according to a forthcoming biography.

Author and Petraeus confidante Paula Broadwell had extensive access to the general in Afghanistan and Washington for “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus,” due from Penguin Press in January. The Associated Press was given an advance copy.

The book traces Petraeus’ career from West Point cadet to his command of two wars deemed unwinnable: Iraq and Afghanistan. Co- authored with The Washington Post’s Vernon Loeb, the nearly 400- page book is part history lesson through Petraeus’ eyes, part hagiography and part defense of the counterinsurgency strategy he applied in both wars.

Critics of counterinsurgency argue the strategy has not yet proved a success, with violence spiking in Iraq after the departure of U.S. troops, and Afghan local forces deemed ill-prepared to take over by the 2014 deadline.

China executes 12 people in single day

BEIJING (AP) — China has executed 12 people in a single day, including a man who bombed a local tax office.

The official Xinhua News Agency says Liu Zhuiheng was convicted and sentenced to death for detonating explosives outside a tax office in Changsha city in Hunan province in July 2010. Four people were killed and 17 others wounded. Xinhua says the 52-year-old was venting anger over business losses.

Xinhua says China’s supreme court approved the death sentence of Liu and 11 others today. All death sentences are sent to the supreme court for review and are usually carried out immediately if approved.

The other 11 people were convicted of crimes including murder and robbery.

China executes more people than any other country — around 4,000 people a year.

Gunmen kill Pakistani police surgeon

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen in southwestern Pakistan today killed a police surgeon who had received threats for his role in investigating the deaths of five foreigners at the hands of security forces earlier this year, police said.

Surgeon Baqir Shah conducted the autopsies on the five foreigners, including three women, who security forces initially said were would- be suicide bombers who died May 17 when they detonated a grenade at a checkpoint near Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

But Shah found that the unarmed foreigners from central Asia, one of whom was pregnant, were killed by a hail of bullets. Video showed one of the women raising her arm in what appeared to be a pleading gesture as the security forces fired.