Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:00 a.m. CST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Emails released to The Associated Press show that four days before he allegedly ambushed and killed two Iowa police officers, Scott Michael Greene sent the local police department a laudatory note calling officers “absolute heroes.” In an online compliment form, the unemployed 46-year-old father wrote Oct. 29: “I love you folks.”

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit by six states challenging a California law that prohibits the sale off eggs from chickens that are not raised in cages with sufficient space. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky and Iowa failed to show how the law would affect them and not just individual egg farmers.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline protested in North Dakota’s capital for a fourth straight day. A couple of hundred protesters marched around downtown Bismarck on Thursday, prompting police to temporarily shut down a couple of streets. Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Buschena says eight people were arrested. Protesters have targeted numerous sites in Bismarck and neighboring Mandan since Monday, including the state Capitol and the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 30-year-old man is facing two first-degree murder charges after a shooting in Mason City left two people dead. Mason City Police say a shooting was reported around 2:15 a.m. Thursday, and officers found Melinda Kavars and Caleb Christensen dead inside a home.