15 die in Somalia after an attack during a parliament session
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Mortar rounds fired by suspected Islamist insurgents crashed into Somalia’s government complex on Thursday, killing three government soldiers, wounding a member of parliament and triggering a counterattack that killed a dozen more people.
Israel’s compromises key to Mideast peace talk progress
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Two days of Mideast peace talks appear to have brought Israel and the Palestinians closer to a deal that would allow those talks to continue, but far more difficult issues lay ahead.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak suggested a compromise over Israel’s plan to lift its partial ban on construction on the West Bank later this month, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he sees no alternative but to continue negotiations in search of peace with Israel.
Gunman shoots doctor, kills mother and self at Johns Hopkins Hospital
BALTIMORE (AP) — A man who became distraught as he was being briefed on his mother’s condition by a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital pulled a gun and shot the doctor, then killed his mother and himself in her room at the world-famous medical center Thursday, police said.
The doctor, who was wounded in the abdomen, is expected to survive.
The gunman, 50-year-old Paul Warren Pardus, had been listening to the surgeon around midday when he “became emotionally distraught and reacted … and was overwhelmed by the news of his mother’s condition,” Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said.
Report: Fracking chemicals found in NE Pennsylvania water wells
DIMOCK, Pa. (AP) — A private consulting firm says it found toxic chemicals in the drinking water of a Pennsylvania community already dealing with methane contamination from natural gas drilling.
Environmental engineer Daniel Farnham said Thursday that his tests, which were verified by three laboratories, found industrial solvents such as toluene and ethylbenzene in “virtually every sample” taken from water wells in Dimock Township.
Teen uses Care Bear to demonstrate how he killed younger brother
RISING SUN, Ind. (AP) — A video shows an Indiana teenager using a green Care Bear doll to demonstrate to authorities how he strangled his 10-year-old brother in the kitchen of their home.
The video was played Thursday on the second day of 18-year-old Andrew Conley’s sentencing hearing in Ohio Circuit Court in the small Ohio River town of Rising Sun.
Conley unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murder Monday in his brother’s death last year. He could face 45 years to life in prison.
Nucor bond deal gets preliminary state approval Thursday
(AP) — A key financing peg of steelmaker Nucor’s plan to build a major iron and steel plant in St. James Parish won preliminary state approval Thursday, marking a first step forward on one of Louisiana’s biggest industrial deals ever.
Nucor announced a day earlier that Louisiana had won the massive project after years of wooing the manufacturer. Once complete, the project to be built between New Orleans and Baton Rouge could total $3.4 billion and create hundreds of jobs.
Bush: Giving up Heisman Trophy not an admission of guilt
METAIRIE (AP) — Reggie Bush said Thursday that his decision to relinquish his Heisman Trophy should not be seen as an admission that he and his family improperly accepted cash and gifts from sports agents while he played for Southern Cal.
“I just felt like it was the best thing to do, the most respectful thing to do, because obviously I do respect the Heisman, I do respect all the things it stands for,” Bush said. “I felt just to kind of silence all the talk around it, all the negativity around it. I felt like this would be the best decision to do right now so I could focus.”
Transocean, US resolve dispute over key oil spill evidence
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A dispute between the owner of the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico and the federal government over how a key piece of evidence is being handled has been resolved.
A lawyer for Transocean Ltd. said during a federal court hearing in New Orleans on Thursday that the government has agreed to flush the control pods on the blowout preventer to keep the device from corroding before investigators analyze it to determine why it failed to stop the massive oil spill.