World / Nation briefs September 15, 2011

Police: Human remains found in search for mom

DELTA, Utah - Authorities found human remains Wednesday while searching Utah's rugged desert, reviving hopes for a major break in the case of a mother who disappeared nearly two years ago.

It wasn't immediately known if the remains belonged to Susan Powell. A medical examiner was on the way to the scene.

The case has cast a harsh spotlight on Powell's husband, who remains the only person of interest but has never been arrested or charged.

"It's a game of patience at this point," West Valley City Sgt. Mike Powell said. "We need to slow down a little bit and identify what it is we found."

He said authorities secured the scene Wednesday evening and would resume work in the morning.

California border crossing reopens to pedestrians

SAN DIEGO - The nation's busiest border crossing has reopened to pedestrians, nearly eight hours after scaffolding collapsed on more than a dozen cars and injured 11 people.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the San Ysidro border crossing connecting San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, remains closed to motorists. The agency gave no estimate of when vehicle lanes would reopen.

Pedestrian traffic resumed at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The crossing was closed to all U.S.-bound traffic after the scaffolding fell. About 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians enter the country each day at San Ysidro.

Justice Ginsburg slides to safety off airplane

CHANTILLY, Va. - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is 78 and has battled cancer, was forced to slide down an emergency chute to evacuate a flight at Dulles International Airport on Wednesday that was grounded because of engine problems, a court spokeswoman said.

Ginsburg was on her way from Washington to San Francisco and was not injured, said Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe Estrada.

The captain ordered the evacuation of United Airlines Flight 586 after smoke appeared out of one of the plane's engines, said United spokesman Mike Trevino. He said it wasn't clear what caused the smoke, and that the emergency chutes were used to speed the evacuation. In all, 179 passengers and six crew members evacuated.

The plane returned to the terminal after the passengers were off.

Airport spokeswoman Kimberly Gibbs says three people suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, two of whom refused treatment, and one was taken to a hospital.

Judge blockslaw restricting doctor gun talk

MIAMI - A federal judge on Wednesday blocked enforcement of a first-in-the-nation law that restricted what Florida physicians can say about guns to their patients, ruling the law violates the U.S. Constitution's free speech guarantees and does not trample gun rights.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said it was important to emphasize "the free flow of truthful, non-misleading information within the doctor-patient relationship."

"This case concerns one of our Constitution's most precious rights - the freedom of speech," said Cooke, appointed to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush. "A practitioner who counsels a patient on firearm safety, even when entirely irrelevant to medical care or safety, does not affect or interfere with the patient's right to continue to own, possess or use firearms."

The law was passed earlier this year by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed into law June 2 by GOP Gov. Rick Scott. The governor, the National Rifle Association and other supporters contended it was a violation of privacy and possibly the Second Amendment for doctors to question patients about guns at home.

But physicians' groups representing some 11,000 doctors and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence sued. They said the law halted meaningful discussions between doctors and patients - especially parents with guns - about keeping the weapons out of the hands of children.

Dr. Lisa Cosgrove, president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the ruling will help save lives. She said doctors routinely counsel patients about safety issues at home, on everything from backyard swimming pools to use of bike helmets.

12 al-Qaida linked militants killed in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen - Fierce clashes between Yemeni government forces and al-Qaida linked militants in southern Yemen overnight killed 14, including 12 militants, officials said Wednesday.

Late Wednesday, loud explosions and exchanges of fire were heard in the capital Sanaa in the neighborhood where the chief of the main tribe opposing Yemen's president lives. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Three explosions were also reported near police stations and an intelligence office in Aden in southern Yemen.

A military official said Wednesday negotiations in the south with the fighters to end the bloodshed there were deadlocked.

Islamic militants linked with al-Qaida have taken advantage of the turmoil gripping Yemen over anti-government protests, seizing control of a number of towns and the provincial capital of the southern province of Abyan.

The militants have controlled the towns for months, terrorizing the locals. In recent weeks, the military has gone on the offensive, but fierce fighting has not shaken the militants hold on the area and has left thousands of civilians displaced.

U.S.: Embassy attack a

propaganda win

KABUL, Afghanistan - American officials Wednesday blamed the bold attack on the U.S. Embassy on a Pakistan-based group allied with the Taliban, acknowledging that the assault brought a propaganda victory for the insurgents even as they played down its military significance.

The attack underscored holes in Afghan security: Six fighters with heavy weapons took over an unfinished high-rise that authorities knew was a perfect roost for an attack on the embassy and NATO headquarters about 300 yard away. They then held out against a 20-hour barrage by hundreds of Afghan and foreign forces.

It appeared likely that either weaponry had been stored in the 12-story building ahead of time or that some insurgents had entered in advance with a supply of guns and ammunition.

- The Associated Press