World / Nation briefs January 14, 2012

Cruise ship runs aground off Italy

ROME - A luxury cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, gashing open the hull and forcing some 4,200 people aboard to evacuate aboard lifeboats to a nearby island early Saturday. At least three were dead, the Italian coast guard said.

At least three bodies were recovered from the sea and at least three additional persons were feared dead, and helicopters were working to pluck to safety some 50 people still trapped aboard the badly listing Costa Concordia, said Coast Guard Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo.

Paolillo said it wasn't immediately known if the dead were passengers or crew, nor were the nationalities of the victims immediately known. It wasn't clear how they died. The Italian news agency ANSA reported that some people had jumped overboard in the scramble to evacuate the ship, which had just begun a Mediterranean cruise.

The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, a popular vacation isle about 18 miles off Italy's central west coast.

Obama seeks to merge agencies

WASHINGTON - Seeking more power to shrink the government, President Barack Obama on Friday suggested smashing six economic agencies into one, an election-year idea intended to halt bureaucratic nightmares and force Republicans to back him on one of their own favorite issues.

"The government we have is not the government we need," Obama told business owners he'd gathered at the White House. Lawmakers seemed willing to at least consider his ideas.

Sounding like a manager of a disorganized company, and looking like one by pointing to slides as he spoke, Obama asked Congress to give him a kind of reorganization power no president has had since Ronald Reagan. It would guarantee Obama a vote, within 90 days, on any idea he offers to consolidate agencies, provided it saves money and cuts the government.

His first potential target: Merging six major trade and commerce agencies into a one-stop-shopping department for American businesses. The Commerce Department would be among those that would cease to exist.

Attacking senseless duplication across the executive branch he runs, Obama said: "Why is it OK for our government? It's not. It has to change."

Edwards has heart condition

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Ex-presidential candidate John Edwards has a serious heart condition that will require a medical procedure next month and his illness limits his travel including for an upcoming court case over possible campaign violations, his doctor told a judge, who delayed the trial.

Federal Judge Catherine Eagles did not disclose the exact nature of Edwards' illness Friday or what procedure he needed. However, she said the two-time presidential candidate had "three episodes" and indicated his condition could be life-threatening if left untreated.

A cardiologist for the 58-year-old ex-North Carolina senator wrote two letters about his condition to Eagles, who talked about them during a hearing to consider whether the trial on six felony and misdemeanor counts should begin this month. Eagles said jury selection will now start March 26, at the earliest.

US warns Iran on Gulf oil route

WASHINGTON - Tensions rising by the day, the Obama administration said Friday it is warning Iran through public and private channels against any action that threatens the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. The Navy revealed that two U.S. ships in and near the Gulf were harassed by Iranian speedboats last week.

Spokesmen were vague on what the United States would do about Iran's threat to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, but military officials have been clear that the U.S. is readying for a possible naval clash.

That prospect is the latest flashpoint with Iran, and one of the most serious. Although it currently overshadows the threat of war over Iran's disputed nuclear program, perhaps beginning with an Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear structure, both simmering crises raise the possibility of a shooting war this year.

"We have to make sure we are ready for any situation and have all options on the table," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, addressing a soldier's question Thursday about the overall risk of war with Iran.

Perry calls his rivals 'insiders'

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Texas Gov. Rick Perry aimed his sharpest criticism at President Barack Obama rather than his GOP rivals as he campaigned Friday in coastal South Carolina, eight days ahead of the state's primary.

Perry, using a light touch as he spoke to people in crowded restaurants in Bluffton and Charleston, mostly stuck with the campaign speech he used in Iowa and elsewhere. He mentioned front-runner Mitt Romney by name only when a Charleston man said he feared Perry has a poorer chance of beating Obama this fall.

Perry cited Texas' record of job creation during his 11 years as governor, and said it is far better than Obama's national record. "Romney cannot make that contrast," he said.

In one of his rare light-hearted moments, Perry said anyone seeking higher taxes and mandated health insurance coverage "can move to Massachusetts." It was another jab at Romney's four-year record as Massachusetts governor.

Hackman injured riding bike

MIAMI - Oscar-winner Gene Hackman was briefly hospitalized with bumps and bruises Friday after a pickup truck hit him from behind while he was riding a bicycle in the Florida Keys, his publicist said.

The 81-year-old Hackman was airlifted to a Miami hospital and released several hours later after routine tests, said publicist Susan Madore.

Hackman was riding without a helmet on an Islamorada street around 3 p.m. when the pickup hit him, throwing him onto the grassy shoulder, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. No charges were immediately reported.

During a career that has spanned five decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards and been nominated for three others.

He took the Best Actor trophy for his portrayal of Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in "The French Connection" in 1971 and the Best Supporting Actor award for "Unforgiven" in 1992.

- The Associated Press