World Nation Briefs April 15, 2013
As U.S. talks, North Korea takes hard line
TOKYO - The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks with North Korea if the saber-rattling country lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as it rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a "crafty trick."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find "ready partners" in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear program.
Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, also demanded a resolution to a dispute concerning Japanese citizens abducted decades ago by North Korean officials.
The diplomats seemed to point the way for a possible revival of the six-nation talks that have been suspended for four years.
China has long pushed for the process to resume without conditions. But the U.S. and allies South Korea and Japan fear rewarding North Korea for its belligerence and endless repetition of a cycle of tensions and failed talks that have prolonged the crisis.
Kerry's message of openness to diplomacy was clear, however unlikely the chances appeared that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government would meet the American's conditions.
"I'm not going to be so stuck in the mud that an opportunity to actually get something done is flagrantly wasted because of a kind of predetermined stubbornness," he told U.S.-based journalists.
"You have to keep your mind open. But fundamentally, the concept is they're going to have to show some kind of good faith here so we're not going to go around and around in the same-old, same-old," he said.
Tensions have run high on the Korean Peninsula for months, with North Korea testing a nuclear device and its intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
The reclusive communist state hasn't stopped there. It has issued almost daily threats that have included possible nuclear strikes against the United States. Analysts and foreign officials say that is still beyond the North Koreans' capability.
CHP: Bus at 'unsafe' speed before wreck
SAN FRANCISCO - A tour bus carrying visitors from Yosemite National Park was traveling at an unsafe speed when the driver lost control and crashed on a mountain road, leaving 16 people injured, the California Highway Patrol said Sunday.
The bus was about six miles outside of the south entrance of the park when it went off Highway 41, a winding mountain road, and crashed about 6 p.m. Saturday. It came to a stop when it hit a tree, CHP Officer Scott Jobinger said.
Fifteen passengers and a tour guide suffered minor to moderate injuries.
"At this point the cause was the bus was traveling at unsafe speed and went off the road," Jobinger said. He said the accident remained under investigation to determine if other factors played a role.
CHP Sgt. Edward Greene told the Fresno Bee that the impact of the crash caused several passengers to be thrown to the driver's side of the bus, with the bus stopping when it hit the tree.
Dust storm causes chain-reaction crash
A dust storm that dropped visibility to zero caused at least 16 vehicles to collide blocking both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 86 west of Pocatello.
Idaho State Police said all lanes in both directions for a 12-mile stretch of the Interstate were closed Saturday from about 4 p.m. to nearly 10 p.m.
Police said an unknown number of people were transported to area hospitals but none of the injuries were thought to be serious.
An Idaho State Police dispatcher on Sunday said the agency was still receiving reports and tallying numbers of vehicles and people caught up in the chain-reaction crash.
Colorado jury awards $11.5M to family in suit
DENVER - A Colorado jury has awarded $11.5 million in a lawsuit originally brought against helmet maker Riddell and several high school administrators and football coaches over brain injuries suffered by a teenager in 2008.
Saturday's ruling comes as the company faces a similar lawsuit in Los Angeles, plus a complaint by thousands of former NFL players against the league and Riddell.
Riddell said it planned to appeal the verdict but was pleased that jurors rejected allegations regarding helmet design defects.
The jury in Las Animas County found that Riddell was negligent in failing to warn people wearing its helmets about concussion dangers. The jury assessed 27 percent of the fault for Rhett Ridolfi's injuries, making the company responsible for paying $3.1 million of the damages.
Ridolfi's family sued Riddell and his coaches after Ridolfi suffered a concussion in a Trinidad High School football practice. He wasn't immediately taken to the hospital and now has severe brain damage, as well as paralysis on his left side.
- The Associated Press