World/Nation Briefs February 15, 2013
Carnival CEO apologizes to boat passengers
MOBILE, Ala. - Carnival Cruise Lines' CEO is apologizing to guests for the poor conditions aboard the disabled ship that was adrift at sea for days.
Gerry Cahill said at a news conference Thursday night as the Triumph was docking in Mobile, Ala., that he appreciated the patience of the 3,000 passengers on board.
He says Carnival prides itself on providing people with a great vacation "and clearly we failed in this particular case."
He says he plans to go aboard the ship and personally apologize to passengers.
Miserable passengers told stories of overflowing toilets, food shortages, foul odors and dangerously dark passageways.
Senate GOP blocks vote on Hagel nomination
WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked the nomination of former GOP senator Chuck Hagel as the nation's next defense secretary over unrelated questions about President Barack Obama's actions in the aftermath of the deadly raid on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. Obama accused Republicans of playing politics with national security during wartime, and Democrats vowed to revive the nomination after Congress' weeklong break.
By 58-40, with one abstention, the Senate fell short of the 60-vote threshold required to advance Hagel's nomination to a final, up-or-down vote on his confirmation. Four Republicans voted with Democrats to end the debate and proceed to a final vote: Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mike Johanns of Nebraska.
Obama reacted immediately, hammering Republicans for an unprecedented filibuster of a nominee for defense secretary and insisting that Hagel - a former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska and twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran - will eventually win confirmation. He would succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is stepping down after four years as CIA director and Pentagon chief.
Couple's story renews questions about manhunt
BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. - Karen and Jim Reynolds say they came face to face with fugitive Christopher Dorner, not on a snow-covered mountain trail, but inside their cabin-style condo.
During a 15-minute ordeal just a stone's throw from a command post authorities had set up in the massive manhunt for the ex-Los Angeles police officer, the couple said Dorner bound them and put pillowcases on their heads. At one point, he explained that he had been there for days.
"He said, 'I don't have a problem with you, so I'm not going to hurt you,"' Jim Reynolds said. "I didn't believe him; I thought he was going to kill us."
Police have not commented on the Reynoldses' account, but it renews questions about the thoroughness of a search for a man who authorities declared was armed and extremely dangerous as they hunted him across the Southwest and Mexico.
Remains found in the burned cabin where Dorner made his last stand Tuesday were positively identified Thursday through dental examination, said Jodi Miller, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County sheriff-coroner.
Fleeing al-Qaida fighters leave manifesto behind
TIMBUKTU, Mali - In their hurry to flee last month, al-Qaida fighters left behind a crucial document: Tucked under a pile of papers and trash is a confidential letter, spelling out the terror network's strategy for conquering northern Mali and reflecting internal discord over how to rule the region.
The document is an unprecedented window into the terrorist operation, indicating that al-Qaida predicted the military intervention that would dislodge it in January and recognized its own vulnerability.
The letter also shows a sharp division within al-Qaida's Africa chapter over how quickly and how strictly to apply Islamic law, with its senior commander expressing dismay over the whipping of women and the destruction of Timbuktu's ancient monuments. It moreover leaves no doubt that despite a temporary withdrawal into the desert, al-Qaida plans to operate in the region over the long haul, and is willing to make short-term concessions on ideology to gain the allies it acknowledges it needs.
American Airlines agrees to merger with US Airways
DALLAS - US Airways CEO Doug Parker has landed the big merger he sought for years. Now the soon-to-be CEO of the new American Airlines has to make it work.
The new airline needs to repaint hundreds of planes. Frequent flier programs have to be combined. American's on-time performance must improve. And the airline needs to win back business travelers who have drifted to competitors. But Parker's nothing if not persistent.
After months of courting, the companies on Thursday announced an $11 billion merger that will turn American into the world's biggest airline, with 6,700 daily flights and annual revenue of roughly $40 billion. It's a coup for Parker, who runs the much-smaller US Airways Group Inc. and believes that mergers help airlines achieve higher revenue and consistent profits.
When the deal closes later this year, the four biggest U.S. airlines - American, United, Delta and Southwest - will all be the products of mergers that began in 2008. Those deals have helped the industry control seats, push fares higher and return to profitability. But it's not easy to stitch two airlines together.
Cartel kingpin is Chicago's Public Enemy No. 1
CHICAGO - A drug kingpin in Mexico who has never set foot in Chicago has been named the city's new Public Enemy No. 1 - the same notorious label assigned to Al Capone at the height of the Prohibition-era gang wars.
The Chicago Crime Commission announced the move Thursday, saying it considers Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman even more menacing than Capone because he's the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, which supplies most of the narcotics sold in the city.
"What Al Capone was to beer and whiskey during Prohibition, Guzman is to narcotics," said Art Bilek, the commission's executive vice president. "Of the two, Guzman is by far the greater threat. ... And he has more power and financial capability than Capone ever dreamed of."
- Associated Press