World/Nation Briefs July 10, 2013

NTSB: Plane that crashed flew too slow, too low

SAN FRANCISCO - The pilots of Asiana Flight 214 relied on automated cockpit equipment to control the jetliner's speed as they landed at San Francisco airport, but realized too late they were flying too low and too slow before the aircraft crashed, investigators said Tuesday.

The new details were not conclusive about the cause of Saturday's crash, but they raised potential areas of focus: Was there a mistake made in setting the automatic speed control, did it malfunction or were the pilots not fully aware of what the plane was doing?

One of the most puzzling aspects of the crash has been why the wide-body Boeing 777 jet came in far too low and slow, clipping its landing gear and then its tail on a rocky seawall just short the runway. The crash killed two of the 307 people on board and injured scores of others, most not seriously.

Among those injured were two flight attendants in the back of the plane, who survived despite being thrown onto the runway when the plane slammed into the seawall and the tail broke off.

Economist named Egypt's prime minister

CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's military-backed interim leader named a new prime minister and won $8 billion in promises of aid from wealthy Arab allies in the Gulf on Tuesday in moves aimed at stabilizing a political transition less than a week after the army deposed the Islamist president.

The armed forces warned political factions that "maneuvering" must not hold up its ambitious fast-track timetable for new elections next year. The sharp message underlined how strongly the military is shepherding the process, even as liberal reform movements that backed its removal of Mohammed Morsi complained that now they are not being consulted in decision-making.

The Muslim Brotherhood denounced the transition plan, vowing to continue its street protests until ousted Morsi, the country's first freely elected president, is returned to power.

The appointment of economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister, along with the setting of the accelerated timetable, underlined the military's determination to push ahead in the face of Islamist opposition and outrage over the killing of more than 50 Morsi supporters on Monday.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provided a welcome boost for the new leadership. The two countries, both opponents of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, celebrated his ouster by showering the cash-strapped Egyptian government with promises of $8 billion in grants, loans and badly needed gas and oil.

Criminal case opened for deadly oil train derailment

LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec - Canadian authorities said they have opened a criminal investigation into the fiery wreck of a runaway oil train in this small town as the death toll climbed to 15, with dozens more bodies feared buried in the burned-out ruins.

Quebec police Inspector Michel Forget said Tuesday that investigators have "discovered elements" that have led to a criminal probe. He gave no details but ruled out terrorism and said police are more likely exploring the possibility of criminal negligence.

The death toll rose with the discovery of two more bodies Tuesday. About three dozen more people were missing. The bodies that have been recovered were burned so badly they have yet to be identified.

Investigators zeroed in on whether a fire on the train a few hours before the disaster set off a deadly chain of events that has raised questions about the safety of transporting oil in North America by rail instead of pipeline.

The unmanned Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway train broke loose early Saturday and sped downhill in the darkness nearly seven miles before jumping the tracks at 63 mph near the Maine border. All but one of the 73 cars were carrying oil. At least five exploded.

Obama exceeds authority often, GOP argues

WASHINGTON - In the courts of law and public opinion, congressional Republicans increasingly accuse President Barack Obama of exceeding his constitutional authority for the benefit of special interests, most recently by delaying a requirement for businesses to provide health care for their workers.

In one instance, Senate Republicans formally backed a lawsuit challenging the president's appointment of three members of the National Labor Relations Board without confirmation. The Supreme Court has agreed to review a ruling in the case, which found that Obama overstepped his bounds.

Most recently, the White House's decision to postpone a key part of the president's health care law drew rhetorical denunciations Tuesday from Republicans who, ironically, want to see the law repealed in its entirety.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the action was part of a pattern of "indifference to the rule of law on the part of this administration. ... He did it with immigration. He did it with welfare work requirements. And he did it with the NLRB when he took it upon himself to tell another branch of government when it was in recess.

"And now he's doing it again with his own signature health care law," said McConnell, who is seeking re-election next year in a state where Obama is unpopular.

Defense tries to get Trayvon Martin's text messages on fighting introduced at Zimmerman trial

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - Defense attorneys asked a Florida judge on Tuesday to introduce Trayvon Martin's text messages and a Facebook posting dealing with fighting as evidence at George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial.

As defense attorneys neared the finish of their presentation, they called computer analyst Richard Connor to read to the judge text messages he found on the 17-year-old Martin's phone in which he purportedly recounted a fight he had been in to a friend.

Martin was unarmed when he was fatally shot by Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, in February 2012 in a gated community in Sanford. Martin was black and Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic; some activists argued that the initially delay in charging Zimmerman was influenced by Martin's race.

Jurors were out of the courtroom as defense attorneys presented their arguments about the text messages. Judge Debra Nelson heard the testimony during a hearing late Thursday. She had ruled that information about Martin's interest in guns and fighting couldn't be used during opening statements, but she had left open the possibility that they could be introduced later.

As the hearing dragged past 10 p.m., defense attorney Don West complained that the defense hadn't been given Martin's cellphone data by prosecutors in a timely manner, which would have allowed them to authenticate the messages.

Pentagon orders new review of POW-MIA group, citing concern about scathing internal report

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon said Tuesday it will take a "second look" at how it goes about accounting for missing Americans on foreign battlefields, following the disclosure of an internal assessment that the work is "acutely dysfunctional" and at risk of failure.

"We have a sacred obligation to perform this mission well," Pentagon press secretary George Little told reporters, referring to the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC, which is based in Hawaii and run by a two-star general.

The U.S. estimates there are more than 83,000 Americans missing from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Over the past three years, JPAC has reported an average of 69 identifications of recovered remains per year, down from 85 per year over the previous three years. Congress is demanding that it make at least 200 identifications per year starting in 2015, a target it is widely expected to miss.

The Associated Press reported on Sunday that a 2012 internal assessment of JPAC's field operations -- including the search for and recovery and identification of remains -- found it suffers from ineptitude, waste and mismanagement. JPAC leaders suppressed the study but the AP obtained a copy after it had been denied to others who requested it under the Freedom of Information Act.

Override votes make Illinois last state in the nation to allow carrying of concealed weapons

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The last holdout on allowing the public possession of concealed guns, Illinois joined the rest of the nation Tuesday as lawmakers raced to beat a federal court deadline in adopting a carry law over Gov. Pat Quinn's objections.

Massive majorities in the House and Senate voted to override changes the Democratic governor made just a week ago in an amendatory veto.

Some lawmakers feared failure to pass something would mean virtually unregulated weapons in Chicago, which has endured severe gun violence in recent months - including more than 70 shootings, at least 12 of them fatal, during the Independence Day weekend.

"This is a historic, significant day for law-abiding gun owners," said Rep. Brandon Phelps, a southern Illinois Democrat who, in 10 years in the House, has continued work on concealed carry begun by his uncle, ex-Rep. David Phelps, who began serving in the mid-1980s. "They finally get to exercise their Second Amendment rights."

The Senate voted 41-17 in favor of the override after a House tally of 77-31, margins that met the three-fifths threshold needed to set aside the amendatory veto. Quinn had used his veto authority to suggest changes, including prohibiting guns in restaurants that serve alcohol and limiting gun-toting citizens to one firearm at a time.