World/Nation Briefs September 2, 2013
Veteran British broadcaster David Frost dies on cruise ship
LONDON - Veteran broadcaster David Frost, who won fame around the world for his interview with former President Richard Nixon, has died, his family told the BBC. He was 74.
Frost died of a heart attack on Saturday night aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, where he was due to give a speech, the family said. The cruise company Cunard says its vessel had left the English port of Southampton on Saturday for a 10-day cruise in the Mediterranean.
Known for incisive interviews of leading public figures, Frost spent more than 50 years as a television star.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My heart goes out to David Frost's family. He could be - and certainly was with me - both a friend and a fearsome interviewer.
The BBC said it received a statement from Frost's family saying it was devastated and asking "for privacy at this difficult time."
Citing sarin use, U.S. boosts case for military intervention
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration geared up for the biggest foreign policy vote since the Iraq war by arguing Sunday that new physical evidence shows the Syrian government used sarin gas in a deadly August attack. With its credibility on the line, the United States must respond, the country's top diplomat said.
Members of Congress, deadlocked on just about everything these days and still on summer break, expressed sharply divergent opinions about whether to give President Barack Obama the go-ahead he requested to retaliate with military force against the Assad regime, and what turning down the commander in chief could mean for America's reputation.
Presenting Obama's case for military action, Secretary of State John Kerry gave a series of interviews on Sunday news shows outlining the latest information the administration has received about the Aug. 21 attack in the Damascus suburbs that the U.S. says killed 1,429 civilians, including more than 400 children. He said samples collected by first responders added to the growing body of proof that Syria's government launched a chemical weapons attack.
"Samples of hair and blood have been tested and they have reported positive for signatures of sarin," Kerry said. "Each day that goes by, this case is even stronger. We know that the regime ordered this attack. We know they prepared for it. We know where the rockets came from. We know where they landed. We know the damage that was done afterwards."
Sarin, which affects the nervous system and is toxic in liquid or gas form, can be delivered in missiles, bombs, rockets or artillery shells. The gas is outlawed under international rules of warfare. The reference to hair and blood samples were the first pieces of specific physiological evidence cited by any member of the administration, which previously spoke only about an unnamed nerve agent.
Syria dismisses decision to hold off on punitive strikes
DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria on Sunday derided President Barack Obama's decision to hold off on punitive military strikes, but also took precautions by reportedly moving some troops and military equipment to civilian areas.
The Obama administration countered that its case for military action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is getting stronger, saying it now has evidence that the toxic gas allegedly used in strikes on rebel-held areas was the nerve agent sarin.
The administration predicted Sunday it will obtain congressional backing for limited strikes. After days of edging closer to military action against Syria, Obama suddenly announced Saturday he would first seek approval from Congress, which gets back from summer break Sept. 9.
Assad, in turn, tried to project confidence in his escalating showdown with the U.S., saying in comments carried by state media Sunday that Syria is "capable of confronting any external aggression."
From the sidelines, others exhorted the U.S. either to get involved or stay out of the brutal two-and-a-half-year-old conflict that has claimed more than 100,000 lives and displaced millions of people.
Yosemite wildfire becomes fourth-largest in California history
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - The wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park has become the fourth-largest conflagration in modern California history, fire officials said Sunday as clouds and higher humidity helped crews further contain the biggest blaze in the United States this year.
The 2-week-old Rim Fire moved up a spot on the state's list of large wildfires dating back to 1932 when it grew to 348 square miles - an area larger than the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose combined - on Saturday, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
Although the fire still is growing, it was 40 percent contained as of Sunday, up from 35 percent a day earlier.
Moister air was expected to slow flames from advancing through brush and trees, giving firefighters room to set backfires, dig containment lines and to strengthen lines around threatened communities.
- The Associated Press