World/Nation Briefs September 24, 2013
al-Qaida-linked terrorists battle police in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenyan security forces battled al-Qaida-linked terrorists in an upscale mall for a third day Monday in what they said was a final push to rescue the last few hostages in a siege that has left at least 62 people dead.
While the government announced Sunday that "most" hostages had been released, a security expert with contacts inside the mall said at least 10 were still being held by a band of attackers described as "a multinational collection from all over the world."
Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said "two or three Americans" and "one Brit" were among those who attacked the mall. She said in an interview with the PBS "NewsHour" program that the Americans were 18 to 19 years old, of Somali or Arab origin and lived "in Minnesota and one other place" in the U.S.
U.S. officials said they were looking into whether any Americans were involved. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday that the department had "no definitive evidence of the nationalities or the identities" of the attackers.
Assad committed to destroying chemical weapons
DAMASCUS, Syria - President Bashar Assad pledged in an interview broadcast Monday to honor an agreement to surrender Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons, but he said that rebels might try to block international arms inspectors from doing their work.
As battles continued across Syria, new Associated Press video of an attack Sunday night showed the regime's helicopters dropping barrel bombs on opposition-held areas, creating chaotic scenes of destruction.
In a sign of worsening infighting among the rebels, a top al-Qaida commander in Syria was killed in an ambush by rival, Western-backed group - an assassination sure to raise tensions among factions seeking to topple the regime.
Assad's comments came as world leaders gathered in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly, where the use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war was high on the agenda.
Chicago police arrest two men in shooting
CHICAGO - Authorities on Monday night charged two men in connection with a shooting last week at a Chicago park that injured 13 people, including a 3-year-old boy.
Officials said 21-year-old Bryon Champ and 20-year-old Kewane Gatewood were charged in the shooting at Cornell Square Park, which is located in Chicago's southwest side.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said that while the two played significant roles in the shooting, neither is believed to have pulled the trigger.
Authorities say as many as three people opened fire Thursday on a basketball court in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Among those injured were 3-year-old Deonta Howard, who is recovering from surgery after being shot near an ear, along with two teenagers.
Officials: 79-year-old woman found dead along river
DENVER - A 79-year-old woman whose house was swept away by the Big Thompson River was found dead on the river bank, authorities said Monday, bringing to eight the death toll from the massive flooding in Colorado.
As the number of people unaccounted-for dwindled to six, Vice President Joe Biden viewed the devastation from a helicopter before meeting with disaster workers.
"I promise you, I promise you, there will be help," Biden said, trying to mute concerns that a possible federal government shutdown could derail relief efforts.
The latest victim was identified as Evelyn M. Starner. Larimer County authorities said she drowned and suffered blunt force trauma. Starner was previously listed as missing and presumed dead. Authorities initially said she was 80.
Starner was found Saturday. One other person was still missing and presumed dead - a 60-year-old woman from Larimer County.
Cherokee girl handed over to adoptive parents
OKLAHOMA CITY - A South Carolina couple who vowed last month to not leave Oklahoma unless they went home with a 4-year-old Cherokee girl they have been trying to adopt since her birth were given custody of the girl Monday night after the Oklahoma Supreme Court said it didn't have jurisdiction over the child.
Cherokee Nation spokeswoman Amanda Clinton confirmed that Veronica was handed over to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of Charleston, S.C., hours after the Oklahoma Supreme Court dissolved a temporary court order leaving the child with her father and his family. Until the Monday night transfer, the Cherokee Nation had insisted the girl would remain with the tribe.
The Capobiancos and the girl's biological father, Dusten Brown, had fought over custody of the girl for years. The dispute raised questions about jurisdictions, tribal sovereignty and a federal law meant to help keep Native American tribes together.
Veronica, whose biological father is a member of the Cherokee Nation and whose biological mother in not Native American, had lived with the Capobiancos from birth until she was 27 months old, when Brown was awarded custody under the Indian Child Welfare Act. But a U.S. Supreme Court decision later went against Brown, and a South Carolina court finalized the Capobiancos' adoption of her earlier this year.
- The Associated Press