Hurricane Karl to hit Mexico Friday

MIAMI, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Hurricane Karl continued to strengthen Thursday, leading the Mexican government to extend warnings and watches for the country's Gulf of Mexico coast.

A hurricane warning was issued from Veracruz to Cabo Rojo, while a hurricane watch was posted from Cabo Rojo to La Cruz, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 4 p.m. CDT advisory.

In addition, tropical storm warnings were issued for Mexico's gulf coast from Cabo Rojo to La Cruz and from Veracruz to Punta el Lagarto.

Karl, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, was about 260 miles east-southeast of Tuxpan, Mexico, and about 165 miles east of Veracruz, the center said. The hurricane is moving west at 12 mph and is expected to decrease in forward speed over the next 48 hours.

If Karl maintains its projected track, its center will cross the bay of Campeche Thursday night and make landfall in Mexico Friday, the NHC said.

UPI

US Senate panel approves nuclear treaty with Russia

A treaty between Russia and the United States which would cut by a third the number of nuclear warheads each country can hold has been passed by an influential committee of the US Senate.

The Senate foreign relations committee adopted the treaty by a vote of 14-4.

US President Barack Obama has made ratification of the Start treaty one of his foreign policy priorities.

The treaty is likely to face stiff opposition from Republicans when it goes to a vote in the full Senate.

President Obama appealed to both Democrats and Republicans to support the Strategic Arms Reduction (Start) treaty.

BBC News

Snooki set for first 'Letterman' chat

NEW YORK, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi has been booked to appear on "Late Show with David Letterman," CBS said Thursday.

Tuesday's interview will mark the first time the reality television personality has appeared on "Letterman".

Polizzi, 22, recently pleaded not guilty to several charges stemming from her July arrest on a New Jersey beach.

Accused of disorderly conduct and being a public nuisance while drunk, she is due back in court Sept. 8.

UPI

Detroit seeks dismissal of homicide suit

DETROIT, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Detroit officials have asked a federal court to throw out a lawsuit brought by the family of an exotic dancer who was gunned down in 2003.

The family of Tamara Greene says police covered up a connection between Greene and former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, now in state prison and facing federal charges. In their lawsuit they say Greene performed at a party at the mayor's mansion in 2002.

In court papers filed Wednesday, city lawyers moved to have the details of their motion kept under seal, the Detroit Free Press reported. They said secrecy is needed to protect an informant and to preserve the confidentiality of the investigation into the killing.

John Schapka, a lawyer for the city, said Greene's family has made no case that Kilpatrick was involved, that she performed at Manoogian Mansion or that the party ever took place, The Detroit News reported.

UPI

Egg recall investigation widens

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A congressional committee investigating the egg recall has asked an Iowa businessman to provide records for three farms in Maine.

Austin "Jack" DeCoster owns Wright County Egg in Iowa, a farm reportedly linked to the salmonella outbreak. But investigators for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce say three Maine farms, including one he formerly owned, appear to have ties to him as well, The Boston Globe reported.

"The companies appear to be linked to DeCoster, but we don't know what role, if any, they played in the recall,'' said Karen Lightfoot, a committee spokeswoman.

More than 1,500 people have been infected with salmonella in recent months, an outbreak believed to be caused by eggs produced at two farms in Iowa. No cases have been linked to eggs produced by Dorothy Egg Farms, Mountain Hollow Egg Farms and Quality Egg of New England, all in Maine.

UPI

Slain NBA player's mother asks reward help

MEMPHIS, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The mother of slain former NBA player Lorenzen Wright says she is asking for public help to fund a reward to help find her son's killer.

Deborah Marion's says her goal is to raise $100,000 to coax those who are reluctant to provide information to come forward, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.

"I am totally frustrated that nothing is happening," Marion said Wednesday. "You know, the police are working as hard as they can, but they're not getting anywhere".

Marion said she had a message for those who might know something about her son's death: "Please open your mouth. Put yourself in his six kid's shoes. They are without a daddy".

Buddy Chapman, executive director of Memphis Crime Stoppers, said the additional reward money would be available to tipsters once it is received by Crime Stoppers.

UPI

Arab central banks must cooperate: Suwaidi

UAE Central bank Governor Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi reiterated the importance of cooperation among the Arab countries in various fields.

In a statement to Emirates News Agency (WAM) given on the sidelines of the 34th meeting of the governors of Arab Central Banks and Monetary agencies currently under way in Libya, Al-Suwaidi also stressed the importance of these meetings as they discuss various economic and financial issues concerning the Arab world.

Underlining cooperation among the Arab central banks, Al Suwaidi asserted UAE's support to all joint Arab projects.

Emirates 24|7

Russia's Lavrov, NATO's Rasmussen discuss bilateral cooperation

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed on Thursday bilateral cooperation, the Foreign Ministry said.

They discussed "topical issues" of Russia's cooperation with NATO in the course of a telephone conversation, the ministry press service said.

The discussion included the forthcoming informal Russia-NATO Council session at the level of foreign ministers due to take place on September 22 in New York.

It was not immediately clear if they also discussed the NATO summit scheduled for November in Lisbon, to which Russia had reportedly been invited.

Lavrov said earlier on Thursday that Moscow had not yet received an official invitation to attend the summit.

RIA Novosti

Employees of French firm abducted in Niger

(CNN) -- Seven people linked to a French nuclear energy company were kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger Wednesday night.

An employee of Areva and his wife were among those abducted in the northern town of Arlit, the company said. The other five were subcontractors who worked for the French construction firm Vinci, said Leila Touiti, a company spokeswoman.

Five of the abducted are French nationals, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters.

Areva and Vinci have beefed up security measures for their employees in the area. Both companies are working closely with Nigerian and French authorities to secure the release of the hostages.

Areva has been mining uranium for the past four decades in Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world.

CNN

12 die, 47 wounded as Islamists, AU forces fire shells in Somalia

(CNN) -- At least 12 people, mostly women, were killed and 47 others were wounded in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu, after Islamists and African Union forces exchanged shells Thursday, an ambulance service official said.

"I can confirm that at least 12 people died in today's fighting and we have collected 47 others who got wounded," said Ali Musa, director of an ambulance service who spoke to CNN from Mogadishu. "At one site, a shell landed on women selling milk and a number of them got killed and wounded".

Musa said the shelling began in the morning with Islamist rebels firing mortars at Somalia's parliament building, where lawmakers were in session.

The exchange of shells continued until 3:20 in the afternoon, Musa said.

CNN

King Kong heading to Broadway

SYDNEY, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Australia's Global Creatures, the company behind "Walking with Dinosaurs: the Arena Spectacular," says it is working on "King Kong: Live on Stage".

Carmen Pavlovic, the company's chief executive officer, said Thursday "King Kong" is being conceived for the Broadway stage and is authorized by the estate of Merian C. Cooper, creator of the iconic character and director of the 1933 film "King Kong".

The stage show is to be directed by Daniel Kramer and was written by Tony nominee Craig Lucas with new music by BAFTA winner and Grammy nominee Marius de Vries. The production is to feature a cast of more than 40 on-stage actors, singers, dancers and puppeteers.

UPI

Pope hasn't done enough to stop abuse, British say

London, England (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI has not done enough to punish priests who abuse children, and the Catholic Church has not shown enough remorse for the crimes, British people said overwhelmingly in a poll released as the pope arrived in the United Kingdom Thursday.

And British Catholics are nearly as critical of the pope and the church as the population as a whole, the ComRes poll for CNN found.

Three out of four British adults say the pope hasn't done enough to punish the guilty. Among British Catholics, two out of three agree.

Fewer than one in 20 British people say he has done enough.

But only one in four think Benedict should resign over the child-abuse allegations sweeping across the Catholic Church in Europe and North America. Half said he should not, and the other quarter did not know.

CNN

N.Y. Yankees attire a criminal favorite

NEW YORK, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A recent crime wave in New York has featured a curious phenomenon -- a spate of suspects wearing Yankee baseball caps or clothing, police say.

Gym-locker heists, bank robberies and daylight holdups have been committed by suspects with one thing in common -- their Yankee baseball caps, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Yankees attire is worn by law-abiding citizens and lawbreakers alike, since the Yankees are one of the most famous and heavily merchandised franchises in sports, with their popular merchandise widely available, the Times said.

But the team's caps and clothing show up in mug shots and crime reports with startling frequency.

Since 2000 more than 100 people connected with serious crimes in New York City wore Yankees apparel at the time of the crimes or at the time of their arrest or arraignment, the Times reported.

UPI

Russian gypsies concerned by expulsion of Roma from France

Leaders of Russia's gypsy community say France's expulsions of Roma gypsies violate European Union law and have vowed to support their compatriots.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy launched a campaign against camps of illegal immigrants in the country. France pays for plane tickets to an individual's country of origin and offers those who leave the country voluntarily cash payments of about $420 per adult and $130 per child.

However, an internal Interior Ministry document that came to light last week showed that gypsies were being targeted. It said 300 illegal camps have to be cleared within three months, "the priority, those of the Roma".

Sarkozy maintains the expulsions are aimed at fighting crime and illegal immigration, but the leaked document has sparked criticism from Roma groups and human rights organizations across Europe and protests in French society.

Officially, more than 180,000 Roma live in Russia, although unofficial figures put their number as high as 1 million. Roma organizations in Russia have expressed their outrage over the situation in France.

RIA Novosti

Shanghai Cooperation Organization set to tackle Central Asian problems

Kazakhstan is currently hosting the joint anti-terrorist military exercise Peaceful Mission-2010 involving about 5,000 officers and men from five Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries, namely, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, in addition to more than 300 pieces of military equipment.

The SCO, a key Asian entity, continues to improve multilateral military cooperation in a region where that is currently the most important objective.

The exercise aims to streamline methods for combating terrorist and separatist groups during medium and low intensity local conflicts.

The SCO's future development and its enhanced role in facilitating regional stability and security directly depend on the ability of its member-states to be effective in their fight against these phenomena.

It is impossible to overestimate the SCO's role here. At the same time, the SCO has no intention of turning into a military bloc. However, the military aspects of intra-SCO cooperation are crucial given the context of ongoing developments in Afghanistan and recent civil unrest in Kyrgyzstan.

RIA Novosti

Body parts found in shark 'belong to missing sailor'

Body parts which were found inside a shark appear to belong to a man who disappeared off a Bahamas beach where one of the Jaws movies was filmed.

Police say fingerprints match those of Judson Newton, who swam for shore after his boat broke down in August.

The 3.6-metre (12ft) tiger shark was caught on 4 September by a local investment banker who was deep-sea fishing.

Whilst reeling it in, he said he saw a leg poking out of the shark's mouth.

After cutting the creature open, defence force officers found a torso, two severed arms, and a right leg.

Authorities say they are still waiting for DNA tests to confirm they belong to Newton.

BBC News

Doctor 'shot at prominent Baltimore hospital'

A doctor has been shot at a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, police said.

The gunman was subdued and disarmed by police after reportedly barricading himself inside a patient room at Johns Hopkins hospital, police said.

Police have evacuated the sprawling hospital campus and shut the streets surrounding it. The victim was reported to be in critical condition.

The hospital is one of the most prominent in the US and has more than 900 beds.

BBC News

Lawyer: close hearing for Army killings

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The lawyer for an Army major charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood,Texas, last year says he wants the public and media barred from an upcoming hearing.

Attorney John Galligan said opening the hearing to the public would jeopardize Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's right to a fair trial, the San Antonio Express-News reported Thursday.

Galligan filed a motion to close the military Article 32 hearing, which weighs evidence in a case.

"I already believe he will never get a fair trial at Fort Hood, but this will be one other measure to minimize any prejudice that would ensue if any trial would be conducted at Fort Hood," he said.

Army prosecutors want the proceeding, which starts Oct. 12 and is expected to run for several weeks, to be open, the Express-News said.

UPI

War crimes charges filed for Khmer Rouge

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The U.N.-backed tribunal for the Khmer Rouge announced four surviving members of the former regime were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia announced Thursday that Khmer Rouge acting Prime Minister Nuon Chea, Deputy Prime Minister Ieng Sary, Social Affairs Minister Leng Thirith and Khieu Samphan, the head of state, were indicted on war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide.

The U.N.-backed chamber said an estimated 1.7 million to 2.2 million people died under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia from 1975-79. Roughly 800,000 of those deaths were considered "violent," the chamber said.

The court said it focused on forced displacements, the regulation of marriage, crimes perpetrated against certain ethnic and religious communities, so-called killing fields and the "re-education of 'bad elements' and the elimination of 'enemies' in security centers and execution sites".

Kaing Guek Eav, a 67-year-old math teacher, Christian convert and Khmer Rouge prison chief, was convicted in July of crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer Rouge reign.

UPI

Census: Poverty in America rose in 2009

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The number of Americans in poverty was 3.8 million higher in 2009 than in the previous year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.

The poverty rate was 14.3 percent last year, up from 13.2 percent in 2008, the second statistically significant hike in the poverty rate since 2004, the Census Bureau said. There were 43.6 million people in poverty in 2009, up from 39.8 million in 2008, the third straight annual increase.

The family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty last year were 11.1 percent and 8.8 million, up from 10.3 percent and 8.1 million in 2008, the bureau said.

The poverty rate and the number of people living in poverty rose across all types of households, the bureau said.

The poverty rate in 2009 was the highest since 1994 but was 8.1 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, when poverty estimates were first available, Census Bureau statistics said.

Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance rose from 46.3 million in 2008 to 50.7 million in 2009, statistics released by the Census Bureau said. The percentage increased from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent for the same period.

Between 2008 and 2009, the number of people with private health coverage dropped from 201 million to 194.5 million, while the number covered by government health plans rose from 87.4 million to 93.2 million, statistics indicated.

Census data also showed the number of people covered by insurance through their employers fell from 176.3 million to 169.7 million. Conversely, the number with Medicaid coverage rose from 42.6 million to 47.8 million.

UPI

Dog's 4.5-inch tongue sets world record

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Guinness World Records officials said accomplishments recorded in the 2011 edition, out Thursday, include a Texas dog's 4.5-inch tongue.

Guinness officials said Puggy, a 10-year-old Pekingese, made it into the record book with a tongue nearly as long as his body, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.

Becky Stanford, Puggy's current owner, said the canine was abandoned by its original owners.

"People who meet Puggy for the first time do a lot of double takes; they are in total disbelief and are amused by his unique appearance," Stanford said. "It means a great deal to us that he has accomplished what he has. From being a stray dog, being dumped, to being a Guinness World Record Holder is just phenomenal. I just can't believe it".

UPI

Acorns in abundance from U.S. trees

CHICAGO, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. oak trees will produce a bumper crop of acorns as weather conditions promote the heaviest year of production since 2003, experts say.

Staff at the Morton Arboretum near Chicago say heavy rainfall early this year followed by a drier-than-normal spring has the trees producing large numbers of the nuts, technically called fruits, the Chicago Sun Times reported Thursday.

"It's a natural overabundance of acorns in certain years that we believe helps the trees beat their predators that feed on acorns," Kris Bachtell, vice president of collections and facilities at the arboretum, said.

Squirrels, raccoons, coyote and deer feed on the nuts, but people have also used them as food.

UPI

Craigslist: No more 'adult services'

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The "adult services" section of Craigslist will remain closed, a company official told members of a congressional subcommittee in Washington.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, William Clinton Powell said he is unaware of any plans to unblock its "adult services" section, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday. The hearing focused on domestic sex trafficking involving minors.

Craigslist blocked access to that section by its subscribers in the United States on Sept. 3, after receiving a letter signed by the attorneys general from 17 states alleging it promoted prostitution, child trafficking and violence against women.

UPI

'Killers' tops DVD sales, rental charts

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The Katherine Heigl-Ashton Kutcher comedy "Killers" is the top-selling DVD and No. 1 rental in the United States, Rentrak said Thursday.

Coming in at No. 2 on the sales chart ending Sept. 12 is "The Office: Season Six," followed by "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?" at No. 3, "Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season" at No. 4 and "Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season" at No. 5.

Rounding out the top tier are "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam" at No. 6, "Marmaduke" at No. 7, "Sons of Anarchy: Season 2" at No. 8, "MacGruber" at No. 9 and "The Last Song" at No. 10.

The No. 2 DVD rental in the United States for the week ending Sept. 11 is "Date Night," followed by "The Back-up Plan" at No. 3, "Marmaduke" at No. 4, "Solitary Man" at No. 5, "The Last Song" at No. 6, "Why Did I Get Married Too?" at No. 7, "Death At a Funeral" at No. 8, "Clash of The Titans" at No. 9 and "Furry Vengeance" at No. 10.

UPI

Afghan elections are about democracy

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Weekend parliamentary elections in Afghanistan are about empowering the people not highlighting a legacy of fraud, an election official said in Kabul.

Afghans in 34 provinces and in the nomadic Kuchi community will choose from among 2,400 candidates competing for the 249 seats open in the Wolesi Jirga,the lower house of parliament.

Presidential elections in 2009 were tainted by claims that Afghan President Hamid Karzai secured a second term in office through widespread fraud at the polls.

Johann Kriegler, a judge on the Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission, said the international community should focus on the democratic process and not fraud concerns.

UPI

Bank: Seize Torahs as foreclosure assets

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Members of a Florida Orthodox Jewish congregation said they feel a bank's action to foreclose on a loan and seize Torah scrolls as assets is unconscionable.

Howard Dubosar, a lawyer for Congregation Chabad-Lubavitch near Boynton Beach, said the threat by the Stonegate Bank to seize Torahs is "a desecration. This bank is playing hardball," the Palm Beach Post reported Thursday.

Dubosar said the bank's foreclosure motion was "calculated to harm the psyche of this religious institution. This is the holiest time of the year. It's like foreclosing on a church on Christmas Eve".

David Seleski, the bank's president, said it isn't trying to attack the synagogue through its religion. "We just want to get paid".

The Chabad filed Chapter 11 in July, which usually puts a halt to all litigation, but Seleski said the filing was made in bad faith to stall for time, the Post reported.

UPI

Iran's nuclear work source of renewed ire

LONDON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iranian nuclear activity is a clear sign of Tehran's failures, a joint European statement read.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in his latest report expressed "great regret" over a decision to Tehran to hamper the work of the inspection regime.

Iran is under pressure from the international community to provide more transparency in its nuclear program. Western allies say they believe Iran is working on the technology needed to make a nuclear weapon, while Tehran insists its intentions are peaceful.

A joint statement released Thursday by the British, French and German governments expressed concerns over what they see as Iran's refusal to comply with its international obligations.

UPI

Obama to meet on Sudan secession vote

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama plans to meet with Sudanese leaders in the hope of ensuring a referendum on splitting the country takes place, officials said.

The Sept. 24 U.N. meeting, led by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, comes less than four months before a Jan. 9 referendum on independence for southern Sudan.

U.S. officials hope the meeting will spotlight Sudan's precarious situation, White House officials said, urging senior representatives of other countries to attend the meeting as well to show unified support for the vote.

A 2005 peace accord brokered by U.S. President George W. Bush created a new constitution and a five-year period of limited autonomy for the Christian and animist south, followed by a 2011 referendum on secession.

UPI