U.S. airstrike kills high-ranking Taliban

U.S. airstrike killshigh-ranking Taliban
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A U.S. airstrike near the Pakistan border killed the Taliban's southern military commander, a U.S. military spokesman said Saturday, calling him the highest-ranking Taliban ever slain by American forces.
Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani's vehicle was hit by a U.S. airstrike Tuesday as he traveled in a deserted area in the southern province of Helmand, the spokesman said. Two associates also were killed.
U.S. and Afghan officials said the strike was a major victory. Ahmed Rashid, a leading author on Islamic militancy, said Osmani's death could disrupt planning for a Taliban offensive early next year, designed to extend the recent surge of violence across Afghanistan.
Osmani was one of three top associates of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Rashid said, and among the first supporters of Osama bin Laden within the militant Islamic militia's top ranks.
Protesting name changes,man sets himself on fire
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A man doused himself with flammable liquid and set himself afire, apparently to protest a school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.
The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms on Friday, Fire Department Capt. Garth Milam said.
He had a sign that read "[expletive] the religious establishment and KHSD," said Kern County Sheriff's Deputy John Leyendecker. On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees had voted to change the names of the holiday breaks.
The man, whose name was not released, also set fire to a Christmas tree and flags in a public area, Milam said.
He stood with an American flag around his shoulders and poured the liquid over himself. The flaming tree ignited the liquid.
Sheriff's Deputy Lance Ferguson said he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.
Zoo probes attack by tiger
SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Zoo has closed its Lion House, an exhibit where the public can watch the big cats eat a meal, while officials investigate the mauling of a keeper by a Siberian tiger.
The woman, who has worked at the zoo since 1997, was rushed into surgery Friday night to save her lacerated limb. Her family requested that her identity and condition not be released, zoo and San Francisco General Hospital officials said.
The attack happened during a regular Friday afternoon public feeding, during which keepers typically deliver a meal of fortified horse meat through a small metal slot. At least 50 visitors were in the Lion House when the 350-pound tiger, Tatiana, reached through her cage's iron bars and grabbed the keeper.
Tatiana has had no previous incidents of aggression against humans, said Ana Bowie, a Denver Zoo spokeswoman.
Israel releases funds,eases travel restrictions
JERUSALEM -- Israel agreed Saturday to release 100 million in frozen funds to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and ease West Bank travel restrictions -- goodwill gestures that revived hopes for a resumption of peace talks after years of hostility and distrust.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made the promises in a two-hour meeting with Abbas at the Israeli leader's official residence. It was the first Israeli-Palestinian summit in 22 months and came as both men face political problems at home that could be eased by a peace breakthrough.
Olmert and Abbas failed to agree on a key issue -- a prisoner swap -- but decided to set up a committee to study it further.
The issue is not fully in Abbas' hands. Olmert has said he will not free Palestinians without the release of an Israeli soldier being held by militants allied with the Islamic group Hamas, which controls the Palestinian government and is a rival of Abbas' Fatah party.
Denver airport reopensafter blizzard shut it down
DENVER -- Denver's airport was operating at close to capacity Saturday after being snowed in for two days, but for many travelers jammed in its terminals it was not expected to be enough to rescue their hopes of joining their families for Christmas.
Thousands of travelers whose flights were canceled by a blizzard that backed up air traffic nationwide were stuck on standby, trying to grab a rare empty seat on planes that were mostly booked.
The airport, the nation's fifth-busiest, had five runways open Saturday and expected to have all six runways cleared by today, but there was no telling when the backlog of passengers would be cleared out.
Associated Press