Palin denounces critics

Palin denounces critics

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called her critics cowards and jerks Friday for deriding her anonymously and insisted she never asked for the expensive wardrobe purchased for her use on the presidential campaign.

“I never asked for anything more than a Diet Dr. Pepper once in a while,” Palin said as she returned to the governor’s office from her two-month odyssey as the GOP vice presidential nominee. She said the Republican National Committee paid for the tens of thousands of dollars in designer clothes and accessories.

“Those are the RNC’s clothes. They’re not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything,” she said.

Haiti school collapse kills at least 47 people

PETIONVILLE, Haiti — Eric Nicolas heard a crash, then raced across a ravine to see a plume of dust: The school his two sons attend had vanished.

The concrete building collapsed during late morning-classes Friday, killing at least 47 people and injuring many more. Rescuers used bare hands to pull bleeding students from the wreckage.

The building’s third story was still under construction, and Petionville Mayor Claire Lydie Parent told The Associated Press she suspects a structural defect caused the collapse, not the recent rains.

Police commissioner Francene Moreau says the preacher who runs the church-operated school could face criminal charges.

African leaders criticize U.N. peacekeeping force

NAIROBI, Kenya — African leaders criticized the world’s largest United Nations peacekeeping force Friday for failing to protect civilians and end the violence that is convulsing eastern Congo and threatening to spread.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged the 17,000 troops were “stretched to the limit.” He spoke in Nairobi at a summit with African leaders, including Congolese President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The summit communique said the region should send peacemaking forces if necessary.

Both sides have been accused of killing civilians with New York-based Human Rights Watch reporting that at least 100 have died and an additional 150 wounded since August.

Simpson loses bid for new trial in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson was denied a new trial Friday by the Nevada judge who presided over his conviction in the gunpoint robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.

Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass said challenges raised by lawyers for Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart did not rise to the level of granting another trial.

“All of the issues have been preserved for the [Nevada] Supreme Court,” Glass said, acknowledging her rulings could be appealed to the state’s only appellate court.

Simpson and Stewart, who were shackled and in jail garb, did not speak during the 20-minute hearing, at which the judge also denied requests to release them on bail pending sentencing Dec. 5.

Suspected U.S. missile kills 13 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suspected U.S. missile targeting a Taliban commander killed 13 people near the Afghan border Friday, a sign that America’s new general for the region is not heeding Islamabad’s pleas for a halt to the strikes.

There has been a surge in U.S. cross-border attacks since August, angering Pakistani officials who say the raids violate the nuclear-armed country’s sovereignty and undermine its anti-terror war in the border region.

Repairing strained ties while keeping the pressure on al-Qaida and Taliban leaders hiding in the lawless frontier area will be a key challenge for Barack Obama when he becomes U.S. president in January.

Hurricane Paloma heads to Cayman Islands

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Late-season Hurricane Paloma strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it lashed the Cayman Islands with wind and rain Friday, knocking down trees and signs.

Lights flickered across Grand Cayman, where tourists gathered on balconies and beaches to watch the storm whip up 10-foot waves.

The hurricane’s center was expected to pass near Grand Cayman during the night or early today.

Associated Press