NATIONAL AND WORLD NEWS DIGEST: Blasts kill 9 in Iraq

Blasts kill 9 in Iraq

BAGHDAD

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Monday in front of a government office in Iraq’s western Anbar province, killing nine people including family members of security officials who were killed in another bombing at the same place less than a month ago, security officials said. Insurgents frequently go after Iraqi government targets in an effort to destabilize the U.S.-backed Iraqi authorities, as American troops prepare to leave by the end of next year.

Warhol’s brother dies

ROCHESTER, Pa.

John Warhola, the older brother who helped raise pop-art icon Andy Warhol and later helped establish the Andy Warhol Museum in their native Pittsburgh, has died. He was 85. Warhola died on Christmas Eve after battling pneumonia at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, according to his son, Donald Warhola. The hospital is just a few blocks from the museum. Warhola lived in nearby New Sewickley.

2 bodies found

ACAPULCO, Mexico

Police in the Mexican resort of Acapulco found the decapitated bodies of two men in front of a bar where 11 men were reportedly abducted earlier this month, officials said Monday.

Shell casings from assault rifles and two handwritten messages whose contents were not disclosed were found at the scene, according to a statement from police in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero where Acapulco is located. Such messages often are left by drug gangs.

Obamas go bowling

KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii

President Barack Obama passed the time on a cloudy, drizzly Hawaiian day with a family trip to a bowling alley and then some hoops with friends.

The president, 12-year-old Malia and 9-year-old Sasha arrived at the bowling alley at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Monday afternoon. The Obamas later were joined by family friends for some basketball, a sport the president prefers to bowling.

During his 2008 campaign, Obama’s stop at a Pennsylvania bowling alley proved an embarrassment; he bowled a 37.

Flooding in Australia

SYDNEY

Drenching rains pounded communities across northeastern Australia today, flooding major highways and prompting hundreds of evacuations.

Days of torrential downpours have left many communities inundated, with up to 11 inches falling in a 24-hour period in some areas.

Associated Press