Western officials pressure Iran on nuclear concerns

Western officials pressure Iran on nuclear concerns

MUNICH — Western powers pressured Tehran on Saturday to commit to a proposal designed to dispel concerns about its nuclear program, dismissing conciliatory comments from Iranian officials as mere rhetoric meant to forestall new sanctions.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a trip to Turkey, said it may be time to take a “different tack” with Tehran. Other top defense officials at the Munich Security Conference rejected overtures from Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as nothing new.

The frustration reflects concerns that Iran will use the proposal only to buy more time to advance its nuclear ambitions and thwart sanctions.

3 die as 2 planes collide

DENVER — An airplane towing a glider collided with another plane in Colorado, sending the two planes crashing into the ground and killing at least three people Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

One of the aircraft clipped the towline of a plane that had been pulling a glider, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

The glider disconnected from the plane just before the second plane hit the tow rope, Boulder County sheriff’s office spokesman Rick Brough said.

The glider landed safely — with no injuries to anyone on board — at a nearby airport just after the planes made impact, authorities said.

Mudslides damage scores of homes in California

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. — Thunderous mudslides damaged dozens of homes, swept away cars and pushed furniture into the streets of the foothills north of Los Angeles on Saturday as intense winter rain poured down mountains denuded by a summer wildfire.

No injuries were reported, but residents and emergency responders were caught off guard by the unexpected ferocity of the storm, which damaged more than 40 homes and dozens of vehicles.

Five hundred homes were eventually evacuated at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains after heavy rains overflowed debris basins, carried away concrete barricades and filled houses with mud and rocks.

Woman charged with son’s death at NYC luxury hotel

NEW YORK — A woman suspected of killing her 8-year-old son at a New York City luxury hotel and then trying to commit suicide has been charged with second-degree murder.

Police say 49-year-old Gigi Jordan was charged Saturday at a local hospital where she had been taken after being found slumped on the floor of her room. She was found at the five-star Peninsula Hotel New York on Fifth Avenue with her dead son nearby.

Police say the boy was found Friday lying face-up on the bed. They say the boy and his mother were surrounded by prescription medication.

City medical examiner spokeswoman Ellen Borakove says the boy’s cause of death is pending toxicology and tissue studies.

Palestinians question US on revival of Israeli talks

CAIRO — The Palestinians have asked the Obama administration to clarify a U.S. envoy’s proposal to restart long-stalled peace talks with Israel indirectly by shuttling between the two sides, the Palestinian president said Saturday.

The talks collapsed a year ago during Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Efforts by President Barack Obama since then to revive them have failed in large part over the issue of Israel’s settlement construction in areas the Palestinians want for a future state.

Theft suspect tries hiding in Wyoming police station

RIVERTON, Wyoming — Police say a man suspected of stealing a bottle of Schnapps from a Wyoming grocery store didn’t have the best escape route planned.

Riverton police say the 26-year-old ran out of the store after grabbing the bottle of liquor and a package of cough drops Wednesday and hid in a nearby building, which happened to be the police station.

Police say the man then ran out of the police station, but not before a dispatcher had spied him on the station’s surveillance camera and alerted officers.

The man, who police say was drunk, was caught soon after. He was taken into custody on preliminary charges of resisting arrest and shoplifting.

Associated Press