Yemeni military kills 6 al-Qaida operatives

Yemeni military kills 6 al-Qaida operatives

SAN’A, Yemen — Yemeni warplanes struck outside a desert village near the border with Saudi Arabia on Friday, killing six al-Qaida operatives, including the group’s top military leader in the country, security officials said.

The military chief, who escaped a government attack targeting him last month, was one of Yemen’s most-wanted militants and had plotted to assassinate the U.S. ambassador.

Yemen, with the help of U.S. counterterrorism aid and training, has intensified an offensive against an al-Qaida offshoot that has dug in to pockets of the mountainous, impoverished nation, sometimes under the protection of powerful local tribes that have their own grievances with the weak government.

FDA blasts maker of Tylenol for delaying recall

WASHINGTON — As McNeil Consumer Healthcare Products expanded its recall of various batches of Tylenol, Motrin and other over-the-counter products tainted by a chemical in wooden shipping pallets, the company came under fire Friday from the Food and Drug Administration for dragging its feet in investigating the contamination and pulling goods from store shelves.

“McNeil should have acted faster,” said Deborah Autor, chief of compliance in FDA’s drug office. “When something smells bad, literally and figuratively, companies must take all necessary actions” to fix the problem.

Autor said McNeil realized it had a problem with products in September 2008 but didn’t notify the FDA until September 2009 and didn’t begin recalling products until November. The FDA cannot order product recalls on its own authority.

Judge in abortion-related case comes under scrutiny

WICHITA, Kan. — The judge overseeing the trial of the man accused of gunning down a Kansas abortion doctor is a practicing Roman Catholic who once courted the endorsement of an anti- abortion group — but who has insisted the case won’t be about abortion.

State District Judge Warren Wilbert galvanized both sides of the nation’s abortion debate this week when he refused on the eve of Scott Roeder’s murder trial to block the defense from trying to build a voluntary-manslaughter case by arguing that Roeder believed the killing of Dr. George Tiller was necessary to save unborn children.

Legal experts said the judge’s decision was a proper attempt to protect the defendant’s rights. But the move has put Wilbert and his background under the microscope heading into one of the nation’s most sensational abortion- related cases.

Italian Jews divided over pope’s synagogue visit

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI’s planned visit to Rome’s main synagogue Sunday has sharply divided Italian Jews, with some angered by his moves to push World War II Pope Pius XII toward sainthood.

Some Jews and historians have accused Pius of not doing enough to stop the Holocaust.

A top rabbi and at least one other prominent community member have announced they will not attend the synagogue visit in protest.

U.S. missile strike kills a most-wanted terrorist

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — A U.S. missile strike in Pakistan killed one of the FBI’s most- wanted terrorists, a man suspected in a deadly 1986 plane hijacking with a $5 million bounty on his head, three Pakistani intelligence officials said Friday.

The death would be the latest victory for the CIA-led missile campaign against militant targets in Pakistan’s insurgent-riddled tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, a campaign that recently has escalated. One Thursday is believed to have missed Pakistan’s Taliban chief.

NBC, O’Brien near deal

LOS ANGELES — NBC neared a deal Friday with “Tonight” host Conan O’Brien to leave the network, freeing Jay Leno to reclaim the late-night show he stewarded for 17 years, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

Top NBC Universal executives and representatives for O’Brien on Friday were close to settling details of his departure, said the person, who lacked authority to discuss the issue and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Universal Studios president and COO Ron Meyer was among those involved in the talks, the person said.

The focus has been on how much O’Brien, who has time left on his NBC contract, would be paid for leaving and what limits NBC may put on his future employment at another network.

Combined dispatches