Osama hunter: On mission from God

Obama hunter: On mission from God

ISLAMABAD

An American construction worker detained in Pakistan while on a solo mission to kill Osama bin Laden claimed Wednesday that he was obeying an order from God to avenge the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Pakistani security officials.

Gary Brooks Faulkner said God revealed the order in one of his dreams, prompting him to travel to Pakistan in search of al-Qaida’s leader, said two security officials, one of whom is part of a team of investigators questioning the American.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Spirit Airlines, pilots reach deal

Spirit Airlines made a deal with its pilots Wednesday that will end their strike, and the airline said it would fly again starting Friday.

The strike won’t end officially until pilots sign a back-to-work agreement, the union said.

“I think our people will be more than willing to assist the company in getting itself back together and fully operational as soon as we possibly can,” said Sean Creed, a Spirit captain and head of the Air Line Pilots Association unit there.

Spirit already had canceled today’s flights before the agreement was reached. Before the strike, Spirit had said it intended to fly through any job action. That didn’t happen, and many of its customers found themselves stranded with limited ability to use their tickets on other airlines.

Defiant Iran plans more nuke reactors

TEHRAN, Iran

Defying week-old U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran promised to expand its atomic research Wednesday as its president vowed to punish the West and force it to “sit at the negotiating table like a polite child” before agreeing to further talks.

Tehran, which insists its nuclear work is peaceful, said it will build four new reactors for atomic medical research. The U.S. and some of its allies believe Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, and the Islamic Republic’s plans to expand research could encourage calls in the West for more economic pressure against the country.

Bee stings kill man

ENCINITAS, Calif.

Authorities say a 55-year-old man went into cardiac arrest and died after being stung more than 500 times by bees as he cleared brush from a property in Southern California.

The man was operating a backhoe in Encinitas, in San Diego County, when he was attacked by the bees late Wednesday morning.

Encinitas Deputy Fire Chief Scott Henry says the man ran about 200 yards to an outhouse in an attempt to escape. Henry says firefighters found the man inside in full cardiac arrest.

Firefighters began CPR and took the man to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

2 adults, 2 children found dead in home

WINCHESTER, Mass

Four family members, including two young children, were found dead Wednesday in what a prosecutor called a “horrific” scene at their home in an affluent Boston suburb. The husband of one of the victims was being sought for questioning.

Authorities would not say how the victims died. Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone identified them as 64-year-old Ellen Stone, her 41-year-old daughter, Laura Stone Mortimer, and Laura’s two children, 4-year-old Thomas Mortimer V and 2-year-old Charlotte Mortimer.

Leone said Laura Mortimer’s husband, Thomas Mortimer IV, was unaccounted for, and authorities were looking for him for questioning.

Associated Press