NATION & WORLD || Insurgents try to storm NATO base

Insurgents try to storm NATO base

KABUL, Afghanistan

Insurgents wearing suicide vests Saturday stormed a major NATO base in eastern Afghanistan, with six of them dying in a hail of gunfire before they could penetrate the defenses. Ten people including three children died in a separate bombing in the north.

The attacks — in Jalalabad in the east and Kunduz province in the north — show the insurgents’ fighting spirit has not been broken despite a surge of U.S. troops.

NATO also reported that insurgents killed three coalition service members Saturday in southern Afghanistan, but it did not provide further details or nationalities. So far this year, 629 U.S. and international troops have died in Afghanistan, according to a count by The Associated Press.

Emanuel jumps into Chicago mayor race

CHICAGO

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel officially announced his candidacy for mayor of Chicago on Saturday, promising to fight any tax increase for city residents.

Emanuel, who’s been campaigning unofficially since he left the White House weeks ago, made some other common political promises as well: to fight crime, create jobs, improve education and make government accessible to residents. He promised that before the Feb. 22 election, he would make three speeches outlining specific ideas in education, crime and gangs and the city’s finances.

Government auctions Madoff’s possessions

NEW YORK

Anyone wanting to walk in the shoes of fallen financier Bernard Madoff was in luck Saturday: Thousands of belongings from his New York City penthouse, including his used shoes, went on the auction block.

An anonymous bidder paid the highest price of the auction — $550,000 — for a 10.5-carat diamond engagement ring that belonged to Madoff’s wife, Ruth. The winning bid topped the $300,000 minimum pre-sale estimate.

Ruth Madoff’s French diamond earrings fetched the next-highest price. Valued at $100,000 to $137,500, they went for $135,000 to an unidentified buyer.

The sale started Saturday morning at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, with an auctioneer from Texas-based Gaston & Sheehan rattling off lots at a tongue-twisting speed for more than six hours.

Springer spaniel rescued from ledge

PUEBLO, Colo.

A springer spaniel stuck overnight on a cliff ledge in Lake Pueblo State Park is OK after a sheriff’s deputy rappelled down a canyon to retrieve him. The dog, named Doc, went over an 80-foot cliff Thursday morning while training to become a hunting dog.

The Pueblo Chieftain reports the spaniel became trapped after sliding down a shale canyon side. The pup landed on a ledge about 80 feet down a 200-foot ravine.

Master Deputy Dylan Jacketta says it was too dark Thursday to attempt a rescue, so rescuers passed blankets down to the ledge. On Friday morning, Jacketta rappelled down the canyon and rescued Doc.

Fossil find could be complete mammoth

HOBBS, N.M.

Archaeologists in New Mexico have discovered what they believe is a complete mammoth skeleton.

The New Mexico Natural History Museum Foundation will have a special event at the Western Heritage Museum in several days during which Executive Director Calvin Smith will announce the historic find.

He tells the Hobbs News-Sun that it’s major discovery. So far, amateur archaeologists have unearthed a femur, tibia, fibula and a carpal. Smith has found the remains of five mammoths in Lea County, but this could be the first complete skeleton.

Associated Press