Protesters demand leader’s ouster

June 11, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

SANAA, Yemen

Nearly 100,000 Yemenis protested Friday in a main square of the capital, demanding the president’s ouster in the biggest rally since Ali Abdullah Saleh left for Saudi Arabia after he was wounded in an attack on his palace.

Saleh’s evacuation for medical treatment has thrown Yemen into a dangerous political standoff, with opponents insisting he now be pushed completely out of power and his allies seeking to preserve his rule. Saleh was wounded in a blast that hit a mosque where he was praying in his presidential palace June 3. Badly burned, Saleh was rushed to Saudi Arabia for treatment along with a number of top officials from his regime who also were wounded in the blast.

But the president’s allies say he could return within days and have been resisting U.S. and Saudi pressure to start now on a handover of power.

Budget deficit nears $1 trillion

WASHINGTON

The federal budget deficit is on pace to break the $1 trillion mark for a third-straight year. Record deficits are putting pressure on Congress and the Obama administration to come up with a plan to rein in government spending.

Already, the deficit through the first eight months of this budget year is $927.4 billion, according to the latest report from the Treasury Department released Friday.

Ariz. fire expected to enter New Mexico

SPRINGERVILLE, Ariz.

A massive wildfire in eastern Arizona that has claimed more than 30 homes and cabins and forced nearly 10,000 people to flee was poised to move into New Mexico on Friday, threatening more towns and possibly endangering two major power lines that bring electricity from Arizona to West Texas.

The fire has burned 639 square miles of forest, an increase of 114 square miles from a day earlier, officials said Friday.

Weiner had online contact with teen

WILMINGTON, Del.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who has been under fire after admitting sending graphic photos to women online, acknowledged Friday that he had online contact with a 17-year-old girl in Delaware but said the communications were “neither explicit nor indecent.” New Castle County police officers went to a high school junior’s home north of Wilmington on Friday afternoon to speak with the girl about her contact with the New York Democrat, police have confirmed. A police spokeswoman confirmed that officers had interviewed an area teenager about online contacts with the congressman.

“They were made aware of an alleged contact between Congressman Anthony Weiner and an area teen,” said Officer Tracey Duffy, a New Castle County police spokeswoman. “The teen has been interviewed and disclosed no information regarding any criminal activity.”

Chimp-attack victim gets face transplant

BOSTON

A Connecticut woman mauled by a chimpanzee gone berserk has received a new face in the third such operation performed in the U.S. and is looking forward to going out in public again and eating hot dogs and pizza after months of pureed food. Charla Nash, 57, underwent a full-face and double hand transplant late last month, but the hands failed to thrive because of complications and were removed, Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, leader of the 30-member surgical team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said Friday. Overall, her prospects are excellent, he said.

Associated Press