Afghan Taliban: Offensive starts now

Afghan Taliban: Offensive starts now

KABUL

The spring fighting season in Afghanistan geared up this weekend with a war of words. The Taliban announced they will begin their spring offensive today, pledging to attack military bases, convoys and Afghan officials, including members of the peace council working to reconcile with top insurgent leaders. Saturday’s declaration came a day after a new Pentagon report claimed the militants were experiencing low morale after suffering heavy losses on the battlefield.

Experts worry about plots against NYC

NEW YORK

One year after a militant from Connecticut spread panic by driving a bomb-laden SUV into the heart of Times Square, New Yorkers, tourists and even the street vendor who alerted police to the smoking vehicle still descend on “The Crossroads of the World” as if it never happened. But behind the scenes, the New York Police Department and other law-enforcement agencies still watch for and worry about the next terror plot against the city, something they say is certain to come. Experts say that although al-Qaida remains a threat, the admitted would-be bomber in the Times Square case represented a modern breed of homegrown terrorist — one with perhaps less formal training and fewer resources than the Sept. 11 attackers but with equal audacity and a willingness to stage smaller strikes that still have the power to paralyze a city.

Designers rush to copy royal gown

NEW YORK

Seconds after Kate Middleton emerged from her car outside Westminster Abbey in a ball gown with lace sleeves, designers around the U.S., glued to their TV sets, were sketching her look, setting in motion a mad rush for mass-produced versions that are expected to be in stores as early as late June. For brides-to-be who can’t wait even four weeks, David’s Bridal, the largest U.S. bridal chain, already was trumpeting a strapless look from Oleg Cassini, paired with a lacey bolero jacket, on its website as an already available stand-in as it scrambled to push out modified knockoffs of the real thing to stores by September.

Huckabee criticizes Obama at NRA event

PITTSBURGH

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he is in Pittsburgh as a “gun-clinger and as a God-clinger” as he delivers the keynote address at the annual National Rifle Association meeting.

He spoke to the group Saturday night.

Huckabee was referring to a remark President Barack Obama made about conservatives clinging to their guns and religion. Huckabee also said Obama didn’t receive an “F” rating from a leading group seeking more gun restrictions because the president has helped gun owners — though gun owners have been allowed to pack weapons on Amtrak trains and carry them in federal parks since President Obama took office.

Rather, Huckabee says, President Obama is not attacking gun owners’ rights as quickly and effectively as anti-gun and gun-control groups would like.

Mexican police find arsenal near border

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico

Mexican federal police said Saturday they discovered a basement arsenal hidden behind the mirrors of a home gym that included three anti-aircraft guns, dozens of grenades, a grenade launcher, AK-47s and other high-powered weapons.

The neatly ordered stockpile found in an upscale neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, also contained several makes of machine guns, rifles, a shotgun and more than 26,000 ammunition cartridges, according to Raul Avila Ibarra, the federal police commissioner in charge of the city.

Associated Press