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NATO strikes target capital

TRIPOLI, Libya

A series of NATO strikes are targeting the Libyan capital.

Four explosions in quick succession were heard early today, preceded by the sound of loud whooshing — normally associated with cruise missiles.

After the strikes, the sound of speeding ambulances was heard by reporters staying in a Tripoli hotel.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the strikes hit. Reporters are not allowed to leave their hotels without government minders.

The strikes came hours after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi made his first TV appearance since a NATO strike on his sprawling compound April 30, in an attempt to quash rumors that he had been hit by the air strikes.

NATO strikes earlier this week hit an intelligence building and another structure used by parliamentarians.

Sex-abuse lawsuit targets Vatican

CHICAGO

Emboldened by a recent court ruling that ordered the Vatican to open its records about a priest accused of child sex abuse, a Minneapolis attorney has sued the Vatican on behalf of a mother whose son was molested by former Roman Catholic priest Daniel McCormack.

Announcing the suit at a news conference in Chicago on Wednesday, attorney Jeff Anderson said he had sufficient evidence to hold Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, accountable for enabling McCormack’s long pattern of child sex abuse.

At least 10 die in quakes in Spain

MADRID

Two earthquakes struck southeast Spain in quick succession Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and causing major damage to buildings, officials said. It was the highest quake-related death toll in Spain in more than 50 years.

The epicenter of the quakes — with magnitudes of 4.4 and 5.2 — was close to the town of Lorca, and the second came about two hours after the first, an official with the Murcia regional government said on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.

Graham in hospital

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Evangelist Billy Graham, 92, was admitted to an Asheville, N.C., hospital Wednesday and is being treated for pneumonia.

Graham spokesman Larry Ross said doctors do not believe his condition is life-threatening.

Syrian shelling, gunfire kill 18

BEIRUT

The Syrian army shelled residential areas and unleashed gunmen Wednesday, and a human-rights group said at least 18 people were killed, including an 8-year-old boy. The shelling of neighborhoods evoked memories of the Assad regime’s brutal, 40-year legacy of crushing dissent.

Syrian activists and protesters involved in the seven-week-long uprising renewed their cries for the world to join them in calling for embattled President Bashar Assad to give up power.

Critics: Arizona sheriff must resign

PHOENIX

Critics of America’s self-proclaimed toughest sheriff on Wednesday called for his resignation and for the federal government to indict him and take control of his office amid allegations of corruption, racial profiling and misspending.

The call for action comes after a recent investigation revealed evidence of corruption among Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s top commanders, and emails cited in court documents showed that top deputies circulated offensive jokes about Mexicans even as they were being scrutinized over allegations of racial profiling.

Combined dispatches