Whereabouts of Assad are a mystery

Whereabouts of Assad are a mystery

BEIRUT

Syrian President Bashar Assad urged his military Wednesday to boost its fight against rebels, but his written call to arms only deepened a mystery over his whereabouts two weeks after a bomb penetrated his inner circle.

Assad has not spoken publicly since the July 18 bombing killed four of his top security officials — including his brother-in-law — during a rebel assault on the capital, Damascus. The president’s low profile has raised questions about whether he fears for his personal safety as the civil war escalates dramatically.

The United States called the Syrian president a coward for marshaling his forces from the pages of the army’s official magazine.

Poll: Obama leads in key swing states

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

President Barack Obama was favored by at least 50 percent of likely voters in the key battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, a poll released Wednesday shows.

Obama had a lead of 11 percentage points, 53 percent to 42 percent, over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania. The president leads his GOP challenger by a margin of 51 percent to 45 percent in Florida and 50 percent to 44 percent in Ohio in the random telephone poll conducted July 24 to 30 by Quinnipiac University, CBS News and the New York Times. It was the first measure of likely voters in the crucial swing states.

Congress OKs new sanctions on Iran

WASHINGTON

Congress voted Wednesday to slap sanctions on Iran’s energy, shipping and financial industries, convinced that increasing the economic pressure on Tehran will derail its suspected nuclear-weapons program.

The House overwhelmingly passed the bill 421-6, and a short time later, the Senate approved it by voice vote. The measure now heads to President Barack Obama for his expected signature.

The legislation builds on the current penalties directed at financial institutions that do business with Iran’s central bank and adds sanctions to undermine Tehran’s oil income.

Airport reopens after bomb threat

SAN ANTONIO

A bomb threat temporarily cleared out San Antonio International Airport on Wednesday after officials said someone called alleging that three packages had been left inside a parking garage.

About 2,000 passengers in the terminal were herded onto the tarmac for about 11/2 hours after the unidentified person called around 2:30 p.m. warning about the packages, and flights were not allowed to land at the airport, fire and airport officials said.

No suspicious items were found in an intensive search aided by bomb-sniffing dogs, airport spokesman Rich Johnson said. He said the “all clear” was declared about 5 p.m., allowing flights to resume and roads leading to and from the airport to reopen.

Heavy flooding forces Ariz. rescues

PHOENIX

Floodwaters in the Phoenix area were receding Wednesday, a day after firefighters rescued a baby and several other people who were trapped in their vehicles.

A dust and monsoon storm late Tuesday carried pea-size hail and forced the closure of a well-traveled highway, flooded homes, knocked out power to area residents and collapsed a backyard fence. Firefighters rescued nine people from four vehicles on a highway west of Interstate 17 near Phoenix.

Combined dispatches