Chinese leader visits Iowa, Calif.

Chinese leader visits Iowa, Calif.

LOS ANGELES

China’s soon-to-be-leader arrived in California on Thursday to wrap up his four-day U.S. trip by talking business with Gov. Jerry Brown, touring a shipping terminal at the giant Port of Los Angeles and maybe even catching a Lakers game.

As with his previous travels, Vice President Xi Jinping was focusing on forging relationships.

Xi spent the morning in Iowa, where officials from the U.S. and China signed a five-year deal to guide discussions on food security, food safety and sustainable agriculture.

China became the top market for U.S. agricultural goods last year, purchasing $20 billion in U.S. agricultural exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

‘Underwear bomber’ gets life in prison

DETROIT

Defiantly declaring “a day of victory,” a Nigerian man was given a mandatory life sentence Thursday for trying to blow up a packed jetliner with a bomb sewn into his underwear. People aboard the flight testified that the failed attack had disturbed their sleep and travels for more than two years.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was the same remorseless man who four months ago pleaded guilty to all charges related to Northwest Airlines Flight 253. He seemed to relish the mandatory sentence and defended his actions as rooted in the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

“Mujahideen are proud to kill in the name of God,” he said. “Today is a day of victory.”

Had the bomb not fizzled, nearly 300 people aboard the flight probably would have been killed.

NJ lawmakers pass gay-marriage bill

TRENTON, N.J.

The New Jersey Assembly on Thursday passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriages, setting the stage for an expected veto by Gov. Chris Christie.

The 42-33 vote sent the bill to Christie’s desk. The Republican governor who opposes gay marriage had promised “very swift action” if the bill passed both houses of the Legislature. The Senate approved the bill Monday.

Christie took no action Thursday night on the bill.

Iran: We’re victim of nuke showdown

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

Facing international sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran is taking the position that it’s the victim, not the aggressor. Iran is pointing to the cases of five slain scientists whose deaths it blames on Israel and its allies. From Iran’s view, it’s been the target of clandestine hit squads for more than two years while the West has ignored Iran’s claims that the Israeli Mossad spy agency is the mastermind.

Religious leaders testify on policy

WASHINGTON

Religious leaders told a House panel Thursday the Obama administration was violating basic rights to religious freedom with its policies for requiring that employees of religion-affiliated institutions have access to birth-control coverage.

The unity of the religious leaders contrasted with the partisan divide among lawmakers on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, with Democrats saying they had been denied the ability to present witnesses who might support the government stance or speak for the rights of women to reproductive health coverage. They asked why women weren’t better represented among the 10 witnesses at the hearing.

Associated Press