Syrian forces battle rebels; clashes grow

Syrian forces battle rebels; clashes grow

beirut

Syrian government forces attacked rebels with helicopter gunships in the heart of Damascus on Tuesday, escalating a campaign to crush their opponents as clashes spread to new areas, illustrating the rebels’ growing reach.

Cracks of gunfire and explosions echoed inside the capital for a third day, including a firefight near the country’s parliament, in an unprecedented challenge to government rule in President Bashar Assad’s seat of power.

Accused gunman suspected in arsons

tuscaloosa, ala.

A gunman stood outside of a crowded downtown bar and opened fire from two different positions early Tuesday, sending patrons running or crawling for cover in a chaotic and bloody scene. At least 17 people were hurt as bullets ricocheted and glass shards and brick chunks fell around the nightclub.

Nathan Van Wilkins, 44, surrendered about 10 hours after the 12:30 a.m. shooting near the University of Alabama campus, police said. The rampage started a couple of miles away about 45 minutes earlier, police said, when Wilkins knocked on the door to a home and waited for a person to answer it. He then started firing, wounding the person.

Wilkins was also suspected of setting three fires to equipment or property owned by his former employer, an oil and gas company.

FDA approves anti-obesity pill

washington

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a new weight loss drug from Vivus Inc. that many doctors consider the most effective therapy in a new generation of anti-obesity pills designed to help patients safely shed pounds.

The agency cleared the pill Qsymia for adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight- related condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.

Investigations open over Delta needles

minneapolis

Jim Tonjes was high above North America when he bit into a hot turkey sandwich aboard a Delta Air Lines flight and felt a sudden jab in his mouth.

Glancing down, he saw what looked like a sewing needle in the food. Another passenger on the plane reported the same thing.

Now U.S. and European authorities are trying to determine how the needles got into meals served on at least four Delta flights from Amsterdam to the U.S. and why anyone would place them there.

The FBI and the airport’s police department have opened criminal investigations.

VA expands grants to help homeless vets

washington

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday it would award nearly $100 million in grants to groups that help homeless veterans as well as those at risk of becoming homeless.

The grants will serve 151 community agencies in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and are expected to target 42,000 homeless and at-risk vets and their families. The grants represent an increase from the number of anti-homelessness grants awarded last year.

The grants announced Tuesday are part of a VA initiative that partners with private non-profits and consumer groups to provide services for veterans and their families in — or transitioning to — permanent housing.

Combined dispatches