7 UN peacekeepers killed in Ivory Coast

7 UN peacekeepers killed in Ivory Coast

UNITED NATIONS

Armed men ambushed and killed seven U.N. peacekeepers trying to protect villagers in Ivory Coast on Friday, and more than 40 of their colleagues who stayed to guard from more attacks remain in danger, the United Nations said.

Hundreds of villagers were fleeing the area near the Liberian border, and U.N. officials said others may have been killed or injured. Authorities have been unable to confirm any additional casualties because of the remoteness of the area near the Liberian border.

Rallies target birth-control policy

WASHINGTON

Demonstrators gathered on Capitol Hill on Friday afternoon decried the Obama administration’s policy to require private health-insurance plans to cover contraception as a violation of religious freedom. The rally was affiliated with more than 100 other demonstrations under the same name taking place across the country. The issue has united multiple faiths, with evangelical, Orthodox Jewish, Roman Catholic and Mormon leaders recently forming networks in every state dedicated to promoting religious liberty, starting with their opposition to the mandate.

Autopsy: No human flesh in stomach

MIAMI

The world is calling Rudy Eugene, who chewed off a homeless man’s face, a cannibal — but an autopsy shows there was no human flesh in his stomach.

The post-death examination did reveal a number of undigested pills in his stomach, but investigators have not identified them yet, a law enforcement source told McClatchy Newspapers.

A Miami police officer shot and killed Eugene, 31, on May 26 as he attacked a homeless man in broad daylight off the MacArthur Causeway, tearing off his face with his teeth. By the time police arrived, most of the victim’s face was gone. Police found pieces of torn skin on the concrete sidewalk where the attack occurred.

Fueled by the Internet and widespread interest in the macabre case, some media reports have dubbed Eugene the “Causeway Cannibal” and the “Miami Zombie.”

The chatter even led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a statement last week denying the existence of a zombie virus, and Los Angeles celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred to have a much-panned news conference in Miami decrying the ills of cannibalism.

Ex-aide could face charge in sex tape

RALEIGH, N.C.

A prosecutor will decide whether an ex-aide to John Edwards will face contempt charges related to a court fight over a video purported to show the ex-presidential candidate having sex with his then-mistress.

North Carolina Superior Court Judge Michael R. Morgan appointed the prosecutor Friday to consider criminal charges against Andrew Young, his wife and two of their lawyers.

A judge previously found probable cause for contempt charges arising from a lawsuit filed against the Youngs by Rielle Hunter, who was Edwards’ mistress as he sought the White House in 2008. The state court ordered sensitive documents in the lawsuit to be kept under seal, including a lengthy deposition given by Edwards.

Young and his lawyers have acknowledged providing those documents to federal prosecutors investigating Edwards prior to his 2011 indictment, but said they did so only after receiving a subpoena signed by a federal judge.

Combined dispatches