Cold-case arrest prompts probe

Cold-case arrest prompts probe

los angeles

When Los Angeles cold-case detectives caught up with Samuel Little this past fall, he was living in a Christian shelter in Kentucky, his latest arrest a few months earlier for purported possession of a crack pipe. But the LA investigators wanted him on far more serious charges: the slayings of two women in 1989, both found strangled and nude below the waist — victims of what police concluded had been sexually motivated strangulations.

Little’s name came up, police said, after DNA evidenceSFlbcollected at old crime scenes matched samples of his stored in a criminal data-base. After detectives say they found yet another match, a third murder charge was soon added against Little. Now, as the 72-year-old former boxer and transient awaits trial in LA, authorities in jurisdictions in California, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi and Ohio are scouring their own cold case files for possible ties to Little.

Officials: Explosions kill 4 in Iraq

baghdad

A trio of bombs exploded Sunday in the northwest Iraqi city of Mosul, killing four security officers and wounding seven other people, officials said.

The violence began with a car bomb that killed two soldiers and wounded another five, police officials said. A second bomb, which was placed under a vehicle, exploded, wounding two people. Later, a roadside bomb killed a police officer and a soldier.

A surge in violence is expected in Iraq in the lead up to provincial elections April 20.

Reports: 2 children trapped under home

stanley, n.c.

Two television stations have reported that two children are trapped under a home under construction in Lincoln County near Charlotte.

WBTV and WSOC reported that firefighters from several places, including Charlotte, were on the scene Sunday night and photos show the street in Stanley filled with emergency vehicles.

The stations said fire- fighters were using shovels and climbing gear to try to get the children out. It wasn’t clear if the children were hurt.

Calls by The Associated Press to a fire public information officer were not immediately returned.

Kerry tries to get Turkey to mend ties

istanbul

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry struggled Sunday to convince Turkey’s leaders they should restore full diplomatic ties with Israel, two American allies counted on by President Barack Obama to help calm the turbulent Middle East.

But Turkey demanded that Israel first end all commercial restrictions against the Palestinians before the once-close partners could end their estrangement, which stems from an Israeli raid in 2010 on a flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip. Eight Turks and a Turkish-American died.

20 killed in Syria

beirut

After weeks of rebel gains in the south, the Syrian regime launched a counter-offensive Sunday with widespread airstrikes and an operation that reclaimed a village on a strategically important route. At least 20 people were killed in heavy airstrikes that targeted rebels trying to topple the regime in at least seven cities and regions.

Associated Press