Violence in Iraq kills at least 80

Violence in Iraq kills at least 80

BAGHDAD

Car-bomb blasts and other explosions tore through mainly Shiite districts around Baghdad during morning rush hour Wednesday in a day of violence that killed at least 80, intensifying worries about Iraq’s ability to tame the spiraling mayhem gripping the country.

It was the latest set of large-scale sectarian attacks to hit Iraq, even as the government went on “high alert” in case a possible Western strike in neighboring Syria increases Iraq’s turmoil.

Calif. coalition: Stop fracking

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

A coalition of more than 100 environmental and political activist groups is denouncing oil fracking legislation as too weak and calling on California Gov. Jerry Brown to order an immediate halt to the controversial drilling practice.

“The truth is that there is no proven way to protect California from fracking besides prohibiting this inherently dangerous practice,” said the letter delivered to the governor’s office Wednesday.

UN peacekeeper killed in Congo

KINSHASA, Congo

United Nations forces and the Congolese army attacked rebel positions with helicopter gunships, armored personnel carriers and a phalanx of ground troops Wednesday, ramping up the U.N.’s engagement in the latest rebellion to roil this country’s tormented east.

The fighting was some of the fiercest in the week since the newly created U.N. intervention brigade went on the offensive, and one Tanzanian peacekeeper was killed after the rebels aimed artillery fire at their position, the U.N. said in a statement. Seven other troops also were wounded, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.

Study: 9M use pills to get more sleep

ATLANTA

Can’t get enough shuteye? Nearly 9 million U.S. adults resort to prescription sleeping pills — and most are white, female, educated or 50 or older, according to the first government study of its kind.

But that’s only part of the picture. Experts believe there are millions more who try options such as over-the-counter medicines or chamomile tea, or simply suffer through sleepless nights.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study was based on interviews with about 17,000 adults from 2005 through 2010. Overall, 4 percent of adults said they’d taken a prescription sleeping pill or sedative in the previous month.

Zimmerman’s wife admits perjury

SANFORD, Fla.

Shellie Zimmerman, the wife of acquitted murder suspect George Zimmerman, admitted Wednesday that she had committed perjury to help her husband get out of jail and agreed to a plea deal that requires her to serve a year of probation.

Shellie Zimmerman had been charged with felony perjury, which carried a possible sentence of five years in prison. Instead, she negotiated a deal to plead guilty to a less serious crime — misdemeanor perjury.

Panama: UN finds N. Korean violation

PANAMA CITY

A preliminary report by a team of United Nations experts has determined that a North Korean cargo ship seized in Panama for carrying weapons violated U.N. sanctions, the Panamanian government said Wednesday.

A Security Ministry statement said the Cuban weapons found under sacks of sugar, including included equipment for launching missiles, “without a doubt” violated sanctions meant to halt sophisticated arms sales to North Korea.

Combined dispatches