Egypt launches assault on militants

Egypt launches assault on militants

CAIRO

Egyptian helicopter gunships and tanks pounded suspected hideouts and weapon caches of Islamic militants Saturday in the northern Sinai Peninsula in what locals say is the largest operation in the lawless region in years. Nine militants and two soldiers were killed during the raids, security officials said.

Officials say that the military is hunting hundreds of militants believed to be responsible for a series of attacks in the region they overran after the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The militants, the officials say, belong to a number of well-known al-Qaida inspired groups that seek the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in northern Sinai, a region bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Bloomberg says de Blasio running ‘racist’ campaign

NEW YORK

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in an interview that one leading Democrat vying to replace him is running a “racist” campaign based on “class warfare.”

Bloomberg made the comment about candidate Bill de Blasio in an interview with New York magazine due on newsstands Monday. It appeared on the magazine’s website Saturday.

De Blasio is white, but he has been polling well among blacks since he began airing television ads featuring his interracial family. His wife is black and the couple has a 16-year-old son. De Blasio also has criticized Bloomberg as not doing enough for the poor, saying New York has become “two cities,” one for the rich and one for everyone else.

In asking Bloomberg about the mayor’s race, the interviewer calls de Blasio’s bid “in some ways ... a class-warfare campaign.” Bloomberg interjects, “class-warfare and racist,” according to the magazine.

Suspect charged with murder in toddler’s death

NEW YORK

A man who reportedly shot a toddler to death in his stroller on a Brooklyn street is being held without bail on a charge of second-degree murder.

Twenty-three-year-old Daquan Breland pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Saturday. Prosecutors say he fatally shot 16-month-old Antiq Hennis on Sept. 1.

Breland and 19-year-old Daquan Wright were arrested in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Friday and returned to New York. Wright was awaiting arraignment.

Authorities say Antiq’s father was pushing him in a stroller while crossing a street in the Brownsville neighborhood when shots were fired. The child was struck on the left side of his face and later pronounced dead at a hospital. Police believe the boy’s father was the intended target.

Wildfire burns into fourth week

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

As a gigantic wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park entered its fourth week Saturday, environmental scientists moved in to begin assessing the damage and protecting habitat and waterways before the fall rainy season.

Thousands of firefighters still are battling the blaze, now the third-largest wildfire in modern California history.

Associated Press