1st appearance in 5 weeks for Kim

1st appearance in 5 weeks for Kim

SEOUL, South Korea

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance in five weeks, state media reported today, ending an absence that drove a frenzy of global speculation that something was amiss with the country’s most-powerful person.

The sudden resumption of the “field guidance” tours that had been a regular part of Kim’s public persona before he stopped showing up in media reports for 40 days allowed the country’s massive propaganda apparatus to resume doing what it does best — glorify the third generation of the Kim family to rule — and will tamp down, at least for the moment, rumors of coups and serious health problems.

Kim, shown in the North’s leading newspaper smiling and walking with a cane, toured the newly built Wisong Scientists Residential District and another new institute.

2 killed as storms sweep several states

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

A powerful storm system swept across the country from Texas to Alabama on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring several others, emergency officials said.

A tornado that touched down near Ashdown, about 150 miles southwest of Little Rock, killed a man and injured his wife when their home was destroyed early Monday, according to meteorologist Joe Goudsward with the weather service in Little Rock.

Two tornadoes also touched down in Missouri on Monday morning, causing some roof damage and toppling trees, according to the National Weather Service. In Alabama, a tree fell on a mobile home about 25 miles northwest of Birmingham, killing a 75-year-old woman and injuring her husband, said Walker County Coroner J.C. Poe.

Mexican protesters burn state building

ACAPULCO, Mexico

Hundreds of students and teachers smashed windows and set fires inside a state capital building in southern Mexico on Monday, as fury erupted over the disappearance of 43 young people believed abducted by local police linked to a drug cartel.

The protesters called for the 43 students from a rural teachers college in Guerrero state, missing since Sept. 26, to be returned alive, even though fears have grown that 10 newly discovered mass graves could contain their bodies.

Turkey: No deal with US on air base

ANKARA, Turkey

NATO allies Turkey and the United States differed Monday on where they stand on the use of a key air base, with Turkish officials denying reports from the United States that there was a new agreement on its use for operations against Islamic State militants.

The impasse suggests that major differences remain between the two sides. Turkey has said it won’t join the fight against the extremists unless the U.S.-led coalition also goes after the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, including establishing a no-fly zone and a buffer zone along the Turkish border.

School-bus driver accused of DUI

SALT LAKE CITY

A Utah school-bus driver was arrested Monday on suspicion of DUI after driving erratically and nearly hitting a car on a busy stretch of highway while taking 67 elementary-school students on a field trip, authorities said.

Lycia Martinez, 39, is suspected of having taken prescription anti-anxiety/muscle-relaxer pills, which were found in her purse, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Blaine Robbins said.

Associated Press