Thursday, April 30, 2015

2 rescued from wreckage in Nepal's capital 5 days after quake, bringing some moments of joy

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The 15-year-old boy had been buried alive under the rubble of this quake-stricken capital for five days, listening to bulldozers clearing mountains of debris, fearful the incessant aftershocks might finally collapse the darkened crevice he was trapped in.

And then, "all of the sudden I saw light," Pempa Tamang said, recounting the moment Thursday he was pulled from a hole at the bottom of what was once a seven-story building in Kathmandu.

Tamang did not know whether he was alive or dead. "I thought I was hallucinating," he said.

The improbable rescue was an uplifting moment in Nepal, which has been overwhelmed by death and destruction since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Saturday. By late Thursday, the government said the toll from the tremor, the most powerful recorded here since 1934, had risen to 6,130 dead and 13,827 injured.

After night fell, police reported another dramatic rescue: A woman in her 20s, Krishna Devi Khadka, was pulled from a building in the same neighborhood as Tamang near Kathmandu's main bus terminal, according to an officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media.

___

Baltimore police hand report on Gray death to prosecutor, who pleads for patience and peace

BALTIMORE (AP) — Police completed their investigation into the death of Freddie Gray a day earlier than planned Thursday and delivered it to the chief prosecutor in Baltimore, who pleaded for patience and peace while she decides whether to bring charges.

The deputy commissioner also revealed a new detail that raises still more questions about what the officers involved have told investigators: He said the van carrying Gray to the police station made a previously undisclosed stop that was captured on video by a "privately owned camera."

A grocery store owner told The Associated Press later Thursday that it was his closed-circuit security camera that provided the recording. Speaking in Korean, Jung Hyun Hwang said officers came in last week to make a copy, and that the only other copy was stolen, along with his video equipment, when looters destroyed his store Monday night.

He told the AP that he didn't see what the recording showed of the police van on April 12.

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby must review the evidence, consider charges and decide how to move forward in the death of Gray, who suffered severe spinal injuries at some point after he tried to run from police on April 12, and died a week later.

___

Sheriff's report: Officer who pursued Freddie Gray was hospitalized in 2012 over mental health

BALTIMORE (AP) — The highest-ranking Baltimore police officer in the arrest that led to Freddie Gray's death was hospitalized in April 2012 over mental health concerns for an unknown duration and had his guns confiscated by local sheriff's deputies, according to records from the sheriff's office and court obtained by The Associated Press.

Lt. Brian Rice, who initially pursued Gray on a Baltimore street when Gray fled after Rice made eye contact April 12, declared three years ago that he "could not continue to go on like this" and threatened to commit an act that was censored in the public version of a report obtained by the AP from the Carroll County, Maryland, Sheriff's Office. Rice lived in the county, about 35 miles northwest of Baltimore. At the time, deputies were responding to a request to check on his welfare by a fellow Baltimore police officer who is the mother of Rice's son.

Deputies reported that Rice appeared "normal and soft spoken" and said he had been seeking "sympathy and attention." But citing "credible information," the deputies confiscated both his official and personal guns, called his commanding officer and transported Rice to the Carroll Hospital Center. The weapons included his .40-caliber police pistol, a 9 mm handgun, an AK-47-style rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and two shotguns.

It was not immediately clear how long Rice was at the hospital or whether he went on his own accord. Rice declined to speak with the AP or discuss allegations in a subsequent court filing that he had behaved in erratic or threatening ways toward family members. When the AP visited Rice's home last week and left a note requesting an interview, Rice called the sheriff's department to report the visit as trespassing. Karen McAleer, the mother of his son, also declined to speak with the AP.

The events described in the 2012 report provided the basis for one of at least two administrative suspensions for Rice in 2012 and 2013, a person familiar with the police department staff said. This person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential personnel matters.

___

Medicare spends most for Nexium, other brand-name drugs, though generics are most prescribed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare figures released by the government show the program's most-prescribed drugs for seniors are generics — but the program spends the most on brand-name medications, led by the heartburn drug Nexium.

The government data show that more than 1 million health care providers prescribed $103 billion worth of medications under Medicare's popular Part D drug benefit in 2013.

AstraZeneca's Nexium accounted for $2.5 billion of that spending, followed by $2.3 billion for GlaxoSmithKline's asthma drug Advair Diskus. There was $2.2 billion spent for AstraZeneca's anti-cholesterol blockbuster Crestor.

Specialists say the data, released Thursday for the first time, offer an opportunity to examine prescribing practices around the country, to look for ways to save money and improve health care quality.

___

Last days of Vietnam War a tale of chaos, sorrow for US Marines who witnessed Saigon fall

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — As the Marines scrambled to the roof of the U.S. Embassy, they locked a chain-link gate on every other floor to slow the throng of panicked Vietnamese civilians sure to come behind them. They knew if the crowd pushed through to the top, they could easily be overrun by hundreds of people desperate to get a seat on one of the last helicopters out of Saigon.

The men barricaded the rooftop door using heavy fire extinguishers and wall lockers and waited nervously as Vietnamese gathered outside rammed a fire truck through an embassy entrance. They could hear looting going on below and watched as cars were driven away and everything from couch cushions to refrigerators was carted out of the offices. South Vietnamese soldiers stripped off their uniforms and threw them into the street, out of fear they would be shot on sight by the northern enemy.

It was still dark when the U.S. ambassador left the roof on a helicopter around 5 a.m. April 30, 1975. A message went out over the radio with his code name, "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger," followed by "Tiger out," to signal that the diplomat was en route to safety.

As the sun came out, the remaining Marines realized they had been forgotten. The pilots mistakenly believed that the call meant everyone had been evacuated. The Marines had no way to contact U.S. airmen ferrying Vietnamese allies and Americans to aircraft carriers offshore because their radio signals didn't carry that far.

The last U.S. servicemen in Vietnam were stuck alone atop the embassy, hoping someone would realize they were there before the city fell to rapidly advancing communist forces.

___

Germany foils suspected Boston Marathon-style attack; pipe bomb, other weapons seized in raid

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities foiled what they believe may have been an imminent Boston Marathon-style attack on a professional cycling race planned for Friday, seizing a cache of weapons, including a pipe bomb, and chemicals that can be used to make explosives in a raid on a suspected Islamic extremist's home outside Frankfurt.

Authorities detained a 35-year-old Turkish-German man and his 34-year-old Turkish wife in the raid in the town of Oberursel. The couple, whose names weren't released in line with Germany privacy rules, had been under surveillance.

Security officials were worried that the couple may have been targeting the one-day Eschborn to Frankfurt race, which draws around 200 professional riders and thousands of spectators on the May Day public holiday. Police said the race would be canceled in case the couple had accomplices, or they placed as-yet undetected explosive devices along the route.

Suspicions were heightened when police recently observed the male suspect, a trained chemist, apparently scouting out the area where the race was due to take place, said Frankfurt's chief prosecutor, Albrecht Schreiber. The race was supposed to pass through Oberursel.

"The result of the raid shows that our suspicions were confirmed," Schreiber told reporters Thursday at a news conference in Wiesbaden, the state capital of Hesse.

___

Bush builds bridges with Hispanic voters, looking beyond GOP primaries even before they start

HOUSTON (AP) — The man at the microphone spoke in a language most Republican presidential primary voters do not understand.

"You are part of the new wave of hope for this country," Jeb Bush said in fluent Spanish to the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference this week. Switching to English, he said the U.S. needs immigrants for the country "to become young and dynamic again."

It doesn't seem to matter that Hispanic voters typically do not have much say in Republican primaries. The former Florida governor's play to Hispanic values and policy goals has begun to shape his young political operation. Well before the first votes are cast for the Republican nomination — and even before he declares his candidacy — Bush is strengthening ties with Hispanic voters who will be important in the head-to-head contest for the presidency in 2016.

At his side throughout this week's appearances in Puerto Rico and Texas was Raul Henriques, a fresh-faced "body man" recently hired because Bush wanted a Spanish speaker to travel with him regularly. As well, Emily Benavides stood at the back of the hotel ballroom during Bush's Houston address Wednesday, now on board to advise him on Hispanic media. And Bush's Mexican-born wife, Columba, is expected to start doing more in the rising campaign, also with Hispanic media.

Bush primarily speaks Spanish with his wife. He has lived in Puerto Rico and Venezuela; he governed a state with a large Hispanic population — and he regularly cooks Latin cuisine at home.

___

Flakka, '$5 insanity,' is increasingly popular synthetic drug kids are using with e-cigarettes

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — One man ran naked through a Florida neighborhood, tried to have sex with a tree and told police he was the mythical god Thor. Another ran nude down a busy city street in broad daylight, convinced a pack of German shepherds was pursuing him.

Two others tried separately to break into the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. They said they thought people were chasing them; one wound up impaled on a fence.

The common element to these and other bizarre incidents in Florida in the last few months is flakka, an increasingly popular synthetic designer drug. Also known as gravel and readily available for $5 or less a vial, it's a growing problem for police after bursting on the scene in 2013.

It is the latest in a series of synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and bath salts, but officials say flakka is even easier to obtain in small quantities through the mail. Flakka's active ingredient is a chemical compound called alpha-PVP, which is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's list of the controlled substances most likely to be abused. It is usually made overseas in countries such as China and Pakistan.

Flakka, a derivative of the Spanish word for a thin, pretty woman, is usually sold in a crystal form and is often smoked using electronic cigarettes, which are popular with young people and give off no odor. It can also be snorted, injected or swallowed.

___

Small businesses hurt by Baltimore riot face recovery hurdles, even with government help

BALTIMORE (AP) — Richard Sung Kang's American dream came crashing down in a shower of broken glass.

His West Baltimore liquor store and bar, the Oxford Tavern, was hit by looters during a riot over the police-involved death of neighborhood resident Freddie Gray.

The business wasn't torched like the nearby CVS pharmacy, but its doors and windows were broken and cash and UOZWZANRCOALQL-UHFFFAOYSA-N inventory stolen, leaving shelves bare.

Now the 49-year-old South Korean immigrant must decide whether to reopen. If so, it could mean taking on more debt and paying higher insurance premiums.

"I don't know yet," said Kang, looking dejected and exhausted Wednesday after rioters damaged scores of businesses in pockets of the city.

___

As Supreme Court ruling on health law nears, congressional Republicans divided over response

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Ron Johnson was elected to Congress in 2010 as an adamant foe of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Yet facing a Supreme Court decision that could disrupt how that law functions, the Wisconsin Republican is among many in the GOP who want Congress to react with caution.

If the plaintiffs prevail in the Republican-supported case, the justices could annul federal subsidies helping around 7.7 million people afford coverage in more than 30 states. Republicans broadly agree that Congress should respond by temporarily replacing that aid, aware that abruptly ending it would anger millions of voters before next year's presidential and congressional elections.

"Neither politically nor practically can we end those" subsidies, said Johnson, who faces a potentially tough re-election next year. "So let's just recognize those realities. Let's set up the 2016 election as the contest, the discussion, the debate" over repealing the law.

And while Republicans say they are dedicated to repealing the law, they remain divided over how to respond once the court rules. Johnson's is among five GOP proposals — and counting — suggested so far, and none have won a consensus.

"I think it needs to be part of the presidential campaign, and then the winner will be able to point to that as part of their mandate," No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas said of replacing the health care law. Meanwhile, he said, "what we all need to do is unite around one approach, if that's at all possible, and that's been a challenge because there are competing good ideas out there."