Nation/world roundup
Court: striking abortion law goes too far
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court steered clear of a major ruling on abortion Wednesday, instead giving New Hampshire a chance to save its parental notification law.
Justices, in a rare unanimous abortion ruling, agreed that the New Hampshire law could make it too hard for some ill minors to get an abortion, but at the same time they were hesitant about stepping in to fix the 2003 statute.
Consumer prices up on surge in energy costs
WASHINGTON -- Consumer prices rose by the largest rate in five years in 2005, reflecting a surge in energy costs, although other prices remained constant.
The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index was up 3.4 percent for the 12 months ending in December, the biggest jump since a similar 3.4 percent rise in 2000, another year when energy prices were soaring.
Mine blast survivor breathing on his own
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Sago Mine survivor Randal McCloy Jr. is breathing on his own and appears to be coming out of his coma, more than two weeks after a mine explosion that led to the deaths of 12 other miners, doctors said Wednesday.
U.S., Europeans say no to more Iran talks
TEHRAN, Iran -- European powers, supported by the United States, rejected Iran's request for more negotiations on the Islamic republic's nuclear program, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying Wednesday "there's not much to talk about" after Iran resumed atomic activities.
As European countries pushed ahead with efforts to have Iran brought before the U.N. Security Council for its nuclear activities, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused them of trying to deprive Iran of peaceful technology.
Nev. pair sentenced in chili finger case
SAN JOSE -- A couple who planted a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili in a scheme to extort money from the fast-food chain were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms of at least nine years.
Anna Ayala, 40, who said she bit into the digit, was sentenced to nine years.
Her husband, Jaime Plascencia, 44, who obtained the finger from a co-worker who lost it in a workplace accident, was sentenced to more than 12 years.
Strike reportedly kills al-Qaida militants
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistani intelligence agents hunted Wednesday for the graves of four al-Qaida militants believed killed in an airstrike near the Afghan border - including one authorities suspect was a high-ranking al-Qaida figure.
ABC News reported that a master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert for al-Qaida was killed in the attack on the village of Damadola last week. He was identified as Midhat Mursi, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, who ran an al-Qaida training camp and has a $5 million reward on his head.
World powers offer $1.9B to fight bird flu
BEJING -- After a year of unprecedented appeals for money to cope with the Asian tsunami and the South Asia earthquake, the world dug deeper Wednesday, pledging $1.9 billion to fight bird flu and prepare for a potential pandemic.
The United States alone came up with $334 million that will largely be used to help poor countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, where the H5N1 bird flu virus is endemic.
The European Union pledged another $261 million, responding with a renewed sense of urgency after the disease killed four children in Turkey.
Surge in violence across Iraq kills scores
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A surge in violence across the country killed scores of Iraqis and two American civilians Wednesday, as police said militants used this week's downing of a U.S. helicopter to carve out a killing field north of Baghdad.
The increased bloodshed came as kidnappers freed the sister of Iraq's Interior Minister after holding her hostage for two weeks, and Iraqi officials expressed hope that American hostage Jill Carroll would eventually be released.
From wire reports.