Egyptian Coptics attacked, dozens slightly injured

Hundreds of Coptics marching in Cairo Thursday were attacked by unknown assailants.

Thirty-two people were injured including two police officers, according to Dr. Adel Al Dawi, a ministry of health spokesman. Except for one badly injured girl who remained hospitalized late Thursday, those injured were treated for minor bruises and cuts.

The marchers were heading to Cairo's Tahrir Square to commemorate the deaths of pro-Coptic protesters killed in clashes in the Egyptian capital last month.

Coptic Christians, an ancient sect, make up about 9% of Egypt's largely Muslim population, according to the U.S. State Department. Problems between Egypt's Muslim majority and its Coptic Christian minority have been on the rise in recent months, with a number of violent clashes reported between the two groups.

Thursday's march was organized by the Free Copts Movements and the Blood of Martyrs movement, two of many new groups formed after clashes that took place on October 9 in the Cair neighborhood of Maspero leaving 26 dead and 300 injured.

"We were marching peacefully with candles to commemorate the 26 martyrs of Maspero on the 40-day anniversary of the Maspero attacks, when several youth clashed," said Sherif Doss, the head of the Egyptian Coptic Association.

"Some residents started throwing rocks and glass bottles from the rooftops of buildings at the crowds, which left many injured," Doss added.

"Hundreds of police conscripts assigned by the ministry of interior to protect the march started firing tear gas canisters to stop the clashes between the unidentified men," Sameh Mina a Coptic protester, told CNN.

"The Copts defended themselves and threw rocks back at the attackers until the police intervened," Mina added.

It is an Egyptian tradition to commemorate the dead on the 40th day after death.

Thursday's clashes came a day before a "million-man" protest scheduled for Friday in Tahrir Square against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

'Occupy' protesters, police clash during the 'day of action'

Thousands of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators deluged New York on Thursday, a show of strength in the movement's original home that was echoed nationwide as part of a "mass day of action."

Scores were arrested in New York, and several police officers were reported injured, as protesters fanned out across the city moved toward Foley Square in Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.

By early Thursday evening, many had crossed the bridge -- the same place where more than 700 had been arrested last month -- chanting, "This is what democracy looks like -- This is what America looks like," according to the New York movement's official Twitter feed. This time, they marched in the pedestrian walkway, not blocking the roadway. Nearby, pro-Occupy slogans were projected onto one side of the Verizon Building.

Those in New York were not alone. Like-minded activists also took to the streets in all corners of the nation -- from Miami to Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon, to Boston -- marking two months since the activist effort aimed at the nation's wealthiest 1% began in Manhattan.

Roundup of protests across the country

"I think the numbers have increased dramatically today," said New York protester Jo Robin. "Particularly after the raid, our message is being broadcast all over the world."

The group twice squared off against riot police in Zuccotti Park, where they'd been evicted two days earlier. They'd also engaged in several confrontations with police, leading to scores of arrests.

That includes 64 protesters -- wearing T-shirts with the figure "99%" prominently featured -- arrested at an early evening sit-in on Centre Street near Foley Square in lower Manhattan, a police spokesman said. (Earlier, police spokesmen and protest organizers had said -- incorrectly -- that 99 people were arrested in this same incident.)

In total, police said around 8 p.m. that a total of 245 people had been arrested around the city.

During a late afternoon press conference, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that at least seven police officers were hurt Thursday during exchanges with protesters.
Five of those officers were injured when a unidentified liquid was thrown on their faces, Kelly said, adding that the officers experienced a burning sensation and required hospitalization.

And a 24-year-old police officer was injured when a star-shaped glass object was thrown at him, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters during a visit to Bellevue Hospital Center where the officer was being treated.

It is not clear how many demonstrators have been injured during the clashes.

Overheard on CNN.com: Some tire of Occupy protesters

CNN and CNN affiliate New York One broadcast images of the exchanges, including video of one man -- whose face appeared to be covered in blood -- sitting near police who wielded shields and batons.

Authorities constructed barricades at Zuccotti Park, in front of the New York Stock Exchange and along Fifth Avenue in an apparent attempt to keep demonstrators off the roads and on pedestrian walkways.

Residents and workers near the New York Stock Exchange were required to flash identification cards as police cordoned off the area amid concerns that demonstrators would try to disrupt trading.

Earlier in the day, protesters lifted metal barricades that ringed Zuccotti Park, a former home-base for the movement, defying authorities and blocking traffic.

Bloomberg said the day's protests had "caused minimal disruptions to our city," he asserted that some demonstrators had "deliberately pursued violence."

In Lower Manhattan, CNN iReporter Alvaro Perez shot video showing protesters being pulled away by police, including one woman who appeared to be dragged by her jacket and backpack.

"I don't want to speculate on what happened in advance of that," police spokesman Paul Browne said of the incident.

He said the "big picture" of how police have handled demonstrations has so far been mostly positive.

"People were able to get to work" and "protesters were able to protest," Browne added.

Occupy roundup: Movement marks 2 months

Earlier, on CNN's "American Morning," Howard Wolfson, a New York City deputy mayor, vowed, "We'll make sure, if people want to peacefully protest, they have the right to." But, he added, "if people break the law, we'll have to deal with that."

"If they attempt to enter a building they're not allowed in, that's breaking the law. If they want to express their concerns about Wall Street, that's totally fine," he said.

While the city has come under fire from protesters and other critics for arrests and removing protesters from Zuccotti Park, Wolfson insisted that "we had to act" to stop illegal activity, such as drug use, and to eliminate fire hazards.

"This is a place where we honor the First Amendment," he added.

Still, the ouster from Zuccotti Park did not appear to stifle the New York protest effort. The group tried to sum up its intent on a Twitter post: "Enough of this economy that exploits and divides us. It's time we put an end to Wall Street's reign of terror and begin building an economy that works for all."

The Occupy movement, likewise, showed few signs of abating elsewhere in the United States.

In cities such as St. Louis, Milwaukee and elsewhere, thousands responded to the "day of action" plea.

And as in New York, some of those ended up behind bars after refusing to heed law enforcement officers' calls to move.

The next highest arrest figure was in Los Angeles, where 25 people were arrested early Thursday and another 25 were arrested later in the day, Officer Andrew Neiman said. Bail was set at $5,000 for those detained, he added.

In Portland, police reported 48 people arrested in three separate incidents. That includes 25 taken into custody on the east end of the Steel Bridge, nine inside a Wells Fargo bank and 14 in and around a Chase Bank. In the latter incident on Thursday evening, Sgt. Pete Simpson said that police used pepper spray to get individuals to move off a street and from the path of a commuter rail line.

Another 21 were issued citations for blocking Las Vegas Boulevard in that Nevada city, Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell told CNN, while Atlanta police arrested eight for blocking a roadway. There were also arrests in other places, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

And in Denver, District Attorney Mitchell Morrissey announced Thursday that three men now face felony charges -- including inciting a riot and assaulting a police officer -- for their alleged actions while clashing with authorities during Occupy Denver protests.

Soldier faces court martial for alleged role in Afghan sport killings

The court martial of another U.S. soldier accused of taking part in killing unarmed Afghan civilians for sport is set to begin Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. David Bram is one of 12 members of the Army's 5th Stryker Brigade facing charges in connection with the killings that took place over a period of five months at or near Forward Operating Base Ramrod in southern Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province last year.

Three have pleaded guilty to the murders and agreed to testify against fellow soldiers. Another six have been convicted of lesser crimes.

And last week, a military court-martial found another, Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, guilty of murdering three Afghan civilians, illegally cutting off pieces of their corpses to keep as "souvenirs" and planting weapons to make the men appear as if they were Taliban fighters killed in legitimate firefights.
The platoon was tasked with patrolling small villages in the area to build relationships with an Afghan population wary of the U.S. presence in their country.

Instead, prosecutors say the group of rogue soldiers allegedly plotted to murder civilians and then planted weapons on them.

Bram is not accused of murder or conspiracy to commit murder.

Prosecutors charged him with conspiracy to commit assault and battery, unlawfully striking another soldier, violating a lawful order, dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreament and endeavoring to impede an investigation.

He faces 9 1/2 years in prison if he is convicted of all charges, the military said.

18 killed in suspected U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan

Suspected U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal region killed 18 alleged militants Tuesday night, intelligence officials told CNN.

Two Pakistani intelligence officials said the suspected drones fired two missiles at different sites in South Waziristan.

South Waziristan is one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

The intelligence officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

U.S. officials rarely discuss the CIA's drone program in Pakistan, though privately they have said the covert strikes are legal and an effective tactic in the fight against extremists.

U.S. and Australia announce greater military cooperation

The United States announced an agreement with Australia Wednesday that will expand military cooperation between the long-time allies and boost America's presence in the region.

The agreement was revealed during a joint news conference between U.S. President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the nation's capital, Canberra.

Obama is on a two-day trip to Australia, his first visit as commander-in-chief.

"I am very pleased that we are able to make these announcements here together on Australian soil," Obama said. "Because of these initiatives that are the result of our countries working very closely together as partners, we are going to be in a position to more effectively strengthen the security of both of our nations and this region."
President Obama arrives in Australia
Obama stresses Asia-Pacific importance

Under the agreement, up to 250 U.S. Marines will be sent to Darwin and the northern region of Australia for military exercises and training. Over the next several years their numbers are expected to climb to 2,500 -- a full Marine ground task force.

While U.S. officials cited the need to respond to regional natural disasters as a reason for the agreement, concern over China's military expansion is widely acknowledged as a driving factor.

"What we look at is how does our general force posture allow us to protect U.S. interests, protect our allies, and ... secure the region broadly," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with the president. "China is obviously a piece of the Asia Pacific region, an emerging power."

Rhodes later added that the deal is "part of the U.S. sending a signal that we're going to be present, that we're going to continue to play the role of underpinning security in this part of the region. Part of that context is a rising China."

Analysts note that the deal sends a message to China in a less confrontational way than building up bases closer to Chinese shores.

"The Chinese can squawk about it," said Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. "But it's not like having an aircraft carrier in the Yellow Sea."

Obama himself, however, insisted during his news conference that "the notion that we fear China is mistaken."

The president's Australian visit -- postponed twice in 2009 and 2010 due to an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other domestic political considerations -- highlights a changing balance of power in the Pacific as China expands its military reach and the United States works to reduce its military footprint in Japan.

Obama's Australian visit comes on the heels of last weekend's 19-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which highlighted the need for new measures supporting job growth. During the Hawaiian summit, Obama stressed the importance of the Pacific to global economic security, and he pushed China to do more to help strengthen the world economy.

After wrapping up his visit to Australia, Obama will conclude his Pacific trip with a stop in Indonesia -- a country he spent several years living in during his childhood.

Man arrested in White House shooting incident

A man wanted in connection with a White House shooting incident was arrested Wednesday in western Pennsylvania, the U.S. Secret Service announced.

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, who was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police, was allegedly involved in a shooting Friday night that may be responsible for two bullets found at the White House.

One bullet hit a window and was stopped by bulletproof glass, and another was found on the White House exterior, the Secret Service said. Both bullets were found Tuesday.

Lt. Brad Shields of the Pennsylvania State Police said a tip came in Wednesday morning that the man sought by federal authorities in the Washington shooting was at a Hampton Inn in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

According to Shields, the man had stayed at the hotel with an unspecified number of companions for a few days before the Friday shooting incident.

When the man returned to the hotel on Wednesday, an unidentified staff member recognized him from a photo provided by authorities and notified police, Shields told a news conference. The man was arrested without any resistance in the hotel lobby, asking why he was being detained, Shields said.

A bag he was carrying was checked by sniffer dogs, but no weapons were found, according to Shields.

The man was being questioned by state police and Secret Service agents, Shields said. An initial federal court appearance will take place Wednesday night or Thursday in either Pittsburgh or Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he said.

In Idaho Falls, Idaho, police spokesperson Joelyn Hansen said the man -- identified as Oscar Ramiro Ortega -- was reported missing October 31. Hansen said Ortega is the same man that the Secret Service is calling Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez.

The bullets were found on the south side of the White House, the official told CNN.

"A round was stopped by ballistic glass behind the historic exterior glass. One additional round has been found on the exterior of the White House. This damage has not been conclusively connected to Friday's incident, and an assessment of the exterior of the White House is ongoing," a Secret Service statement said.

Last Friday night at about 9 p.m., U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service investigated after hearing shots fired about 700 to 800 yards from the White House, the Secret Service statement said.

Within five minutes, officers located a vehicle in the 2300 block of Constitution Avenue. "Evidence in the vehicle led to U.S. Park Police obtaining an arrest warrant for Oscar Ortega-Hernandez," described as a 21-year-old Hispanic male, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds.

A weapon registered to Ortega-Hernandez was found in the car, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

The Secret Service interviewed people who know Ortega-Hernandez, and determined he had a "direction of interest toward the president and the White House" -- a term that does not suggest a direct specific threat.

The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Metropolitan Police Department all took part in the search for Ortega-Hernandez, officials said.

"There's always an outer perimeter and this was on the very outer perimeter of our security," the Secret Service official said. "The gun and car were found within several minutes. We have a lot of security -- a lot of layered security down there and the security worked."

The law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said when shots were heard Friday night, there were reports of tires screeching and cars racing.

Obama reveals new refinance rules at Western trip start

President Barack Obama traveled to Las Vegas on Monday to launch a Western trip that mixes campaigning with presidential business -- and an appearance on "The Tonight Show."

After a campaign event at The Bellagio hotel and casino Monday afternoon, Obama met with homeowners at a private residence to announce new efforts to help homeowners with refinancing.

The government's Home Affordable Refinance Program will be changed to make it easier for homeowners to capitalize on current low interest rates by refinancing old, high-interest mortgages.

The new rules will allow homeowners who owe more than 125% of the market value of their homes to get the new loans.

"So let me just give you an example. If you've got a $250,000 mortgage at 6 percent interest rates, but the value of your home has fallen below $200,000, right now you can't refinance. You're ineligible," Obama said, according to a copy of his remarks released by the White House.

"But that's going to change. If you meet certain requirements, you will have the chance to refinance at lower rates, which could save you hundreds of dollars a month, and thousands of dollars a year on mortgage payments."

In addition, Obama told the gathering,"there are going to be lower closing costs, and certain refinancing fees will be eliminated -- fees that can sometimes cancel out the benefits of refinancing altogether." The changes also will allow consumers to shop around for better rates beyond their original lenders, he said.

Learn why the program probably won't help the real estate market

The president then traveled to Los Angeles, where he was expected to deliver remarks at two more campaign events.
On Tuesday, Obama will tape an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," according to the White House.

The last time the president appeared on the show, in March 2009, he caused controversy by attempting to poke fun at his poor bowling skills -- evident during a 2008 campaign stop. He told Leno he bowled 129 in the White House bowling alley and said his bowling skills were "like Special Olympics or something."

Before the show aired, the president called Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver to apologize, White House officials said, and stress his intention was not to humiliate the disabled. Shriver called Obama's apology "sincere and heartfelt," but noted in a written response, "This is a teachable moment for our country."

After the "Tonight Show" taping, Obama will travel to San Francisco for a fundraiser, according to the White House. On Tuesday night, he will be in Denver to push his jobs agenda. Other private fundraisers will also be sprinkled in, officials said.

A Democratic official estimates the campaign will haul in more than $4 million from six fundraisers in three states.

It's the second time in less than a month that Obama has headed west to push for jobs and raise campaign cash.

A senior campaign official noted the importance of spending time in the region, saying the "campaign has already established an extensive operation in Western states."

And they expect to make "heavy investments there."

The official singled out Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona, where the campaign has offices and field staff.

In 2008 Obama won decisively in Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico, but lost to Republican John McCain in McCain's home state of Arizona.

This time around the economy remains under heavy downward pressure despite efforts by the Obama administration to turn things around.

In Nevada, home prices have plummeted by 53% since the peak, and according to online real estate site Zillow, 85% of the state's homeowners owe more than their homes are worth.

At his fundraiser at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas Monday, the president acknowledged that "things are tough right now," but he reminded the audience of some 300 supporters of his accomplishments.

"As tough as things are right now, we were able to stabilize this economy and make sure it didn't go into a great depression," the president said.

While the campaign is targeting key Western states, officials realize every vote will be critical.

"Our goal in 2011 is to build the biggest organization possible to compete on the widest playing field possible in 2012," the campaign official said.

Egypt to Free Jailed U.S.-Israeli Citizen Accused of Spying

A dual U.S.-Israeli citizen imprisoned in Egypt on spy suspicions since June will be released soon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Monday.

The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel will release 25 Egyptian prisoners in exchange.

Ilan Grapel was arrested in Cairo on June 12 and has been held without charge since. Egypt's state TV confirmed that a deal was made and said the swap would be carried out on Thursday.

Grapel, who is 27, was suspected by Egyptian officials of spying for Israel during the height of Egypt's uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. Israel and his relatives in the U.S. denied Grapel was a spy, saying he worked for a Cairo legal aid project.

The Israeli government will convene a special Security Cabinet meeting Tuesday to approve the deal, the statement said. The list of prisoners included in the deal will be published so that Israelis would be able to appeal. The swap can take place 48 hours after the prisoners' names are made public.

"In the framework of Israel and Egyptian efforts and with the help of the United States, Egypt has agreed to release Ilan Grapel. Israel has agreed to release 25 Egyptian prisoners," the statement said

The statement said there are no "security prisoners" on the list, Israeli shorthand for militants. It is assumed that the Egyptians to be freed are mostly smugglers working the porous border between the two countries, sneaking into Israel with contraband and people seeking asylum or work.

Last week Egypt was instrumental in mediating a deal that won freedom for an Israeli soldier, Sgt. Gilad Schalit, held for more than five years by the militant Hamas rulers of Gaza. Under that deal, Israel freed 455 Palestinian prisoners and is set to free hundreds more in two months. Some were convicted in deadly attacks against Israelis, including involvement with suicide bombings.

Schalit was captured in a 2006 cross-border raid in which Palestinian militants killed two other soldiers.,

Israeli officials said Grapel's release is not connected to the Schalit deal. They were speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Grapel moved to Israel, where his grandparents live, as a young man and did his compulsory military service during the 2006 war between the Israeli military and Hezbollah, where he was wounded. Israeli news websites have published what they identified as wartime pictures of Grapel lying in his hospital bed.

Grapel later returned to the U.S. for law school.

His father, Daniel Grapel, spoke briefly to Israel's Channel 10 TV from his home in New York Monday evening. "I haven't been officially notified, but I do know that things are happening between the U.S, Egyptian and Israeli governments," he said.

Grapel's connections to Israel, including his past military service, are easy to find on the Internet, adding to doubts that he was a spy.

He appears to have traveled to Egypt under his real name and made no secret of his Israeli links, including his past military service.

Israeli and Egyptian newspapers and websites often run pictures of Grapel in his army uniform, taken from his Facebook page. Pictures of him with protesters in Cairo's Tahrir square, the epicenter of the uprising that toppled Mubarak, also lifted from Grapel's Facebook page are frequently displayed.

Grapel graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in international studies and was planning to return to Emory for his third and final year of law studies.

Since Mubarak's ouster, Egypt's military rulers have often warned against what they call "foreign" attempts to destabilize the country. Egypt, like other Arab states, has a long history of blaming internal problems on Israel.

Iraqi Speaker Warns of Neighboring Countries After U.S. Troops Leave

The speaker of Iraq's parliament on Monday accused neighboring nations of meddling in Iraqi affairs and signaled it will only get worse if the country is seen as vulnerable after U.S. troops leave at the end of the year.

Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni Muslim, did not name the Mideast nations and did not offer specifics. Iraq's Sunnis long have worried about Iran's burgeoning influence in Baghdad, where the Shiite-dominated government has built ties with Tehran since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein.

Top U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, voiced similar concerns over the weekend.

"Iraq now suffers from points of weakness," al-Nujaifi told a news conference in Baghdad. "If neighboring countries see that Iraq is weak and incapable of protecting its borders and internal security, then definitely there will be interference. This interference does exist now."

Limiting Iran's influence in Baghdad was a top U.S. pitch to keep American troops in Iraq past the Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline set in a 2008 security agreement. Washington has feared that meddling by Iran, a Shiite Muslim theocracy, could inflame tensions between Iraq's majority Shiites and minority Sunnis, setting off a chain reaction of violence and disputes across the Mideast.

About 39,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, down from 166,000 in October 2007, the peak of the American military surge to curb sectarian killings that brought the country to the brink of civil war. Nearly all will leave after Iraq's government and the U.S. failed this month to reach an agreement on a few thousand to stay and continue training security forces.

Speaking to reporters in Bali, Indonesia, Panetta noted that an estimated 40,000 U.S. troops will be stationed across the Mideast even after the Iraq withdrawal, including about 23,000 in neighboring Kuwait.

"So we will always have a force that will be present and that will deal with any threats from Iran," Panetta said.

Iraq is located between Iran and Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia. Iraq has seen terrorist traffic cross over its Syrian border and is grappling with a rebel force in its north that has for years targeted Turkey.

Al-Nujaifi suggested stepped up diplomatic talks across the Mideast "because a stable Iraq will bring stability to the whole region."

With the military withdrawal, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will shoulder much of the responsibility of training Iraqi forces, with the help of a small number of NATO troops. But a report released early Monday cast deep doubt on the Embassy's ability to do so, noting that a State Department program to train Iraqi police lacks focus, could become a "bottomless pit" of American money and may not even be wanted by the Iraqi department it's supposed to help.

The findings by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction paint what is supposed to be the State Department's flagship program in Iraq in a harsh light. It found that only a small portion -- about 12 percent -- of the millions of dollars budgeted will actually go to helping the Iraqi police.

The "vast preponderance of money" will pay for security and other items like living quarters for the people doing the training, the review found. It also said that although the State Department has known since 2009 it would be taking over the training program, it failed to develop a comprehensive and detailed plan for the training.

"Without specific goals, objectives and performance measures, the PDP (Police Development Program) could become a 'bottomless pit' for U.S. dollars intended for mentoring, advising and training the Iraqi police forces," the report stated.

Moreover, the Iraqi government has yet to sign off on the program and doesn't seem to want it. The report quoted Adnan al-Asadi, who oversees daily operations at Iraq's Ministry of Interior (MOI) as suggesting the U.S. should spend the money on something for the American people instead.

"What tangible benefit will Iraqis see from this police training program? With most of the money spent on lodging, security, support, all the MOI gets is a little expertise, and that is if the program materializes. It has yet to start," al-Asadi said.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad did not respond to a request for comment. In a letter to SIGIR, the State Department said it "generally agrees" with the report's recommendations but defended its efforts.

Few dispute, however, that Iraqi police are far from ready to fully protect their country -- or even themselves.

On Monday, police and health officials said four separate attacks against traffic police in Baghdad killed two policemen and three civilians. Twelve people, including eight police, were injured.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Mystery Man Brings New Questions in Case of Missing Baby Lisa Irwin

Surveillance footage from a gas station near the Kansas City home where baby Lisa Irwin disappeared shows a man exiting a wooded area shortly before the baby was reported missing.

The video, first reported by ABC News, shows a man dressed in white leaving the leafy area at 2:30 a.m. local time the night the baby was last seen. The footage may support the claim by the girl's parents, Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin, that the 10-month-old was abducted from their home.  

Discovery of the video follows statements by at least three witnesses who reported seeing a man with a baby in that area on the night Lisa disappeared.

Deborah Bradley told authorities she last saw the girl in her crib on the night of Oct. 3. She was reported missing more than nine hours later -- around 4:00 a.m. -- when her father returned home from work and noticed she was gone.

On Friday, a police affidavit revealed that an FBI cadaver dog picked up the scent of a human body on the floor of Bradley's bedroom.

Witness Mike Thompson told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he was heading home on his motorcycle around 4:00 a.m. Oct. 4 when he noticed the man, who was dressed in a T-shirt, on a street near the child's home.

"[It was] 4 o'clock in the morning, 45 degrees, the baby don't have a blanket or coat or nothin', and this guy's walking down the street," Thompson said. "I thought it was kind of weird."

Two other witnesses, who were not named, said they encountered a similar scene a few hours earlier.

"It was shocking because I couldn't imagine anybody outside walking with their baby in the cold like that with no clothes on," the female witness told ABC.

Former FBI agent Brad Garrett told the network that the timeline did not make sense.

"Are you going to logically abduct a child, let's say in the midnight area, then two to four hours later, you are spotted in the proximity of the neighborhood," he said. "I mean, that doesn't make any sense. It could be true, of course, but the logic of abducting a child is so you can take the child to some other location."

The baby's parents continue to be the subject of intense media and police scrutiny over their actions the night she disappeared.

Bradley admitted in several interviews Monday she drank between 5 and 10 glasses of wine Oct. 3, the night Lisa was last seen. She told Fox News in an interview that it was possible she blacked out after drinking but denied that anything could have happened to her daughter while she was drunk.

She also admitted she last saw her baby at 6:40 p.m. local time, not 10:30 p.m., as she had originally told investigators.

Threats Against U.S. Ambassador Safety in Syria

The Obama administration pulled its ambassador out of Syria over security concerns, blaming President Bashar Assad's regime for the threats that made it no longer safe for Robert Ford to remain. The Syrian government quickly ordered home its envoy to the United States, raising the diplomatic stakes.

Ford traveled to Washington this weekend after the U.S. received "credible threats against his personal safety in Syria," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday. Ford has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, and enraged Syrian authorities with his forceful defense of peaceful protests and harsh critique of a government crackdown that has now claimed more than 3,000 lives.

"We hope that the Syrian regime will end its incitement campaign against Ambassador Ford," Toner said. "At this point, we can't say when he will return to Syria."

Toner said the U.S. embassy will remain open in Damascus and that the threats were specifically directed toward Ford. His return is conditional on a U.S. "assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground," Toner said.

In an immediate response, Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha promptly left the U.S. on Monday, said Roua Shurbaji, a Syrian Embassy spokeswoman. She said no other steps were being taken by the embassy and declined to comment on the U.S. allegations.

Ford was the first American ambassador to Syria since 2005. President George W. Bush's administration withdrew a full-time ambassador from Syria over charges the country was involved in terrorism and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria has denied any involvement.

The Obama administration decided to return an ambassador to Syria earlier this year in an effort to persuade Syria to change its policies regarding Israel, Lebanon, Iraq and support for extremist groups. Syria is designated a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the State Department.

Although Ford's appointment in January, while the Senate was out of session, was originally criticized by some Republicans in Congress, he has won praise within the administration and beyond for his determination to meet Syrian opposition leaders in a hostile environment, and tough criticism of the Assad regime's brutal military response to mass demonstrations.

The Senate unanimously approved Ford's nomination earlier this month, with Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a Democrat, praising Ford for continuing to visit cities under siege and "speak truth to power."

Ford was greeted by demonstrators with roses and cheers when he traveled to the restive city of Hama in July, prompting immediate recriminations from the Syrian government, which tried to then limit where Ford could travel. Only days later hundreds of regime supporters attacked the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, smashing windows and spray-painting obscenities on the walls.

Ford also has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, often in coordination with pro-Assad media capturing the humiliation. Media reports said Ford was hit last week with eggs and tomatoes while going to a mosque in Damascus. Other such incidents have occurred after meetings with dissident groups or individuals, and his postings on Facebook have provoked thousands of Syrian and other responses, and even some death threats from pro-Assad hardliners.

The U.S. last month decried Ford's treatment and "unwarranted and unjustifiable," after Assad supporters tried to force their way into a meeting he was having a prominent opposition figure. Syrian police were slow in responding, and Ford was trapped inside the building for about three hours. But White House press secretary James Carney insisted at the time that the U.S. had no plans to remove Ford for his safety.

Haynes Mahoney, the embassy's deputy chief of mission, confirmed that Ford has left Syria but said Washington hadn't not formally recalled him -- a symbolically significant diplomatic step.

At the time of Ford's arrival in Damascus, Syria was bouncing back from years of international isolation. Still, Assad largely shrugged off U.S. attempts to pull it away from its alliances with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. And as the Arab Spring protests escalated in Syria, Ford dropped his engagement efforts and took on an increasingly high-profile role defending the rights of Syrian protesters.

Toner lamented that the threats deprived the United States of a valuable emissary to the Syrian people at a time they face daily violence from Assad's security forces. Clashes on Sunday saw forces flood into villages where residents have been on strike and shoot two people dead, according to activists.

President Barack Obama has called on the U.N. Security Council to sanction Syria for using deadly violence against citizens who are rising up against the authoritarian government there.

A seasoned diplomat with extensive Middle East experience, Ford "has worked diligently to deliver our message and be our eyes on the ground" in Syria, Toner said. "This decision was based solely on the need to ensure his safety, a matter we take extremely seriously."

U.S. pulls ambassador out of Syria over safety concerns

The United States has temporarily pulled its ambassador out of Syria as a "result of credible threats against his personal safety," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday, accusing Syria of "incitement" against Ambassador Robert Ford.

"At this point, we can't say when he will return to Syria," Toner said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to the United States, was recalled to Damascus "for consultations," embassy spokeswoman Roua Shurbaji said Monday.

Shurbaji had no information about why Moustapha was recalled or how long he will be gone. The deputy chief of mission in Washington will be filling Moustapha's role while he is gone, she said.

Ford was attacked by a pro-government "armed mob" last month, a United States official told CNN at the time. The official is not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.

While there have been long-standing concerns about Ford's safety and threats against him, the decision was made to pull him temporarily after government-sponsored Syrian media began running false reports blaming Ford for death squads in Syria similar to the ones in Iraq, senior State Department officials told CNN.

The department was afraid the reports would inflame sentiment against Ford and would prompt pro-regime hardliners to harm and perhaps kill him, the officials said.

"We are concerned about a campaign of regime-led incitement targeted personally at Ambassador Ford by the state-run media of the government of Syria and we are concerned about the security situation that that has created," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Monday. "... I want to take this opportunity to call on the government of Syria to immediately end its smear campaign of malicious and deceitful propaganda against Ambassador Ford."

Ford, who has been outspoken against the Syrian government's use of violence against protesters, is seen by Syrian government supporters as an activist more than a diplomat.
He sparked a diplomatic firestorm in July when he traveled to the restive city of Hama to express support for demonstrators. He was welcomed with flowers by local residents who had suffered a brutal crackdown by government forces. President Bashar al-Assad's government called the trip an attempt to foment dissent.

A crowd tried to assault Ford and embassy colleagues September 29 "as they went about doing the normal work of any embassy," Toner said at the time.

"The mob was violent; it tried, unsuccessfully, to attack embassy personnel while they were inside several embassy vehicles, seriously damaging the vehicles in the process," Toner said.

Syrian security officers helped secure a path back to the U.S. Embassy for the ambassador and his staff.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned what she described as "an unwarranted attack" when Ford and his aides were conducting "normal embassy business."

The department does plan on sending Ford back, the officials said. It is hoped that his stay in the United States will be a brief cooling-off period and that the United States can persuade the Syrian government to abide by its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect foreign diplomats in their country, they said.

"We do expect that Ambassador Ford will be returning to Damascus after his consultations are completed," Nuland said.

The department feels Ford serves a useful function as the United States' eyes and ears in the country, the officials said. In addition to serving as a witness to the regime's violence against protesters, he is seen as a key link to the opposition.

Ford was confirmed as ambassador to Syria in April after five years during which Washington did not have an envoy in Damascus.

Relations between Syria and the United States have been tense in recent months as Syria clamped down on demonstrations against Assad. At least 3,000 people have died, the United Nations and other international observers estimate.

Earlier this month, a Syrian man was arrested in the United States, accused of spying on Syrians demonstrating in the United States. Syria rejected the indictment's claim that Mohamad Anas Heitham Soueid worked for Syria's intelligence agency, the Mukhabarat.

And it described as "ludicrous" the indictment's assertion that Soueid, a Syrian-born American citizen, had met privately with Assad.

Latest News in Libya

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been killed. Here are the latest developments:
-- U.S. Defense Department costs for operations in Libya stand at about $1.1 billion as of September 30, according to Pentagon spokesman George Little. That includes daily military operations, munitions, the drawdown of supplies and humanitarian assistance.
-- Opposition activists from Syria and Yemen said dictators should pay heed to the fate of Gadhafi.
-- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "This day marks an historic transition for Libya," after hearing of Moammar Gadhafi's death.
-- U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said Gadhafi's death marks the end of his reign of terror and the promise of a new Libya.
Earlier developments:


On the ground:

-- Moammar Gadhafi's son Mutassim has been killed, according to Anees al-Sharif, spokesman for AbdelHakim Belhajj of the Tripoli military council.
-- Al-Sharif also said Gadhafi's chief of intelligence, Abdullah al-Senussi, has been killed.
-- Libyans erupted in jubilation with the first reports that Gadhafi may have been killed. A "cacophony of celebration" could be heard in Tripoli as ships and cars blasted their horns and shots were fired into the air.
-- Revolutionary fighters attacked the house where Gadhafi was hiding, National Transitional Council Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam told CNN. Gadhafi was shot while trying to flee, he said.
-- A cell phone photograph distributed by the news agency Agence France-Presse appeared to show the arrest of a bloodied Gadhafi. CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the image.
-- A video surfaced that apparently shows Gadhafi's body.


International:

-- NATO is going to convene soon for a meeting to discuss ending its operation in Libya, a source told CNN's Barbara Starr on Thursday.
-- NATO said its aircraft struck two pro-Gadhafi military vehicles in the vicinity of Sirte on Thursday. "These armed vehicles were conducting military operations and presented a clear threat to civilians," Col. Roland Lavoie said.

Racing vet Dan Wheldon dies in crash at IndyCar race

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday of "unsurvivable injuries" sustained during a multi-car wreck at the Las Vegas Indy 300. He was 33.
The rest of the race -- the marquee event of the IZOD IndyCar World Championships -- was canceled.
"IndyCar is sad to announce that Dan Wheldon passed away from unsurvivable injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family," IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said.
The remaining drivers, many of whom were visibly emotional after emerging from a meeting with IndyCar officials, did a five-lap salute in Wheldon's honor.

"Amazing Grace" played as the drivers slowly wound their way around the track.
More than a dozen vehicles were involved in Sunday's fiery wreck. Video of the accident showed cars spinning out of control, bursting into flames, and shooting smoke and debris into the air.
Championship contender Will Power, Rookie of the Year candidate J.R. Hildebrand and driver Pippa Mann were also involved in the crash. They were taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Power was evaluated and released, while Mann and Hildebrand are awake, alert and will stay overnight for observation, according to IndyCar spokeswoman Amy Konrath.


Wheldon was in line to win $5 million if he had captured the checkered flag at Sunday's race.
"I lost one of my best friends, one of my greatest teammates," driver Tony Kanaan told reporters.
"I know this is a dangerous sport. I know we're exposed to that every day, in normal life as well. But you know, you don't think about it. Today we have to think about it," he said.
Wheldon was known as a 'great family man'


Racing accidents are not uncommon, though fatal ones have been rare in recent years.
Safety improvements at such high-speed events have included the installation of "soft walls." So-called SAFER barriers, which include foam, are intended to soften the effects of impact. Other equipment protects a driver's head during impact.


In 2006, driver Paul Dana died in a two-car collision during a practice run at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.
Driver Tony Renna died in October 2003 of injuries suffered in a testing accident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while Scott Brayton was killed at the same speedway in May 1996 when his vehicle hit the wall during practice.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation President and CEO Jeff Belskus released a statement, calling Wheldon a "great champion" and "wonderful ambassador."
"Most importantly, he was a fantastic husband, father and man -- a good friend to so many in this sport. His memory will live forever at the Speedway, both through the magnitude of his accomplishments on the track and his magnetism off the track," he said.


After his second Indy 500 victory in May, Wheldon talked with CNN's "American Morning" about the intensity of the race track. His first win was in 2005.
"We're doing speeds in excess of 225 miles per hour. With this race, you never know what can happen. It's about staying focused and you really don't ever let off the power unless you have to," he said.
Wheldon, who was born in Emberton, England, lived in St. Petersburg, Florida. His father was a go-kart racer and his mother was the timer at a local track. Wheldon is survived by his wife and two young children.

President Obama rips GOP opposition to jobs bill

President Barack Obama took the push for his stalled $447 billion jobs plan on the road Monday, telling a North Carolina audience that alternative proposals put forward by his Republican critics amount to little more than sops to the rich that will gut critical regulations and fail to restore economic growth.
My "bill will help put people back to work and give our economy a boost right away," Obama told the crowd at Asheville Regional Airport. "But apparently none of this matters" to GOP leaders.
"I've gone out of my way to find areas of cooperation" with congressional Republicans, the president declared. "We're going to give members of Congress another chance to step up to the plate and do the right thing."

But "if they vote against these proposals again ... then they're not going to have to answer to me. They're going to have to answer to you," he said.
Since Obama's plan was rejected in the Senate -- due to unanimous GOP opposition -- Democratic leaders have decided to try to move it through Congress by breaking it up into a series of smaller legislative proposals.

But Obama's appearance, analysts note, was as much about campaign politics as the bill. The president will spend the next three days on a bus tour through politically pivotal North Carolina and Virginia -- two states carried by Obama in 2008 but considered up for grabs next year.
The crowd repeatedly chanted "four more years" before and during Obama's remarks.
"I appreciate the 'four more years,' but right now I'm thinking about the next 13 months," Obama said. "We don't have time to wait. We've got a choice right now."
Jobs bill fight continues after Senate defeat
Obama's senior strategist, David Axelrod, vowed Sunday that every part of the bill will eventually have a vote.

"The American people support every single plank of that bill, and we're going to vote on every single one of them," Axelrod said on ABC's "This Week."
He would not say which part of the plan would come first.
Republicans will "get a vote on whether they believe we should protect tax breaks for small business owners and middle-class Americans, or whether we should protect tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires," Obama said in a written statement last Tuesday.
Monthlong protests show no sign of abating
Meanwhile, demonstrators in Southern California say they'll gather Monday to protest the GOP's stance on the president's jobs bill. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and California Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce will be together in the area for a fund-raising event.
"Members of the Courage Campaign, teachers and health care workers will deliver a petition to Speaker Boehner signed by 25,000 Courage Campaign members ... demanding that he hold a vote on President Obama's American Jobs Act," a statement from the demonstrators said.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, indicated over the weekend that there could be agreement on some elements.
"Let's work together. Let's find some of the things in his plan that we agree with and let's go ahead and do that for the American people," he told "Fox News Sunday."
The past week was an indication that "we can come together," Cantor said, citing the passage of three trade bills.

Cantor did not make clear exactly where areas of agreement may be. But he cited the need to help small businesses find capital, unemployment insurance reform, and infrastructure spending as broad ideas for which both sides have expressed support.
But "we're not going to be for tax increases on small businesses," Cantor said of the president's plan.
Republicans filibustered the Senate version of the president's jobs bill last week, though a handful of Democrats had said they would have opposed the measure if it had made it to the chamber's floor.
Among other things, Obama's overall blueprint includes an extension and expansion of the current payroll tax cut, an extension of jobless benefits, new tax credits for businesses that hire the long-term unemployed, and additional money to help save and create jobs for teachers and first responders such as firefighters.

The largest measure in the package is the payroll tax cut, which comes at a projected cost of $265 billion. Employees normally pay 6.2% on their first $106,800 of wages into Social Security, but they are now paying only 4.2%. That break is set to expire at the end of December. Obama wants to cut the tax in half, to 3.1%.

Republicans previously embraced the cut, but have increasingly questioned its economic merit.
A second key measure -- estimated to cost roughly $44 billion -- is the extension of emergency jobless benefits to help the long-term unemployed. Lawmakers first expanded benefits to cover 99 weeks in 2009, and have since reauthorized the expansion five times.
Republicans are at particularly sharp odds with Democrats over how to pay for the plan. GOP leaders oppose a provision that would fund the measure through a 5.6% surtax on annual incomes over $1 million. Republicans have accused the president of engaging in so-called "class warfare," while Democrats argue wealthier Americans need to share in the cost of fiscal responsibility.

American researcher evacuated from South Pole

After weeks of waiting, an American researcher who suffered a suspected stroke while working at the South Pole has arrived in New Zealand for evaluation and treatment, a National Science Foundation official confirmed Monday.
Renee-Nicole Douceur, 58, said in an interview on the "Early Show" on CBS that she was "feeling elated" to be off the Amundsen-Scott research station in Antarctica and in a hospital for an MRI and other tests that she hopes will reveal the cause of her vision, speech and other difficulties.
Douceur fell ill on August 27. She had been unable to leave to receive treatment because weather and storms prevent planes from landing during the region's winter period.
The U.S. Air Force C-17 carrying Douceur landed in Christchurch, New Zealand, at 9:55 p.m. Monday (2:55 a.m. ET), Deborah Wing of the National Science Foundation said.
The New Hampshire woman flew to McMurdo Station in Antarctica and then to Christchurch.
"We at the National Science Foundation wish the individual all the best during treatment and recovery," Wing said in an e-mail.


Last week, Douceur told CNN she had been pleading for a rescue evacuation flight since her initial stroke but her request was denied.
Raytheon Polar Services, the company that runs the station for the National Science Foundation. deemed it too dangerous to send an air rescue crew in, she said.
"While I was devastated that I had a stroke, it was like, oh, my God, it just stymied me ... and I cried," Douceur said. " I just didn't know what to do and the doctors basically told me, just go back to my room."


Raytheon Polar Services told CNN that Douceur's station has a well-trained medical staff that can provide all levels of treatment for employees.
Elizabeth Cohen, the senior medical correspondent for CNN, said it wasn't the lack of doctors that was the issue. It was the lack of equipment and a stroke expert.
"In the United States, or New Zealand ... they would have stroke experts who would be able to do imaging and see where that stroke was and do rehab specifically designed for that particular location of the brain where the stroke occurred. But they don't have that there," Cohen said last week.


Cohen said Douceur did some basic rehab while at the station, which includes relearning math.
"This is a nuclear engineer who is having trouble with sixth-grade math," Cohen said.
Douceur told CBS that doctors at the University of Texas in Austin and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore will review her test results with an eye to ensuring she is healthy enough to withstand a trans-Pacific flight to the United States. She eventually hopes to receive treatment at Johns Hopkins, she said.


Douceur's case is reminiscent of another that occurred in 1999 when a woman diagnosed with breast cancer spent months at a South Pole research center until she could be airlifted.
Jerri Nielsen Fitzgerald -- a doctor -- diagnosed and treated herself for breast cancer with chemotherapy agents that the U.S. Air Force parachuted to her station.
Fitzgerald died 10 years later after the cancer returned.

French get back famous painting stolen during The World War I

A famous French painting stolen during World War I by the German Army was returned to the government of France by U.S. officials on Thursday. The 1876 Jules Breton work is called "A Fisherman's Daughter/Mender of Nets" or to the people of France it's "Une Fille de Pecheur/Raccommodeuses de Filets."

In 1918 the German army confiscated that painting and others from the Musee de Douai in the city of Douai and transported them to Belgium. The following year the Belgium government went to return all the French works of art, but the "Fisherman's Daughter/Mender of Nets" was missing.
Spring forward to 2010 and French officials alerted Interpol that the painting might have been imported by a gallery in New York City. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators worked the case, concluded the painting in New York was the same one stolen from France more than 90 years ago and seized it.
The painting, which is worth an estimated $150,000 dollars, was handed over to the French ambassador to the United States during a repatriation ceremony in Washington. ICE did not provide details about how the painting reached the gallery in New York or where it might have been in the decades since it was stolen.
"Returning a painting to a museum is a significant contribution to the celebration of our cultural heritage and a gift to all future visitors who will enjoy the work of art, but it is also yet another symbol of Franco-American cooperation," said French Ambassador François Delattre in a written statement. "We are celebrating today a gesture of friendship by the United States toward the French Republic."


The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York worked on the case. "One of the very few ways that we are able to redress the awful legacy of war is to return stolen art to its rightful owners so it can be shared and enjoyed, "said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. "In this case, it took nearly a century, but it is nonetheless extremely gratifying.
ICE does numerous investigations into stolen art or cultural artifacts and has helped repatriate many other items to various nations. "We remain committed to combating cultural heritage crimes, which are one of the oldest forms of organized cross-border illicit activity," said ICE Director John Morton.