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Friday, October 18, 2013 – Daily News 5B WORLD BRIEFING Iran's internal drama in nuclear talks TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Iranian foreign minister's parting words in Geneva carried hopes that the U.S. and other world powers could begin closing the gap with Tehran over its nuclear program. He returns home with perhaps an even tougher challenge at finding common ground. In a sharp counterpoint to the Western outreach by President Hassan Rouhani's government, hard-line factions in Iran have amplified their bluster and backlash in messages that they cannot be ignored in any diplomatic moves with Washington either in the nuclear talks or beyond. They also hold important sway over the pace and direction of Iran's nuclear program through the Revolutionary Guard, the single most powerful institution in Iran. Without its clear backing, the West and its allies could grow increasingly skeptical over Rouhani's ability to deliver on efforts to ease fears that Iran could be moving toward an atomic weapon or a socalled threshold state — without an actual bomb, but with all the expertise and material in place. ''Iran's hard-liners are the not-so-silent partners in everything that Rouhani has set in motion,'' said Scott Lucas, an Iranian affairs expert at Britain's Birmingham University. ''The Revolutionary Guard is never a bystander in Iran.'' It's still unclear whether the Guard would agree to potential demands such as increased U.N. monitoring at nuclear and related sites. So far, however, there have few smooth patches with Rouhani. His outreach has brought swift criticism from the Guard and its wide network, including a national paramilitary force known as the Basij. Utah doctor charged with murder of wife told inmates he was glad she died PROVO, Utah (AP) — A former Utah doctor accused of hounding his wife to get a face-lift so he could kill her with a lethal combination of prescription drugs acted erratically the day she died and claimed she had wanted the surgery, prosecutors said Thursday in opening statements at the murder trial. In addition, Martin MacNeill told fellow inmates after his arrest that his wife was a ''bitch;'' he was glad she was dead; and authorities couldn't prove he killed her, prosecutor Sam Pead told jurors. Prosecutors have said the killing was the climax of a twisted plot by MacNeill to carry on an affair with his mistress, who MacNeill invited to his wife's funeral and asked to marry him weeks later. The case has shocked the Mormon community of Provo, 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, and captured national attention because the defendant was a doctor. Pead depicted a scene of bizarre behavior that began when MacNeill discovered his listless wife in a bathtub and called authorities to his house in April 2007. 1.8 M-yearold skull shows early human ancestors evolving DMANISI, Georgia (AP) — The discovery of a 1.8-million-year-old skull of a human ancestor buried under a medieval Georgian village provides a vivid picture of early evolution and indicates our family tree may have fewer branches than some believe, scientists say. The fossil is the most complete pre-human skull uncovered. With other partial remains previously found at the rural site, it gives researchers the earliest evidence of human ancestors moving out of Africa and spreading north to the rest of the world, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science. The skull and other remains offer a glimpse of a population of prehumans of various sizes living at the same time — something that scientists had not seen before for such an ancient era. This diversity bolsters one of two competing theories about the way our early ancestors evolved, spreading out more like a tree than a bush. Nearly all of the previous pre-human discoveries have been fragmented bones, scattered over time and locations — like a smattering of random tweets of our evolutionary history. The findings at Dmanisi are more complete, weaving more of a short story. Before the site was found, the movement from Africa was put at about 1 million years ago. When examined with the earlier Georgian finds, the skull ''shows that this special immigration out of Africa happened much earlier than we thought and a much more primitive group did it,'' said study lead author David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgia National Museum. ''This is important to understanding human evolution.'' DNA testing suggests elusive Yeti could be a polar bear hybrid LONDON (AP) — A British scientist says he may have solved the mystery of the Abominable Snowman — the elusive ape-like creature of the Himalayas. He thinks it's a bear. DNA analysis conducted by Oxford University genetics professor Bryan Sykes suggests the creature, also known as the Yeti, is the descendant of an ancient polar bear. Sykes compared DNA from hair samples taken from two Himalayan animals — identified by local people as Yetis — to a database of animal genomes. He found they shared a genetic fingerprint with a polar bear jawbone found in the Norwegian Arctic that is at least 40,000 years old. Sykes said Thursday that the tests showed the creatures were not related to modern Himalayan bears but were direct descendants of the prehistoric animal. He said, ''it may be a new species, it may be a hybrid'' between polar bears and brown bears. Holmes did meet with an attorney. One attorney, Iris Eytan, said investigators ignored her demand that they not question Holmes about explosives in his apartment. Authorities testified that they questioned Holmes anyway, without a defense attorney present. Prosecutors said the questioning was legal because investigators urgently needed to ask Holmes about the bombs to prevent a deadly explosion. Aurora Police Lt. Thomas G. Wilkes, commander of the team that sealed off Holmes' apartment, said the bombs were so dangerous that officials considered detonating them — which they knew would destroy Holmes' building and threaten others — rather than risk the lives of bomb squad members by trying to dismantle them. Ultimately, police disarmed the bombs without explosions. Holmes was questioned about the bombs about 14 hours after the shootings. Brady noted that a police audio recording of Holmes' answers doesn't include the first few minutes, and there's no way of knowing what officers told him. Defense lawyers say police denied Ark. man access to shot dead Holmes after getting CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Defense lost in attorneys said Thursday that police prevented Chicago them from seeing Colorado theater shooting defendant James Holmes for at least 13 hours after his arrest, trying to convince the judge that their client's constitutional rights were violated and that his statements to officers can't be used against him. The allegations came during a day of dramatic and often testy exchanges as prosecutors and defense attorneys battled over what evidence can be admitted during Holmes' upcoming murder trial — all in a fight over whether he was sane. The latest evidence in dispute is a set of statements Holmes made to investigators seeking to disable the elaborate array of explosives found in his apartment after the attack. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing 12 people and wounding 70 others in the July 2012 attack at a suburban Denver movie theater. Holmes' attorneys have acknowledged he was the shooter, but they say he was in the midst of a psychotic episode. His trial is scheduled to start in February. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, which would require them to prove he understood the consequences of his attack. The defense argues that police violated Holmes' constitutional rights by questioning him before letting him see a lawyer and that anything he told investigators during that time should be struck from the record. During the pretrial hearing Thursday, defense attorney Tamara Brady aimed pointed questions at police. Officers acknowledged Holmes had asked for a lawyer, and that two defense lawyers had asked to see him, but that no such meeting took place for at least 13 hours. It was not clear from the testimony when CHICAGO (AP) — An Arkansas man who police say got lost driving around the city was shot and killed early Thursday, apparently by a man he had just asked for directions. According to police, a man identified by the Cook County Coroner's office as 55-year-old Robert Franklin, of Blytheville, Ark., was with a friend in a car about 3:45 a.m. when a man that Franklin had asked for directions climbed into the backseat and pulled out a gun. Officer Jose Estrada said the gunman robbed the men of cash and ''as he is getting out he turns around and shoots (Franklin) four times in the back.'' Estrada said Franklin's friend drove him to Stroger Hospital, where Franklin was pronounced dead a short time after he arrived. Police had made no arrests as of Thursday afternoon. Police had not identified the suspect or determined exactly where in the city the shooting occurred. Chicago's violent crime has been the focus on national attention, particularly last year when the city led the nation in homicides with more than 500. Police note that the vast majority of slayings and other violent crime in the city are related to street gangs. In most cases, police say, the gunmen typically know their victims or they are bystanders caught in gang crossfire. In one such case that was reported around the world, police say two gang members mistook teenager Hadiya Pendleton and her friends as members of a rival gang and opened fire, killing the 15-year-old honor student not far from President Barack Obama's home on the city's South Side. But apparently random crimes are not unheard of in the city. A current criminal trial receiving extensive coverage focuses on a brutal baseball attack on two women who apparently were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'Fifty Shades' fiasco discussed at studio meeting LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBC-Universal employees have been told the recasting of Christian Grey in the company's film version of the erotic best-seller ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' will be finalized in the next few weeks. A company-wide ''town hall'' on Wednesday covered a variety of subjects but ''Fifty Shades'' was the inevitable hot topic in the wake of last weekend's announcement that Charlie Hunnam was dropping out as Christian Grey, according to an NBC-Universal employee who attended the meeting. The source, who requested anonymity because the meeting was private, also said NBCU officials confirmed ''Fifty Shades'' will still be released next year and that costar Dakota Johnson remains committed to her role as Anastasia Steele. The meeting was held primarily to introduce Jeff Shell, who is taking over as Universal Pictures co-chairman. Perhaps the best bundled business promotion package in the North State! 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