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4B – Daily News – Thursday, December 31, 2009 Yemeni forces storm al-Qaida hideout SAN'A, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni forces raided an al- Qaida hideout and set off a gun- battle Wednesday as the gov- ernment vowed to eliminate the group that claimed it was behind the Christmas bombing attempt on a U.S. airliner. The fighting took place in an al-Qaida stronghold in western Yemen, haven for a group that attacked the U.S. Embassy here in 2008, killing 10 Yemeni guards and four civilians. A government statement said at least one suspected militant was arrested during the clashes. "The (Interior) Ministry will continue tracking down al- Qaida terrorists and will contin- ue its strikes against the group until it is totally eliminated," Deputy Interior Minister Brig. Gen. Saleh al-Zawari told senior military officials at a meeting in Mareb, another province believed to shelter al- Qaida fighters. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an offshoot of Osama bin Laden's group, claimed it was behind the attempt to bomb a Detroit- bound airliner. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23- year-old passenger, was arrest- ed Friday after he allegedly tried to bring down the North- west Airlines flight, carrying 289 people. U.S. investigators said Abdulmutallab told them he received training and instruc- tions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen. Yemen's government has said Abdulmutallab spent two periods in the country, from 2004-2005 and from August to December of this year, just before the attempted attack. Americans die in bombing at military base KABUL (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing eight American civil- ians, U.S. officials said. The explosion occurred at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province near the Afghan border with Pakistan. U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed that eight Americans died in the attack. "We mourn the loss of life in this attack, and are withholding further details pending notifica- tion of next of kin," he said. A senior State Department official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymi- ty that all of the victims are civilians. However, that could include military contractors and U.S. intelligence officials. In Kabul, a spokesman for the international coalition force in Kabul said no U.S. or NATO troops were killed in the after- noon explosion at Chapman, one of dozens of forward oper- ating bases that support recon- struction efforts and other civil- ian operations across the nation. SC prosecutor, 12 other AGs threaten suit over health care COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys general in 13 states say congressional leaders must remove Nebraska's political deal from the federal health care reform bill or face legal action. Republican South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and a dozen of his counterparts are sending a letter Wednesday night to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen- ate Majority Leader Harry Reid objecting to Nebraska getting a break on Medicaid payments. McMaster said last week he was leading a charge to probe the constitutionality of the deal he dubbed the "Cornhusker Kickback." Republican U.S. Sens. Lind- sey Graham and Jim DeMint asked McMaster to look at the bill amended to win Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's support. McMaster and several of the leaders supporting his effort are running for governor in their states. Somali arrested in Nov with chemicals MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — U.S. officials are inves- tigating a Somali man's alleged attempt to board a flight last month carrying chemicals, liq- uid and a syringe in a case bear- ing chilling echoes of the plot to blow up a Detroit-bound airlin- er on Christmas Day. Terrorism analysts said the arrest in Mogadishu, the Soma- li capital, could prove highly valuable for the Detroit investi- gation if the incidents turn out to be linked. The Somali was arrested by African Union peacekeeping troops Nov. 13 before boarding the Daallo Airlines plane bound for the northern Somali city of Hargeisa, then Djibouti and Dubai. "We don't know whether he's linked with al-Qaida or other foreign organizations, but his actions were the acts of a terror- ist. We caught him red-handed," said a Somali police spokesman, Abdulahi Hassan Barise. A Nairobi-based diplomat said the incident has similarities to the attempted attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in that the Somali was said to have a syringe, liquid and pow- dered chemicals — tools simi- lar to those used by the Niger- ian suspect on the Detroit- bound plane. The diplomat spoke on condition he not be identified because he wasn't authorized to release the infor- mation. Americans say good riddance to 2009, hope 2010 is better WASHINGTON (AP) — For all their differences, Americans largely agree on two things: 2009 was a lousy year for the nation, and 2010 is likely to be better. Nearly three-fourths of Americans think 2009 was a bad year for the country, which was rocked by job losses, home foreclosures and economic sickness. Forty-two percent rated it "very bad," according to the latest AP-GfK poll. That's clearly worse than in 2006, the last time a similar poll was taken. The survey that year found that 58 percent of Ameri- cans felt the nation had suffered a bad year, and 39 percent con- sidered it a good year. Fewer than half as many people, 16 percent, said their family had a "very good year" in 2009 as said that in 2006. Behind the gloominess, how- ever, are more hopeful views that seem to reflect Americans' traditional optimism or, per- haps, wishful thinking. Even though most said it was a bad year for the country, three in five Americans said their own family had a good year in 2009, while about two in five called it a bad year. After more than 2 years in Iraq captivity, Briton to go home BAGHDAD (AP) — A British contractor was freed Wednesday and in good health more than two years after he was abducted, apparently the only survivor of a group of five Britons abducted in a daring raid outside Iraq's Finance Min- istry in 2007. His release came as a bomb- ing in the country's western Anbar province killed 23 peo- ple and narrowly missed the province's governor. The high- profile attack in what used to be a stronghold of the insurgency was a sign of the tenuousness of the security in Iraq. Computer consultant Peter Moore, who was handed over to Iraqi authorities Wednesday morning, was abducted in May 2007 along with his four British bodyguards. All the bodyguards are believed dead. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Moore, 36, was in good health at the British Embassy in Baghdad and would soon return to Britain. He said no concessions had been made to the hostage-takers and that Moore's release was the result of the reconciliation process between Iraq's government and armed groups willing to renounce violence. Moore's release, however, coincided with the transfer of the head of the militant group behind the kidnapping, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous, from U.S. to Iraqi custody. Government gives GMAC $3.8B in new aid WASHINGTON (AP) — The government on Wednesday provided a fresh $3.8 billion cash infusion to stabilize GMAC Financial Services as the financing company strug- gles with hefty losses in its home mortgage unit. The Treasury Department said the new aid, which comes from a taxpayer-financed bailout fund, is less than the roughly $6 billion the govern- ment had earlier thought GMAC would need to stabilize the company. The fresh infusion is on top of $12.5 billion in taxpayer money Detroit-based GMAC has already received from the government. The new agree- ment will boost the federal gov- ernment's ownership in GMAC to 56 percent, from 35 percent. Even with the government upping its stake, Treasury offi- cials said the government intends to stick to its policy of leaving day-to-day business decisions about financing to GMAC management. Still, with the additional stake, the govern- ment will have the right to appoint two additional directors to the company's board, Trea- sury officials said. GMAC will continue to be subject to executive pay restric- tions imposed by the govern- ment's pay czar. Shoring up GMAC has been a major component of the Obama administration's mas- sive effort to rescue ailing automakers General Motors and Chrysler, which both operate in Ohio. The lender provides criti- cal wholesale financing to thou- sands of GM and Chrysler auto dealers, allowing them to stock their showroom floors with vehicles. Russia mulls spacecraft to knock asteroid off its path MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's space agency chief said Wednes- day a spacecraft may be dis- patched to knock a large asteroid off course and reduce the chances of earth impact, even though U.S. scientists say such a scenario is unlikely. Anatoly Perminov told Golos Rossii radio the space agency would hold a meeting soon to assess a mission to Apophis. He said his agency might eventually invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project. When the 270-meter (885- foot) asteroid was first discovered in 2004, astronomers estimated its chances of smashing into Earth in its first flyby, in 2029, at 1-in-37. Further studies have ruled out the possibility of an impact in 2029, when the asteroid is expect- ed to come no closer than 18,300 miles (29,450 kilometers) from Earth's surface, but they indicated a small possibility of a hit on sub- sequent encounters. NASA had put the chances that Apophis could hit Earth in 2036 as 1-in-45,000. In October, after researchers recalculated the aster- oid's path, the agency changed its estimate to 1-in-250,000. Charlie, Brooke Sheen want to reconcile DENVER (AP) — Actor Charlie Sheen and his wife Brooke want to reconcile, their lawyers said Wednesday, even though she told police he put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her less than a week ago. "They're very much in love. They want to try to work it out and want to have the best shot at doing that," Brooke Sheen's attorney, Yale Galanter, told The Associat- ed Press. Charlie Sheen's attorney, Richard Cummins, confirmed his client wants to reconcile. Cum- mins said he is asking a judge to modify a restraining order that prevents the couple from having contact. The couple's desire to reconcile was first reported by TMZ.com. Charlie Sheen, 44, was arrested on Christmas Day in Aspen, where the couple was on vacation. Brooke Sheen, 32, told police he threatened her during an argument that started when she said she wanted a divorce. Bologna, PBJ turn jailhouse menu bland MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — Taking a bite out of crime has never been so bland at a south- east Michigan jail. Failing freezers have forced Macomb County Jail inmates to forgo warm meals in favor of an endless stream of bologna and peanut butter and jelly sandwich- es. Sheriff's officials said Wednes- day that mold was spotted last month in the jail's 50-year-old freezers. But with no money for replacements, the sandwich diets may continue through early next year. The Detroit Free Press reports that county officials warned com- missioners as early as 2005 that the freezers needed to be replaced. Officials next month plan to ask commissioners for emergency funds to buy new refrigerators. Nebraska troops find wrapped pot in SUV SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska trooper found an unexpected holiday present at the end of a police chase. The Nebraska State Patrol says the trooper found 7 pounds of gift- wrapped marijuana inside an SUV that ran off the road during a chase in Morrill County. The patrols says the trooper tried to stop the SUV for failure to signal on Tuesday. After a short pursuit, the SUV turned into a cornfield. The patrol says the driver fled on foot but was captured a short time later. A passenger, who was pregnant, remained in the SUV and was arrested. The patrol says the two face charges of possession of marijua- na with intent to deliver. The dri- ver may also face additional charges stemming from the chase. Court rules US can keep secrets in surveillance NEW YORK (AP) — A fed- eral appeals court in New York says law professors and attor- neys cannot learn whether a government anti-terrorism pro- gram eavesdropped on their conversations. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Wednesday supported the findings of a lower court judge in Manhattan who also rejected the attempt to uncloak the warrantless elec- tronic surveillance system's tar- gets. The National Security Agency and the Department of Justice had refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request by the plaintiffs, some of whom represented Guantanamo Bay detainees. The government had refused to confirm or deny the existence of any records obtained under the Terrorist Surveillance Pro- gram, authorized after the Sept. 11 attacks. WORLD BRIEFING