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OBAMA Obama seeks fuller engagement with Asia

TOKYO (AP) President Barack Obama has proclaimed a new era in relations with Asia during a wide-ranging speech in Tokyo.

Obama told a crowd of 1,500 prominent Japanese that "The fortunes of America and the Asia Pacific have become more closely linked than ever before." And he said he wants every American to know that "we have a stake" in the future of the region.

The president also sent a stern message to North Korea, warning that the U.S. and its Asian partners "will not be cowed" by the North's continued defiance over its nuclear weapons and other provocations.

Obama offered an open hand to Beijing, saying a robust China should be welcomed, not feared. He said, "We welcome China's efforts to play a greater role on the world stage."


OBAMA-HUMAN RIGHTS Obama: Human rights only path to security

TOKYO (AP) President Barack Obama says the U.S. "will always stand" on the side of people who seek the guarantees of liberty and dignity.

The U.S. leader dwelt on the need for human rights throughout the Asia Pacific region in a major address in Tokyo on Saturday.

Obama told his Japanese audience that the region should look to Japan and the United States to understand that support for human rights "provides lasting security that cannot be purchased in any other way."


GUANTANAMO-US TRIAL Holder confirms that 9/11 suspect will be tried in New York

Washington (AP) He has described himself as the mastermind of 9/11 and now, he'll face trial just blocks from the World Trade Center site.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (HAH'-leed shayk moh-HAH'-med) and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees who will be brought to trial in a civilian federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Attorney General Eric Holder says five other suspects will be sent to military commissions.

Bringing such notorious suspects to U.S. soil to face trial is a key step in President Barack Obama's plan to close the terror suspect detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Obama initially planned to close the detention center by Jan. 22, but the administration is no longer expected to meet that deadline.

INDIA-TRAIN DERAILS 9 killed as speeding train derails in India

JAIPUR, India (AP) A railway official says at least nine people have been killed when a speeding train derailed while traveling through western India.

Vipin Kumar Pande, superintendent of police, says more than 80 people were injured in the derailment early Saturday near Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state.

Pande says the accident occurred when the train driver suddenly applied the brakes because of poor visibility in the region.

Accidents are common on India's sprawling rail network, one of the world's largest, with most blamed on poor maintenance.

JEFFERSON-SENTENCING Ex-congressman gets 13 years in freezer cash case

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) A former Louisiana congressman has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

The sentence handed down Friday in suburban Washington was far less than the nearly 30 years prosecutors had sought for William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans.

Agents investigating the case found $90,000 wrapped in foil and hidden in boxes of pie crusts in Jefferson's freezer.

Prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence him to at least 27 years.

Jefferson was convicted earlier this year on charges including bribery and racketeering. Prosecutors said he took in roughly $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more.

OKLAHOMA FIRE-BODIES FOUND Police name brothel worker as victim in OKC fire

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma City police say 22-year-old Brooke Phillips, who worked at a Nevada brothel that's featured on an HBO reality series, was among four people found dead in a burning house earlier this week.

Oklahoma City Police Department spokesman Sgt. Gary Knight says Phillips and another pregnant women died of gunshot wounds.

Knight says the state Medical Examiner's Office identified Phillips and 22-year-old Milagrous Barrera on Friday. A man and woman also found by firefighters fighting Monday's blaze at a house in Oklahoma City have yet to be identified.

Authorities say the fire was deliberately set and that they are treating the case as a homicide.

Phillips worked at the Moonlite BunnyRanch and appeared in HBO's "Cathouse."


FAMILY-SEX CRIMES 6th family member charged with rape

LEXINGTON, Mo. (AP) Authorities say a sixth member of a family facing child sex abuse charges in western Missouri has been arrested in Florida.

Darrel Wayne Mohler of Silver Springs, Fla., was charged Friday with two counts of rape stemming from 1986.

Marion County, Fla., jail official Kim Krause says the 72-year-old is being held at the jail Friday evening.

Five other members of the Mohler family were charged earlier this week with several felonies, including forcible sodomy, rape with a child younger than 12 and use of a child in a sexual performance.

The others charged include Darrel Mohler's 77-year-old brother and four adult nephews.

SEVERE WEATHER UPDATE: Nor'easter blows off, mess remains

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) Flooding and beach erosion are the aftermath of the nor'easter that battered the East Coast for three days before heading out to sea.

In Ocean City, N.J., an emergency official says many neighborhoods are still completely flooded because water couldn't drain between high tides. Flooding is expected to be a worry for New Jersey coastal communities through high tide Saturday morning.

Flooding has also caused problems in the Carolinas and Virginia.

In Virginia Beach, crews were working to stabilize a 570-foot barge carrying containers of chemicals in the Sandbridge area.

Sand dunes in Ocean City, Atlantic City, and several coastal communities were ruined. Plans to assess the erosion were put off because of the bad weather.

The storm is blamed for at least six deaths across three states.

PEOPLE-ZSA ZSA GABOR IRS papers say Zsa Zsa Gabor has $118,321 tax bill

LOS ANGELES (AP) Zsa Zsa Gabor's lawyer blames convicted swindler Bernard Madoff for a hefty tax bill owed by his client.

According to documents obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, the Internal Revenue Service filed a lien of more than $118,000 for the years 2001 and 2002 against the 92-year-old actress on Oct. 5 in the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds.

Gabor lawyer Chris Fields estimates that Gabor lost about $7 million in Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the tax bill is part of the fallout. Fields says third-party money managers invested Gabor's money with Madoff.

Fields says Gabor and husband Frederic von Anhalt are pulling together their resources and working out a payment plan with the IRS.

Christmas TREE CRISIS NEW: Farmers brace for lackluster Xmas season

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) As December approaches, it may be Christmas tree prices that get trimmed instead of the trees themselves, as supply outstrips demand this holiday season.

It takes 5 to 10 years before trees are large enough for the living room, and record-high prices in the early part of this decade persuaded farmers to invest in Christmas trees.

That means many of those plants are reaching maturity at a time when consumers are tight-fisted and enticed away by artificial trees.

As a result, a 7-foot-tall noble fir that sold wholesale for $25-$39 a few years ago will fetch maybe half that this Christmas season.

In Oregon, the top state for Christmas tree production, one farmer is holding out hope the industry will get a late season boost. Stan Low says he's noticed some retailers have under-ordered toys and are scrambling to get more. Low hopes "maybe the same thing will happen with Christmas trees."


(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-14-09 0045CST | save this article / add to your favorites list