WASHINGTON
Romney accepts MSNBC host’s apology
Mitt Romney said he has accepted an apology from an MSNBC host who joked about a Christmas picture that included the 2012 Republican presidential candidate’s adopted, African-American grandson. Romney told “Fox News Sunday” that he sees Melissa Harris-Perry’s apology as sincere and is ready to move on. He said everyone — himself included — makes mistakes and the Romney family has forgiven MSNBC. Harris-Perry said her intention was to celebrate diversity, but the segment took an unexpected and offensive turn.
UTAH
Gun maker turns down Pakistan deal
A Utah-based gun manufacturer turned down a $15 million deal to supply Pakistan with precision rifles, citing concerns they could eventually be used against U.S. troops. Mike Davis, sales manager at Desert Tech, said the company was on a short list for a contract with Pakistan, but spurned the opportunity because of unrest in Pakistan and ethical concerns. The company, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, was founded in 2007 on the principle of keeping America and its allies safe, he said.
PUERTO RICO
Charges filed in tourist’s killing
Authorities in Puerto Rico charged a man suspected in the slaying of a tourist from Ohio. Homicide police said in a Sunday statement that Juan Carela Acevedo was charged in the fatal stabbing of Brett Walquist, 41, of Beavercreek, Ohio. They announced his arrest on Saturday. Police said Walquist was killed on Dec. 30 when an assailant broke into a vacation apartment complex in Rincon, a western beach town that attracts surfers and divers from around the world. Walquist apparently walked in on the intruder in the kitchen and was stabbed at least three times during a struggle in the middle of the night.
COLORADO
1 killed, 2 injured in plane crash
A fiery plane crash at the Aspen airport Sunday afternoon killed one person and injured two others, one severely, Colorado authorities said. The three were the only ones aboard the plane, said Thomas Wright, a dispatcher with the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office. One of those hurt had injuries that were not serious. Ginny Dyche, a spokeswoman for Aspen Valley Hospital, said the facility admitted two patients who were involved in the crash. She said they were still being evaluated, but she declined to release any other information.
SYRIA
Rebels, al-Qaida-linked fighters clash
Syrian opposition fighters battled rival rebels from an al-Qaida-linked faction across parts of northern Syria on Sunday, as deep fissures within the insurgency erupted into some of the most serious and sustained violence between groups opposed to President Bashar Assad since the country’s conflict began. The clashes, which broke out on Friday and spread to parts of four provinces, pit an array of moderate and ultraconservative Islamist brigades against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an extremist group that has become both feared and resented in parts of opposition-held areas for trying to impose its hard-line interpretation of Islam.
ISRAEL
Migrants march to demand rights
About 10,000 African migrants marched in Israel’s financial center of Tel Aviv Sunday and gathered in front of City Hall in their largest demonstration yet to demand work rights and better treatment from the Israeli government. Over the past eight years roughly 60,000 African migrants, mostly Sudanese and Eritreans, have crossed into Israel from Egypt either to escape war and hardship or to seek work. Chanting “we are refugees, we need asylum,” the protesters asked the government to allow them to stay. Organizers announced that they have embarked on a three-day strike to protest a crackdown on migrants and called on the government to allow them to work legally.
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