ANTARCTICA
Passengers to be rescued from trapped ship
Passengers on board a research ship that has been trapped in Antarctic ice for more than a week are expected to be rescued by helicopter today after three icebreakers failed to reach the paralyzed vessel, officials said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre, which is handling the operation, said early today that weather conditions had improved in the area since Wednesday and rescue flights were likely to commence shortly.
COLORADO
Parents forgive daughter’s killer
The father of a 17-year-old girl who was fatally shot at her suburban Denver high school said Wednesday that he and his wife have forgiven the killer, and he asked others to do the same. Michael Davis said at a memorial service for his daughter Claire that the killer was blinded by anger and didn’t know what he was doing. “My wife and I forgive Karl Pierson for what he did,” Davis said. “We would ask all of you here and all of you watching to forgive Karl Pierson. He didn’t know what he was doing.”
NORTHEAST
Region braces for winter storm
Residents and emergency management officials in New England and parts of New York prepared on Wednesday for a winter storm predicted to help usher in 2014 with snow and frigid temperatures across much of the region. Snow was expected to begin falling overnight, promising a messy commute for the first business day of the new year, but the full storm wasn’t expected to hit until later today. As much as a foot of snow or more was forecast for some areas overnight today into Friday, and temperatures were expected to plummet.
CALIFORNIA
Schiavo foundation aids girl’s family
A foundation started by Terri Schiavo’s family says it has been working with relatives of a 13-year-old California girl declared brain dead after tonsil surgery to get her transferred to a long-term care facility. Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network says it has been working behind the scenes to help get Jahi McMath moved to a care facility. Schiavo, who suffered brain damage after a heart attack, was at the center of a right-to-die struggle that ended in 2005 when her husband removed her feeding tube over objections from her parents.
ISRAEL
Sharon’s condition deteriorates
The medical condition of the comatose former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sharply deteriorated Wednesday, the hospital treating him said. Sharon, 85, has been in a coma since 2006 when a devastating stroke incapacitated him at the height of his political power. His family has said that he sometimes opens his eyes and moves his fingers. Israeli media reported that Sharon was suffering from kidney problems and that his family was at the hospital.\
SOMALIA
Car bombs in capital kill six
Two car bombs exploded on Wednesday night outside a hotel in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu that often is used by foreigners and government officials, killing at least six people and wounding eight, police said. The explosions occurred one day after al-Qaida-linked Islamic rebels had warned Mogadishu to brace for an attack. Gen. Abdihakim Saed, Somalia’s police chief, said two men who appeared to be suicide bombers also died when they tried to force their way into the Jazeera Hotel as the cars exploded, and security forces shot and killed them.
SYRIA
10 wounded in cross-border bombing
Syrian warplanes bombed on Wednesday a barren range of Lebanese hills used by Syrian rebels and refugees to cross between the two countries, wounding at least 10 Syrians who were rushed to hospital in a nearby Lebanese town, Beirut’s state-run National News Agency said. Cross-border strikes have been particularly intense this week around the town of Arsal, where thousands of Syrians have fled to escape their country’s civil war over the past months.
PAKISTAN
Musharraf fails to show for court
Former Pakistani president and army chief Pervez Musharraf failed to appear in court Wednesday for the second hearing in his high-profile treason case after authorities said they found an explosive device near his home. His lawyers, citing the bomb scare, said it was too dangerous for Musharraf to appear in court. It was the third time since the high treason proceedings began that explosives have been found along the path the former strongman is supposed to take to court.
CAYMAN ISLANDS
Missing passenger may have fallen from ship
Police in the Cayman Islands said Wednesday that they suspect a Canadian cruise ship passenger who recently vanished may have fallen off the boat as search crews scoured waters around the British Caribbean territory. Police said they believe the unidentified 65-year-old man may have fallen around dawn on Tuesday about 13 miles northwest of Grand Cayman.
NEW JERSEY
Man dies during new year celebration
A car plunged into the water near a park overlooking the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Wednesday, killing a man out celebrating the new year. The crash was reported at about 3:30 a.m. at the Morris Canal in Jersey City near Liberty State Park. The New York Police Department’s dive team found the body of 22-year-old Mark Pych, a recent Rutgers-Newark graduate, a short time later. His family said he had planned to meet his friends at a nearby restaurant.
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