Nation & World Briefy Aug. 16

Libyan rebels threaten to isolate Gadhafi stronghold

ZAWIYA, Libya (AP) - Libya's rebels threatened to isolate Tripoli by blocking key supply routes and cutting oil pipelines on Monday after a dramatic weekend advance put them in the strongest position since the 6-month-old civil war began to attack Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold.

In Washington, the Obama administration said the U.S. was encouraged by the rebel advances and hoped they had broken a monthslong stalemate with Gadhafi's forces.

"We are closing the roads for Gadhafi so there is no way for him to bring anything to Tripoli," a rebel field commander, Jumma Dardira, told The Associated Press.

The rebels' push into the strategic city of Zawiya on Saturday brought them within 30 miles of Tripoli, the closest they have ever gotten. After three days of fierce battles for the city of 200,000 on the Mediterranean coast, rebel commanders said they controlled the south and west of the city and were fighting for the refineries. Oil-rich Libya's only functioning refineries are in Zawiya.

Nuri el-Bouaisi, an oil production engineer in the city, said rebels had cut off pipelines that transport gasoline and diesel fuel to Tripoli.

AP Interview: Perry says jobs record, executive experience tops in 2012 GOP White House field

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Texas Gov. Rick Perry contended Monday he has the best economic record and executive experience in government of any Republican presidential candidate, contrasting his credentials with those of his top two rivals, Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann.

"I respect all the other candidates in the field but there is no one that can stand toe-to-toe with us," Perry told The Associated Press in an interview at the start of his first full day campaigning in the leadoff caucus state of Iowa.

Perry also offered his first policy proposal as a candidate, calling for a six-month moratorium on federal business regulations that he said were holding back job growth nationally. He brought the proposal forward just as President Barack Obama traveled to the Midwest for a bus tour and speeches on the economy.

The Texan argued that the Obama administration's Department of Labor and Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, had restrained business growth with excessive restrictions.

Taken together, Perry's comments about his own credentials and the policy proposal were an effort to establish him as the strongest Republican able to challenge Obama on the economy - and lay claim to Romney's mantle of the jobs candidate.

Bomb blasts rip through Iraq from north to south, killing 63 people; al-Qaida blamed

BAGHDAD (AP) - A relentless barrage of bombings killed 63 people Monday in the most sweeping and coordinated attack Iraq has seen in over a year, striking 17 cities from northern Sunni areas to the southern Shiite heartland.

The surprising scope and sophistication of the bloodbath suggested that al-Qaida remains resilient despite recent signs of weakness. Such attacks, infrequent as they are deadly, will likely continue long after American forces withdraw from the country.

"This is our destiny," said Eidan Mahdi, one of more than 250 Iraqis wounded Monday. Mahdi was lying in a hospital bed in the southern city of Kut. One of his eyes was closed shut with dried blood, and burns covered his hands and head.

While some Iraqis expressed resignation, others voiced fury at security officials and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"Where is the government with all these explosions across the country? Where is al-Maliki? Why doesn't he come to see?" said Ali Jumaa Ziad, a Kut shop owner. Ziad was brushing pieces of human flesh from the floor and off equipment in his shop.

Ind. honors 5 killed in stage collapse; fair reopens to large crowds

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Hundreds of mourners gathered Monday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to remember five people killed when high winds caused an outdoor stage to collapse onto an audience awaiting the start of a country music concert.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told the roughly 500 mourners that the tragedy has broken the hearts of the state's residents. He became emotional as he praised those who rushed to the stage to help the injured.

"I cannot tell you how proud I am," Daniels said, his voice cracking, "to be the employee of six and half million people like that."

Daniels said Saturday's stage collapse was especially sad because the state fair is "a family reunion of all Hoosiers," where farmers and city dwellers gather for fun.

Steven and Amanda Potaczek of the band 1,000 Generations opened the service with "Fail Us Not," a song they wrote when one of their friends died in 2008. Amanda Potaczek said the song is keeping trust in God when tragedies happen.

AP Exclusive: Food aid for starving Somalis stolen, UN agency investigating

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Sacks of grain, peanut butter snacks and other food staples meant for starving Somalis are being stolen and sold in markets, an Associated Press investigation has found, raising concerns that thieving businessmen are undermining international famine relief efforts in this nearly lawless country.

The U.N.'s World Food Program acknowledged for the first time that it has been investigating food theft in Somalia for two months. The WFP strongly condemned any diversion of "even the smallest amount of food from starving and vulnerable Somalis."

Underscoring the perilous security throughout the food distribution chain, donated food is not even safe once it has been given to the hungry in the makeshift camps popping up around the capital of Mogadishu. Families at the large, government-run Badbado camp, where several aid groups distribute food, said they were often forced to hand back aid after journalists had taken photos of them with it.

"They tell us they will keep it for us and force us to give them our food," said refugee Halima Sheikh Abdi. "We can't refuse to cooperate because if we do, they will force us out of the camp, and then you don't know what to do and eat. It's happened to many people already."

The U.N. says more than 3.2 million Somalis - nearly half the population - need food aid after a severe drought that has been complicated by Somalia's long-running war. More than 450,000 Somalis live in famine zones controlled by al-Qaida-linked militants, where aid is difficult to deliver. The U.S. says 29,000 Somali children under age 5 already have died.

Stocks rise after Google's $12.5 billion purchase highlights another round of corporate deals

NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow Jones industrial average notched a three-day win streak Monday for the first time in six weeks. A $19 billion corporate buying spree and encouraging economic news from Japan sent the Dow up 213 points and erased its losses from last week.

The return of what's called "Merger Monday" on Wall Street made investors more optimistic about the future. So did a report that Japan's economy shrank less than feared after the earthquake and tsunami there on March 11. That helped ease worries that the U.S. economy may slide into another recession.

The Dow rose 213.88 points, or 1.9 percent to 11,482.90. It has gained 763 points since Thursday. That's the best three-day point gain since it rose 927 in November 2008, during the depths of the financial crisis. The Dow is also up 7.1 percent over the three days, the biggest percentage gain since it rose 9.5 percent the first three days of the bull market in March 2009.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25.68, or 2.2 percent, to 1,204.49. The Nasdaq composite index rose 47.22, or 1.9 percent, to 2,555.20.

Markets may have stabilized the last three days, but financial analysts warned investors not to assume that stocks have fully settled down after last week's swings. The Dow rose or fell by at least 400 points in four straight days for the first time. The first downgrade of the U.S. credit rating triggered the volatility. It was worsened by concerns that Europe's debt problems are worsening and that the U.S. economy is weakening.

---

Police: La. man decapitated disabled son, told authorities he was tired of caring for the boy

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Louisiana man is accused of bludgeoning, decapitating and dismembering his disabled 7-year-old son and leaving the boy's head near the street so the child's mother would see it - a killing that brought seasoned police officers to tears, authorities said Monday.

Jeremiah Lee Wright, 30, of Thibodaux waived his right to an attorney and confessed to killing Jori Lirette within 30 minutes of being brought to the police station Sunday, Police Chief Scott Silverii said. He said Wright was booked with first-degree murder and held in lieu of $5 million bond.

He was in isolation, Silverii said during a Monday afternoon news conference. The department spokesman, Detective Ricky Ross, said he does not believe Wright has an attorney.

Flowers, balloons and stuffed animals were left Monday outside the house where Jori died.

"He was maybe the best thing that ever happened to me," his mother, Jesslyn Lirette, said at the news conference.

During 'Elvis Week,' fans remember pivotal year

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Elvis Presley fans love an anniversary.

Every year, thousands of Elvis devotees flock to Memphis to remember the singer's death on Aug. 16, 1977. The main event of "Elvis Week" is the solemn candlelight vigil at Graceland, his longtime home, at midnight Tuesday.

This year, fans have something else to commemorate. It was 55 years ago - 1956 - when the first two Elvis albums were released, launching an international music career that brought Elvis' mix of country, rhythm and blues, and gospel to millions of fans around the world.

"It's a documentation of what I think is rock music's most incredible year," said Ernst Jorgensen, a music producer and Elvis catalog expert. "Nobody was prepared for Elvis."

To mark Elvis' breakout year, Jorgensen and his team have assembled a five-CD box set called "Young Man with the Big Beat." Jorgensen will be unveiling the RCA/Legacy box set Monday at Graceland. The collection goes on sale Sept. 27.

The set includes not only the five CDs, but also an 80-page book that provides a daily chronology of Elvis' year though photos, postcards, fan letters, magazine covers and other memorabilia. The set also includes rare photos, posters and a replica concert ticket stub.