AP News in Brief at 9:58 p.m. EDT
Gunmen kill 19 in attack at museum in capital of Tunisia, birthplace of Arab Spring
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) - Foreign tourists scrambled in panic Wednesday after militants stormed a museum in Tunisia's capital and killed 19 people, "shooting at anything that moved," a witness said.
Two gunmen were slain by security forces following the deadliest attack on civilians in the North African country in 13 years, and the president said the young democracy was embroiled in a war with terror.
The militants, who wore military-style uniforms and wielded assault rifles, burst from a vehicle and began gunning down tourists climbing out of buses at the National Bardo Museum. The attackers then charged inside to take hostages before being killed in a firefight with security forces.
Authorities launched a manhunt for two or three accomplices in the attack. Prime Minister Habib Essid said the two Tunisian gunmen killed 17 tourists - five from Japan, four from Italy, two from Colombia, two from Spain, and one each from Australia, Poland and France. The nationality of one dead foreigner was not released. Essid said two Tunisian nationals also were killed by the militants.
At least 44 people were wounded, including tourists from Italy, France, Japan, South Africa, Poland, Belgium and Russia, according to Essid and doctors from Tunis' Charles Nicolle.
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Swedish police: Several people shot inside restaurant in Goteborg, some have died
STOCKHOLM (AP) - Swedish police say several people have been shot inside a restaurant in the city of Goteborg and that some of have died.
Police said in a statement that an automatic weapon is believed to have been used in the shooting late Wednesday.
They had no details on any suspects but said an investigation was under way.
Goteborg is located in southwestern Sweden and is the country's second biggest city.
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10 Things to Know for Thursday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:
1. GUNMEN KILL 19 IN ASSAULT ON MUSEUM IN TUNISIA'S CAPITAL
It's one of the worst attacks in the struggling North African democracy that depends heavily on tourism.
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Serbia arrests 8 Srebrenica massacre suspects - major step in healing war wounds
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) - Machine guns crackled and grenades exploded from dusk to dawn as the Bosnian Serb soldiers slaughtered more than 1,000 men and boys crammed into a warehouse outside Srebrenica.
But when the sun came up, a few dozen were still alive.
So the commander, nicknamed Nedjo the Butcher, called out, offering water to quench their thirst in the sweltering July heat, according to testimony from survivors and witnesses. Slowly, bloodied prisoners began to emerge from under the corpses, among them a boy clutching his grandfather's hand.
"Will they kill us too?" the boy asked.
"No," the old man whispered.
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Ex-convict arrested in Phoenix-area shootings that killed 1, wounded 5
MESA, Ariz. (AP) - A gunman killed one person and wounded five others Wednesday in a rampage that included a motel shooting, a carjacking and a home invasion and ended with his arrest at a nearby apartment in suburban Phoenix.
The suspect was taken into custody after officers spotted him on an apartment balcony and shocked him with a stun gun. Numerous officers led the handcuffed man to a truck parked outside an apartment complex.
Police later identified the man as Ryan Giroux, a 41-year-old ex-convict who has served three stints in state prison since 1994.
Giroux served prison terms totaling more than eight years for burglary, theft, attempted aggravated assault and a marijuana violation, the Arizona Department of Corrections said.
He was first incarcerated in 1994 and returned to prison in late 1995 before being released about a year later. He then returned to prison in mid-2007 before being released in late 2013.
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Prosecutors will weigh value, risk of presenting Durst documentary clips, audio to jurors
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The whispered words of Robert Durst recorded in an unguarded moment in a bathroom could come back to haunt him - or help him - as he faces a murder charge.
A possible move by prosecutors to introduce the incriminating material from a six-part documentary on his strange life and connection to three killings could backfire as interview footage did in the Michael Jackson molestation trial and the Robert Blake murder case.
In both cases, the defense was allowed under the "doctrine of completeness" to provide segments of interviews that presented their clients favorably without subjecting them to tough cross-examination.
"I submit that Blake didn't have to testify and Michael Jackson didn't have to testify because the prosecution foolishly wanted to introduce portions of their interviews," said attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., who represented both men. "They just got greedy. They were mesmerized by portions they thought could help them."
In the Jackson case, the defense used unaired footage to counter damage done by "Living With Michael Jackson," a damning documentary in which Jackson held hands with his accuser and spoke of letting children into his bed.
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Senate, House Republicans push plans aiming for balanced budget in coming decade
WASHINGTON (AP) - Making good on last fall's campaign commitments, Republicans advanced conservative budgets in both houses of Congress on Wednesday, setting up a veto struggle over the fate of the health care law and promising a whopping $5 trillion in spending cuts to erase deficits by the end of the coming decade.
The possibility of billions more for the Pentagon and an overhaul of the tax code also emerged as Republican priorities, although there were significant differences between the day-old proposal in the House and the one unveiled during the day by Senate Republicans.
Defense spending aside, Medicare was chief among them. Senate Republicans, already eying the 2016 elections, balked at a politically sensitive House plan to turn health care coverage for seniors into a voucher-like program for those who enroll beginning in 2024.
Republicans claimed a balanced-budget, no-tax-increase approach as the House Budget Committee neared an evening vote on its proposal. The Senate panel set its vote for Thursday.
By contrast, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said President Barack Obama's budget from earlier in the year raised "taxes by nearly $2 trillion, and increased the national debt by more than $7 trillion. In other words, it was more of the same old tired, failed policies of the past."
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Police: Burmese immigrant attacks neighborhood family with knife, killing 3 young brothers
NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) - A Burmese immigrant accused of stabbing three young brothers to death had scared a different neighborhood family by knocking on their door several times in the middle of the night.
"He's crazy," neighbor Ner Wah said Wednesday. "I told my wife: 'Be careful. Don't answer the door.'"
The suspect, identified as 18-year-old Eh Lar Doh Htoo, attacked a Burmese family in their home Tuesday night with a knife, killing the brothers - ages 1, 5 and 12, police said. When officers arrived, he was still holding the knife, New Bern Police Chief Toussaint Summers Jr. told The Associated Press.
Htoo also wounded the brothers' mother and their 14-year-old sister. Police said they don't know a motive for the attack and a language barrier hampered their investigation.
Htoo was charged with three counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Police said they don't know whether he has an attorney.
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Netanyahu win could alter US opposition to UN taking up issue of Palestinian state
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration signaled on Wednesday it could take a tougher stance toward Benjamin Netanyahu following his decisive Israeli election victory and campaign tack to the right, saying there will be consequences for his sudden reversal on the idea of an independent Palestinian state.
While senior American officials said the administration was still evaluating options, they suggested the U.S. could ease its staunch opposition to Palestinians turning to the UN Security Council to create a state.
"There are policy ramifications for what he said," one official said of Netanyahu's campaign rhetoric rejecting the creation of a Palestinian state. "This is a position of record."
If Netanyahu holds firm to his opposition to a two-state resolution to the Mideast conflict, it could force whoever sits in the Oval Office - now and in the next administration - to choose between the prime minister and a longstanding U.S. policy with bipartisan support.
Hours after the Israeli election results were finalized, the White House quickly reaffirmed its support for the idea of two independent nations living side by side, a central tenet of peace negotiations led by presidents from both U.S. political parties. And the White House sharply chastised Netanyahu's party for using anti-Arab rhetoric in the lead-up to the election.
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ACLU challenges Alabama abortion law that lets judges appoint lawyers for fetuses
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday asked a federal judge to block an Alabama law that allows a fetus to be represented in court when a minor is seeking judicial permission for an abortion.
While abortion opponents have rolled out a variety of new restrictions on abortion in recent years - including new requirements on clinics and doctors - ACLU staff attorney Andrew Beck said the Alabama law was unique.
"This particular law is one of a kind," Beck said.
Alabama minors must have permission from their parents or a judge to have an abortion. Alabama legislators in 2014 changed the judicial permission process to allow a judge, at his or her discretion, to appoint a guardian ad litem "for the interests of the unborn child." The law also requires that local district attorneys are notified of the hearing and can question the minor and call witnesses.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Russ Walker heard arguments on the ACLU request for a preliminary injunction blocking the law and a state request to dismiss the lawsuit. State lawyers argued the law provides options to the judge to obtain information about the minor's maturity level, while the ACLU argued the law forced teens to go through a "trial" to obtain an abortion.