AP News in Brief

AP News in Brief

North Korea fires 7 ballistic missiles off eastern coast, flouting UN resolutions

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles Saturday into waters off its east coast in a show of military firepower that defied U.N. resolutions and drew global expressions of condemnation and concern.

The salvo, confirmed by the South Korean government, also appeared to be a slap at the United States as Washington moves to enforce U.N. as well as its own sanctions against the isolated regime for its May 25 nuclear test.

The launches came on July 4, which is U.S. Independence Day. The display was similar to one that took place three years ago, also while Americans celebrated the Fourth of July during another period of tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

The number of missiles was the same, though in 2006 North Korea also launched a long-range rocket that broke apart and fell into the ocean less than a minute after liftoff.

South Korea said Saturday’s missiles likely flew more than 250 miles (400 kilometers), apparently landing in waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair, woman found shot and killed in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair has been shot and killed.

Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron confirmed that police were called to a residence and found McNair and a woman shot to death inside. Aaron said authorities don’t yet know the circumstances of the shooting.

“I don’t have any answers for you now as to what’s happened, who’s responsible,” he said.

Aaron said police have tentatively identified the woman but did not release her name.

McNair played 13 seasons in the NFL and led the Titans within a yard of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl. The former third overall draft pick also played for the Baltimore Ravens before retiring after the 2007 season.

Palin keeps low-profile after surprise announcement she is stepping down as Alaska’s governor

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Where is Sarah Palin?

A day after surprising even her closest friends by announcing she would step down as Alaska governor more than a year before her term was up, the controversial hockey mom was keeping a low profile. Her spokesman, David Murrow, said Palin told him she was flying to Juneau, the state capital, for the Fourth of July weekend, but he wasn’t sure what activities she planned to attend.

The governor didn’t show up at a 50th anniversary statehood celebration. She wasn’t in the Capitol’s office. And no one answered the door at the governor’s mansion.

The only sign of Palin came on the social networking site Twitter, where she indicated she was watching the Juneau Fourth of July parade: “Lots of celebration of Independence & Alaska’s 50th Anniversary of Statehood.” But not even the parade director knew she had attended, and only a few people spotted her on the sidelines.

That left mounting questions about her plans for the future shrouded in mystery. Will she lay the groundwork for a 2012 presidential bid? Will she find a high-profile place in the private sector, maybe on the speech circuit? Will she drop out of the limelight and focus on her five children?

As US tackles health care reform, some Europeans warn against too much government control

LONDON (AP) — As President Barack Obama pushes to overhaul the American health care system, the role of government is at the heart of the debate. In Europe, free, state-run health care is a given.

The concept has been enshrined in Europe for generations. Health systems are built so inclusive that even illegal immigrants are entitled to free treatment beyond just emergency care. Europeans have some of the world’s best hospitals and have made great strides in fighting problems like obesity and heart disease.

But the system is far from perfect.

In Britain, France, Switzerland and elsewhere, public health systems have become political punching bags for opposition parties, costs have skyrocketed and in some cases, patients have needlessly suffered and died.

Obama has pointedly said he does not want to bring European-style health care to the U.S. and that he intends to introduce a government-run plan to compete with private insurance, not replace it.

Coroner: Teenage girl shot in father’s store becomes 5th slain by suspected SC serial killer

GAFFNEY, S.C. (AP) — A teenage girl shot while helping her father in their family’s small furniture and appliance store died Saturday, becoming the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer terrorizing a small South Carolina community, authorities said.

Abby Tyler, 15, died about 11:15 a.m. at a Spartanburg hospital after fighting for her life for two days, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said.

Tyler was wounded and her father was killed Thursday as they worked to close the Tyler Home Center near downtown Gaffney.

County Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigators believe the killings are linked and the search is on for a suspected male serial killer. An 83-year-old mother and her daughter were shot to death Wednesday, and a 63-year-old peach farmer was found dead at his home a week ago.

Blanton said all the victims were shot, but he would not say how the deaths were linked. The shootings all occurred within about 10 miles of each other in Cherokee County, a rural community of 54,000 people set amid peach orchards and farms some 50 miles west of Charlotte, N.C.

Obama sets out to reshape US relations in Russia, meet the Pope, make a mark in Africa

WASHINGTON (AP) — Determined to change the way the world views the United States, Barack Obama is onto his next foreign mission: rebuilding relations with Russia, proving to global leaders that America is serious about climate change, and outlining his vision for Africa, his father’s birthplace.

And when in Rome? Obama will go to the Vatican to see Pope Benedict XVI for their first meeting.

Obama’s weeklong trip — he leaves Sunday night for Moscow — typifies the pace of his first-year agenda.

Capitalizing on his popularity and his party’s hold on power in Washington, Obama is moving quickly and broadly on foreign policy. That often means overturning George W. Bush’s policies or mending relations that Obama contends went adrift under his Republican predecessor.

Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to public on Fourth of July, after almost 8 years

NEW YORK (AP) — The first visitors allowed into the Statue of Liberty’s crown in nearly eight years made the arduous climb Saturday on an Independence Day journey laden with symbolism of freedom, national pride — and for one couple, romance.

Aaron Weisinger, 26, got down on one knee on the crown’s small floor, pulled out a diamond ring and proposed to his girlfriend, Erica Breder. Stunned, Breder squeezed her eyes shut as tears rolled down her cheeks, and whispered an immediate yes.

“To propose in the crown was perfect,” 25-year-old Breder said later.

Cheering the Walnut Creek, Calif., couple, fellow visitors also felt the gravity of the occasion.

“I feel the Statue of Liberty represents global unity, a sign that our world must unify,” said Barbara McLean, 57, of Atlanta. After ascending the total of 354 steps to the statue’s crown, she sang “America the Beautiful” — her deep voice resonating off the low, rounded ceiling of the crown’s interior — before fellow visitors broke into a hefty applause.

For richer or poorer, more daters seek partners as downturn wears on

CHICAGO (AP) — Credit the recession for staycations and bringing us more game-night parties at home. But also give it a shout for spurring more first dates.

Economic woes, it seems, unleash something practically primal in many of us who find ourselves without a partner: a hard-wired desire for companionship.

Some singles are now hunting for dates with the same fervor others are showing hunting for jobs. On matchmaking Web site eHarmony.com, membership is up 20 percent despite monthly fees of up to $60, and activity has soared 50 percent since September at OkCupid.com.

It’s not just the frequency of our dates that’s changing — it’s also the people we’re choosing to spend time with.

Several networks plan to cover Michael Jackson memorial service live from Staples Center

NEW YORK (AP) — The memorial for Michael Jackson may be a tough ticket live, but it shouldn’t be hard to find it on television.

ABC, CNN, MSNBC and E! Entertainment are among the networks that have already announced plans to offer live coverage of the Tuesday memorial, set for 10 a.m. PDT in Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

ABC is sending anchor Charles Gibson to Los Angeles for the story, setting aside its typical daytime programming. CBS anchor Katie Couric will also be at the Staples Center, although the network has not yet said whether it was offering live coverage of the memorial.

NBC is not planning live coverage, but will wrap up highlights in a one-hour prime-time special Tuesday night.

CNN has seen its ratings soar with the Jackson story, and it will show the memorial on the main network and HLN (formerly Headline News). CNN International will air the ceremony to the rest of the world. Anderson Cooper, Larry King and Don Lemon are the anchors for CNN coverage. Robin Meade, A.J. Hammer and Jane Velez-Mitchell will anchor at HLN. CNN en Espanol will also cover it.

Sister Slam: Serena beats Venus in all-Williams final for 3rd Wimbledon, 11th major title

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Serena Williams kept telling herself she was facing just another foe in the Wimbledon final Saturday, just another woman who hits the ball quite hard, just another player trying to deny her a Grand Slam title.

She wasn’t facing just anyone, of course. She was playing her older sister Venus. And when the latest all-Williams final finished, when Serena wrapped up a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory for a third Wimbledon championship and 11th major title overall, she jogged to the net with her arm extended for a handshake.

Venus pulled her close for a warm embrace, instead.

“I didn’t think about Venus at all today. I just saw her as an opponent,” said Serena, who also beat her sister in the 2002 and 2003 finals at the All England Club. “At one point, after the first set, I looked on the side of the court at the stats, and it was like ‘Williams,’ ‘Williams.’ I couldn’t figure out which was which.”

That also might have been because she was facing the only other woman who can equal her power and court coverage on grass courts. Monday’s rankings will say Serena is No. 2, and Venus No. 3 — behind No. 1 Dinara Safina, a 6-1, 6-0 loser to the elder Williams in the semifinals — but it is clear who the best woman in the world is at the moment.