Iraqi authorities say
Kurdish forces have
taken over 2 oil fields
near northern city of Kirkuk
BAGHDAD — Kurdish security forces took over two major oil fields outside the disputed northern city of Kirkuk before dawn Friday and said they would use some of the production for domestic purposes, further widening a split with the central government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The takeover of the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oil fields were the latest land grabs by Kurds, who have responded to the Sunni militant insurgency that has overrun large parts of Iraq by seizing territory of their own, effectively expanding the Kurdish autonomous zone in the north. Those moves have infuriated al-Maliki’s government while stoking independence sentiment among the Kurds.
Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga pushed into the city of Kirkuk, a major hub for the oil industry in the north, and the surrounding area weeks ago in the early days of the Sunni militant blitz. But until now they had not moved into the oil fields in the area. On Friday, however, the fighters took over the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk fields and expelled local workers, the Oil Ministry in Baghdad said.
Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad denounced the move as “a violation to the constitution” and warned that it poses “a threat to national unity.”
The Kurdish Regional Government said its forces moved to secure the fields after learning of what it said were orders by officials in the Oil Ministry to sabotage a pipeline linking oil facilities in the area. It said production would continue, and that staff can return but will operate under Kurdish management.
Cancer patients, families
urge FDA to block fibroid removal technique that
can spread cancer
WASHINGTON — Federal health advisers say there is little to no evidence that a popular technique for removing fibroids can be performed without the risk of spreading undetected cancers to other parts of the body.
The panel of Food and Drug Administration experts also said Friday that women who do undergo the procedure should sign a written consent form stating they understand the serious risks of laparoscopic power morcellation, in which electronic tools are used to grind tissue and remove it through a small incision in the abdomen.
Surgeons developed the technique as an alternative to traditional surgery, which requires a larger incision that often results in more bleeding and longer hospital stays. But the FDA convened a two-day meeting this week after concluding that the risk of accidentally spreading undetected cancer to other organs may be far more common than previously thought.
Suspect in fatal shooting
of Houston-area family collapses twice in court
HOUSTON — A man accused of killing six members of his ex-wife’s family, including four children, after forcing his way into their suburban Houston home collapsed in court twice Friday as a prosecutor read out details of the crime.
A shackled Ronald Lee Haskell was standing before a state district judge during a probable cause hearing when he fell to the ground. Deputies lifted him to his feet and the 33-year-old Haskell stood for about another minute before collapsing again.
He was then lifted into a chair and wheeled from the courtroom.
“His face, he obviously lost blood in his face, and his knees buckled,” said Haskell’s attorney, Doug Durham. “He’s scared. I think he has a limited mental capacity of what’s going on.”
Before the collapses, Haskell had acknowledged with a quiet “Yes” a couple of questions put to him by State District Judge Mark Kent Ellis about his legal rights. Ellis ordered Haskell held without bond.
Meteorologists to the Midwest: Relax, next
week’s cool weather not caused by polar vortex
CHICAGO — Unseasonably cool weather will arrive next week in the Midwest and as far south as Arkansas and Oklahoma.
It is not, however, the second coming of a polar vortex, a phrase the National Weather Service’s Chicago office tweeted earlier this week to describe the upcoming sweater weather. The office quickly learned that wasn’t such a good idea, said Amy Seeley, a weather service meteorologist who spent a good chunk of Friday morning fielding a flood of telephone calls from the media.
“I think people are pretty sensitive to those words,” she said.
By wire sources
