Afghanistan says death toll from Kabul bombing rises to 103
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan authorities have raised the death toll from Saturday’s suicide bombing in Kabul to 103, as hundreds of people gathered for funerals or awaited word of loved ones outside hospitals and morgues.
The attacker, driving an ambulance filled with explosives, was able to race through a security checkpoint by saying he was transferring a patient to a hospital. The explosion damaged or destroyed dozens of shops and vehicles in the heart of the city, near government buildings.
Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak provided the updated death toll on Sunday, saying another 235 people were wounded in the attack. He said police were among those killed and wounded.
He said the attackers drove two ambulances, both of which made it past the checkpoint before one of them turned around and left the area, indicating some of the attackers escaped.
The Taliban claimed the attack, which dealt a major blow to the U.S.-backed Afghan government. Afghan security forces have struggled to combat the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014.
Police, family say jealous shooter killed four at car wash
A shooter driven by jealousy opened fire and killed four people at a car wash early Sunday morning in Pennsylvania, while a woman hiding in the back of a pickup truck suffered only minor injuries, according to state police and family of the victims.
Police said Timothy Smith, 28, was on life support and not expected to survive after suffering a gunshot wound to his head during the attack at Ed’s Car Wash around 3 a.m. in Saltlick Township, a rural town about 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Police said it was possible that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
Armed with a semi-automatic rifle, a .308-caliber rifle and a handgun and wearing a body armor carrier without the ballistic panels inserted, police said Smith killed 27-year-old William Porterfield, 25-year-old Chelsie Cline, 23-year-old Courtney Snyder and 21-year-old Seth Cline.
Police would not go into details about how Smith knew the victims, but Chelsie Cline’s half-sister, Sierra Kolarik, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Smith had developed an obsession with Cline.
Cline shared a meme on her Facebook page last week that read, “After this week, I rlly (sic) need to get taken out … on a date or by a sniper either one is fine w me at this point.” A Facebook friend of hers named Tim Smith replied, “I could do both.”
GOP: Trump needs to show restraint in Russia probe
WASHINGTON — Two Republican senators said Sunday that President Donald Trump would be wise to keep a public silence on an independent investigation into his 2016 campaign’s contacts with Russia in the wake of news reports that he sought to fire the special counsel.
The senators, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine, also urged special counsel Robert Mueller to review whether Trump tried to fire him last June, an accusation the president has labeled “fake news.”
“Mueller is the best person to look at it,” said Graham, describing the allegation as grave if proved true. “I’m sure that there will be an investigation around whether or not President Trump did try to fire Mr. Mueller.”
Graham, co-sponsor of legislation that would protect Mueller from being fired without a legal basis, said he would be “glad to pass it tomorrow.” But he insisted that Mueller’s job appeared to be in no immediate danger, pointing to the political costs if Trump did remove him.
“It’s pretty clear to me that everybody in the White House knows it would be the end of President Trump’s presidency if he fired Mr. Mueller,” he said.
IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad dies at 91
STOCKHOLM — IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, who turned a small-scale mail order business started on his family’s farm into a furniture empire by letting customers piece together his simple and inexpensive furniture themselves, has died at age 91.
Kamprad died on Saturday at his home in Smaland, in southern Sweden, the chain’s Swedish unit, IKEA Sverige, said on Twitter on Sunday. He died peacefully following a short illness, it said.
“He will be much missed and warmly remembered by his family and IKEA staff all around the world,” the company said.
The IKEA Group’s president, Jesper Brodin, said Kamprad’s “legacy will be admired for many years to come and his vision to create a better everyday life for many people will continue to guide and inspire us.”
