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Nation and World

 
Norwegian-Somali identified as gunman in Kenya mall attack

Almost one month after gunmen attacked an upscale mall in Kenya, one of them has been identified as a Norwegian-Somali, officials said Friday, as charred body parts taken from a collapsed portion of the shopping center awaited forensics analysis to determine if they were the remains of the assailants.

New charges brought against 4 former Blackwater contractors

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday brought fresh charges against four former Blackwater Worldwide security contractors, resurrecting an internationally charged case over a deadly 2007 shooting on the streets of Baghdad.

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Bloody Halloween house display too realistic for some

One man lies on his stomach on the driveway. Blood is splattered along the garage door that smashed his head and presumably killed him. Another man lies a few feet away, run over by a truck.

Teen girls stopped with fetus in bag in NY Victoria’s Secret

A security guard on the lookout for shoplifters searched two teenage girls as they left a Manhattan lingerie shop Thursday afternoon, and discovered one of them was carrying what appeared to be a fetus in her bag, police said.

Two convicted killers released in Florida with forged documents

The guards at Franklin Correctional Institution put one man on a bus and opened the gates for another to ride away with family. Authorities now say prison officials were duped by the court documents, which included a fake motion from a prosecutor and a judge’s forged signature.

1.8M-year-old skull gives glimpse of human evolution

The discovery of a 1.8-million-year-old skull of a human ancestor buried under a medieval Georgian village provides a vivid picture of early evolution and indicates our family tree may have fewer branches than some believe, scientists say.

 
Parks open, workers return to offices after 16-day shutdown

From the Liberty Bell to Alcatraz, federal landmarks and offices reopened Thursday. Furloughed employees were relieved to get back to work — even if faced with email backlogs — but many worried about another such disruption in a matter of months.

Rare whale found dead with shark bites in California

A rare whale that has a dolphin-shaped head and saber-like teeth has been found dead on Los Angeles’ Venice Beach, even though it prefers frigid subarctic waters.

 
Review: Windows 8.1 improves, but it’s far from perfect

I doubt I was alone in rolling my eyes when I first used Windows 8 a year ago. I found its touch controls and gestures awkward, and I was troubled by how little its primary, tile-based interface could do on its own.

And the Abominable Snowman is…? A polar bear

A British scientist says he may have solved the mystery of the Abominable Snowman — the elusive ape-like creature of the Himalayas. He thinks it’s a bear.

Florida man’s Halloween display takes dangerous turn

A Florida man suffered second-degree burns over roughly half his body after accidentally setting himself on fire while lighting a Halloween display.