Nation and world briefly

Nation

2-wombed woman give birth to twins

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) " A Michigan woman with two wombs has given birth to twin daughters " one from each uterus.

The Mining Journal and WLUC-TV report that Sarah Reinfelder's two healthy babies were delivered seven weeks premature Thursday by cesarean section at Marquette General Hospital in the Upper Peninsula.

The 21-year-old Sault Ste. Marie woman has a condition known as uterus didelphys, and doctors say such twin births are rare. The uteri are different sizes, with the larger twin born from the larger uterus.

Dr. Connie Hedmark and Dr. Breanna Pond first delivered Kaylin Joy, then Valerie Marie, the larger twin by one pound. Kaylin Joy weighed 3 pounds, 15 ounces.

Obama targets nation's lobbyists

WASHINGTON (AP) " President Barack Obama challenged the nation's vested interests to a legislative duel Saturday, saying he will fight to change health care, energy and education in dramatic ways that will upset the status quo.

"The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. "But I don't. I work for the American people."

He said the ambitious budget plan he presented Thursday will help millions of people, but only if Congress overcomes resistance from deep-pocket lobbies.

"I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they're gearing up for a fight," Obama said, using tough-guy language reminiscent of his predecessor, George W. Bush. "My message to them is this: So am I."

Mile-long avalanche kills snowmobilers

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) " A mile-long avalanche near the Wyoming-Idaho state line swept three snowmobilers to their deaths, authorities said Saturday.

Lincoln County officials said the three victims were among four snowmobilers caught by the snow slide Friday near Alpine Mountain in the Snake River Range. Sgt. Shane Tindall said the fourth person walked out and used his cell phone to call for help.

The survivor, 53-year-old Wade Clark of Soda Springs, Idaho, told authorities that the snowmobilers had dropped off a ridge line and into a draw when they saw the snow slab breaking away. The slide was about 100 yards wide and a mile long.

"They tried to outrun it and they didn't make it," Tindall said.

The bodies of Robert Clark, 48; Scott Smith, 45, and Bob Tiechert, 55, were recovered about 21⁄2 hours after the slide and were buried under about 3 feet of snow, he said.

River searched for car with girl, 5, inside

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) " Crews on Saturday used sonar to search the bottom of the Colorado River for a car and a 5-year-old girl that disappeared in the icy water.

The car went off the road and plunged down a 60-foot canyon and fell into the river Friday afternoon.

The driver, Evelyn M. Maestas, 60, of Mancos, Colo., and her adopted daughter, Tori, 11, were able to escape through a broken window and get out of the river, highway officials said. They told authorities they saw Maestas' granddaughter, 5-year-old Danica, still inside the Nissan as it sank.

The search was suspended at sundown Saturday. State Trooper Todd Johnson said authorities would determine how to proceed this morning.

3 killed in small plane crash

LIVINGSTON, La. (AP) " Authorities say three people died after a small plane crashed in a wooded area in southeastern Louisiana.

Perry Rushing of the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office says the Cessna 182 went down just before midnight Friday in a heavily wooded area west of Independence.

Rushing identified the pilot as 39-year-old Glen Johnson of Gautier, Miss. Also killed in the crash were 39-year-old Tabitha Dolbare of Vancleave, Miss., and her 13-year-old son, Nelson Dolbare. The cause of the crash was unknown.

World

Police arrest 7 in huge bank robbery

DUBLIN (AP) " Police recovered millions in stolen cash and interrogated seven suspected robbers Saturday, a day after a gang took a bank employee's family hostage and forced him to rob his own branch.

Police said that shortly before midnight they raided a house in the inner north Dublin district of Phibsborough and stopped a car on a highway ringing Dublin. A third of the stolen $9 million has been recovered.

Sgt. Alan Roughneen said five men and a woman were arrested in Phibsborough, and one man was arrested in the car.

On Friday, six armed, masked men stormed into the rural home of Bank of Ireland worker Shane Travers. They tied up his partner, her 5-year-old son and her mother, and told Travers they would be killed unless he cooperated.

Such hostage-taking tactics are common in Ireland's criminal underworld.

Pakistan troops defeating Taliban

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) " Pakistan has beaten the Taliban in a major stronghold close to the Afghan border, is close to victory in another and expects to pacify most of the remaining tribal areas before the end of the year, commanders said Saturday.

The upbeat assessment of conditions in the arid, mountainous regions of Bajur and Mohmand follows international criticism of Pakistan for accepting a cease-fire with militants behind a bloody campaign in Swat Valley, just next to the tribal regions.

Many analysts also fear that growing political turmoil between the government and opposition could distract attention from the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban just as Washington wants more concerted action.

The United States and independent analysts have praised the offensive in Bajur, saying it has helped stem the passage of militants from Pakistan into Afghanistan, where violence against American and NATO troops is running at its highest level since the U.S. invasion in 2001.