S. Calif. fire forces evacuation of 200 homes

A wildfire burns on the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains above Monrovia, Calif., on Saturday, April 20, 2013. The view of the blaze slowed traffic to a crawl on Interstate 210 northeast of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Antczak)

MONROVIA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities lifted evacuation orders for some residents Saturday night as firefighters made advances on abrush fire in foothills east of Los Angeles, officials said.

About 200 homes were forced to evacuate earlier in the day after the blaze erupted in the San Gabriel Mountains, authorities said.

The fire was sparked by equipment used by a gardener working the backyard, said Jennifer McLain, a city spokeswoman. Flames spread to the hillside behind the residence, scorching about 175 acres and sending a huge smoke cloud that could be seen across theSan Gabriel Valley.

The fire did not threaten homes, but authorities ordered evacuations as a precaution. They began lifting evacuation orders late Saturday after firefighters contained 50 percent of the blaze, and winds subsided.

Full containment was expected Sunday.

Fire Chief Chris Donovan said dry, thick brush on steep terrain made the fire difficult to contain.

More than 200 firefighters, aided by water-dropping helicopters and an air tanker, were battling the blaze.

One firefighter suffered a heat-related injury.

As the Monrovia fire burned, a four-acre brush fire ignited across town near Interstate 405, forcing the closure of southbound lanes for at least an hour and causing traffic to back up for miles. That fire has been contained.

Egypt's Morsi to reshuffle Cabinet amid turmoil

An Egyptian man throws a stone during clashes between rival groups of protesters in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, April 19, 2013. Several hundred supporters and opponents of Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi clashed near Cairo's Tahrir Square amid a rally calling on Morsi to "cleanse the judiciary." (AP Photo/Mostafa Darwish)

A wounded protester is carried in Tahrir Square after being injured in fighting between pro and anti-Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, April 19, 2013. Clashes erupted Friday between several hundred opponents and supporters of Egypt’s Islamist president during a rally by his allies calling on him to “cleanse the judiciary” of alleged supporters of the old regime. (AP Photo/Mostafa Elshemy)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi defended his handling of some of the nation's most pressing problems in a nearly two-hour television interview on Saturday, and pledged to appoint new Cabinet ministers in a move that could ease the country's deep political polarization.

Reshuffling the Cabinet has been a key demand of the nation's largely liberal and secular opposition, which is at odds with Morsi's Islamist backers over a myriad of issues that have surfaced since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

In the interview with Al-Jazeera, Morsi said the Cabinet changes would involve a number of key ministries, although he did not say how many. He also did not give a timeline or say which ministries would be affected.

It would be the second reshuffle since Morsi took office in July. The last ministerial shake-up in January led to the appointment of a new interior minister to oversee the police force. Rights groups allege that since Mohammed Ibrahim took the post, police have used excessive force, killing dozens of people nationwide in protests against Morsi.

There is no guarantee that a reshuffle of Cabinet posts would help bridge the deepening divide between Morsi's opponents and supporters, but it could help the country build political consensus around painful austerity measures needed to secure a nearly $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

"I do these changes based on what is best for the people," Morsi said. "The aim is to fulfill what is best."

The interview aired a day after violent street clashes erupted over whether the judiciary was being allowed to act independently. It also fell on the same day that an Egyptian court ordered the release of deposed President Mubarak pending further investigation into corruption charges. He will continue to be imprisoned on two other corruption cases.

Friday's violence erupted after the president's Muslim Brotherhood backers took to the streets to call for a "cleansing" of the judiciary and for loyalists of the former regime to be purged from state institutions. Egypt's secular-minded and liberal opposition rejected their call. They deemed it a cover for upcoming measures by Morsi and the country's temporary parliament to liquidate the judiciary and infuse their own members as a means to monopolize the judicial branch.

Morsi sought to allay those fears, telling Al-Jazeera that he was among those imprisoned under Mubarak for speaking out in favor of an independent judiciary away from presidential control.

"I hear the words purging the judiciary in the framework of people's worries," he said. "This worry is from people who see recent verdicts that do not live up to their expectations."

"The acquittals of former regime figures worries people," he said. "We can appreciate this worry."

The judiciary has been a significant battleground in the political unrest that has swept Egypt. It is the sole branch of government not dominated by Morsi's Islamist allies.

On his relationship with the Brotherhood, Morsi acknowledged he once headed the group's political party and was their candidate for president.

"But the president who was elected for Egypt is the president of all Egyptians," he said, denying that the Brotherhood was running his administration from behind the scenes.

He said his administration and the opposition agree on the country's goals, but differ on the way to achieve them.

He also deflected reports that there was a rift between him and the country's powerful military, from which the past four presidents have hailed. Morsi is the first civilian and first Islamist president to be elected in the country's first free presidential race.

He said that the presidency and the army are "on the same side."

Morsi needs the military and police to help secure the country amid protests against his rule. He reported there were around 1,200 protests in February and March alone, but insisted this did not reflect waning popularity for his rule.

"Egyptians are very wise and able to know who works for them and who works against them," he said.

Morsi said he believes his popularity is growing by the day, although his opponents, including liberals, socialists and ultraconservative Islamists, contend the government is not being transparent about economic measures that could further hurt Egypt's poor. The IMF loan is linked to economic reforms.

A team from IMF left Egypt this week without broad backing from Morsi's opponents to the terms of the loan, which they said have not been made public.

The loan is seen as critical to boosting investor confidence in Egypt and freeing up around $15 billion in other international aid and investments the country desperately needs. Foreign reserves, needed to pay for vital subsidies that millions rely on for survival, stand at $13.4 billion, less than two-thirds what they were prior to the uprising.

Morsi said he will not accept conditions attached to any loan and said Egypt was not to blame for talks about the loan that have dragged on for more than a year. He said his government was acting transparently.

"There is continuous dialogue about what is best for Egyptians in the future so that we do not enter a phase that imposes price hikes and other things," he said.

Senior IMF officials say Egypt needs to restore confidence in its economy and foster political stability. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said recently that "there is clearly more work to be done" regarding discussions over the loan for Egypt.

Local media have sharply criticized Morsi for his handling of the country in the 10 months he has been in office.

A number of complaints filed by Islamists and Brotherhood lawyers against media personalities have further outraged rights advocates.

Morsi said he supports freedom of the press. He said that since last year, dozens of TV stations and newspapers have been given licenses to work. He also noted that he had issued a law that bans journalists from being imprisoned for media-related charges until court verdicts are handed down.

One of the most talked about issues in the local press has been Qatar's $5 billion support package to Morsi's government and how the oil-rich Gulf state has made bids for numerous acquisitions in Egypt. There is also concern that the Palestinian Hamas group — an offshoot of the Brotherhood that runs the Gaza Strip — is strengthening its position in northern Sinai where Islamic militant attacks on the military and police are frequent.

Morsi, however, insisted he will not allow foreign meddling.

He has also been sharply criticized for turning to Iran to promote tourism in Egypt. Ultraconservative Sunni hard-liners have protested improving ties with the Shiite nation, particularly as it continues to support the Syrian regime against a largely Sunni Muslim opposition.

Asked if his efforts to bolster Egypt's relationship with Iran was being done to spite countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their past support of Mubarak, Morsi said he was simply working in the interest of Egyptians, and added that he supports having Iran play a role in solving the Syrian crisis.

In the wide-ranging interview, Morsi also commented on his government's relationship with the United States.

Asked why there has not yet been a bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama, Morsi said only that Egypt's relationship with Washington was "good and continuous" and built on mutual interest.

On Israel, he reiterated his respect of Egypt's peace treaty with the Israelis, and said they were working as neighbors on border security.

Turning to unrest in his own country, Morsi played down frequent clashes between Muslims and Christians, including one that led to a recent assault on a main Coptic cathedral in Cairo. He refused to characterize the clashes as sectarian violence.

US doubles aid to Syrian rebels, who want more

ISTANBUL (AP) — The United States said Sunday that it will double its non-lethal assistance to Syria's opposition as the rebels' top supporters vowed to enhance and expand their backing of the two-year battle to oust President Bashar Assad's regime.

Yet the pledge fell far short of what the opposition had made clear it wanted: weapons and direct military intervention to stop the violence that has killed more than 70,000 people. The Syrian National Coalition had sought drone strikes on sites from which the regime has fired missiles, the imposition of no-fly zones and protected humanitarian corridors to ensure the safety of civilians.

Instead, the Obama administration's pledged to provide an additional $123 million in aid, which may include for the first time armored vehicles, body armor, night vision goggles and other defensive military supplies. It was the only tangible, public offer of new international support as the foreign ministers of the 11 main countries supporting the opposition met in a marathon session in Istanbul.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new package of assistance in a written statement at the conclusion of the conference that began Saturday afternoon and stretched into early Sunday.

The additional aid, which brings total non-lethal U.S. assistance to the opposition to $250 million since the fighting began, "underscores the United States' firm support for a political solution to the crisis in Syria and for the opposition's advancement of an inclusive, tolerant vision for a post-Assad Syria," he said.

Kerry said a portion of the new money would be used to follow through on President Barack Obama's recent authorization to expand direct supplies to the Free Syrian Army beyond food and medical supplies to include defensive items. Officials said the exact types of supplies would be decided in consultation with allies and the rebels' Supreme Military Council.

Kerry also announced nearly $25 million in additional food assistance for Syrians who remain inside the country as well as those who have fled to neighboring countries, bringing the total U.S. humanitarian contribution to the crisis to more than $409 million.

While pleased with the U.S. moves, the opposition appeared deeply disappointed, especially as it lost some ground in the latest clashes with Syrian troops backed by pro-government gunmen capturing at least one village in a strategic area near the Lebanese border.

"We appreciate the limited support given by the international community, but it is not sufficient," it said in a statement released at the end of the conference. "We call on the international community to be more forthcoming and unreserved to fulfill its responsibilities in extending support that is needed by the Syrian people."

Ahead of the meeting, the opposition said it wanted guns and ammunition. And, it said it wanted its friends to conduct drone strikes on Syrian territory to take out Assad's missile capabilities and renewed appeals for the creation of no-fly zones and safe corridors.

"The technical ability to take specific action to prevent the human tragedy and suffering of innocent civilians, mostly women and children, is available in the form of specific intelligence and equipment," it said. "Syrians understand that such ability is within the reach of a number of members of the Friends of Syria group, yet nothing serious has been done to put an end to such terror and criminality."

But none of those calls were specifically addressed by the foreign ministers in a joint statement of their own. Instead, they referred only to their recognition of the "need to change the balance of power on the ground." They said they would welcome additional pledges and commitments to the Free Syrian Army and delegated the rebels' Supreme Military Council to be the conduit for all military aid.

European nations are considering changes to an arms embargo that would allow weapons transfers to the Syrian opposition. But European Union action is unlikely before the current embargo is set to expire in late May.

Britain and France have been leading the calls to amend the embargo to test the strategy that merely giving its members permission to supply arms may cause Assad to rethink his calculation to hold on to power. But some in the EU, notably Germany and the Netherlands, are reluctant, believing that more weapons flowing into Syria will only increase the bloodshed and that they could fall into the hands of extremists.

In what appeared to be an attempt to soothe those fears, the opposition affirmed its commitment to an inclusive and pluralistic democracy that condemns extremism.

"Our revolution is for the entire Syrian people," opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib told reporters, standing alongside Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The opposition also pledged in its statement that any military hardware it receives will be used responsibly.

"We will guarantee that weapons will be used in accordance with the specific purpose that they were supplied for, and that these weapons will not fall in the wrong hands," it said. "These weapons and military equipment will be returned to the relevant and appropriate institutions upon the conclusion of the revolution."

Obama has said he has no plans to send weapons or give lethal aid to the rebels, despite pressure from Congress, some administration advisers and the appeals from opposition. There are no plans to change that policy, although U.S. officials say they are not opposed to other countries sending arms as long as the recipients have been properly vetted.

But since February, the U.S. has shipped food and medical supplies directly to the Free Syrian Army and Kerry's announcement marked the first time that Washington has acted on Obama's recent authorization to expand that aid.

The U.S. and its European and Arab allies are struggling to find ways to stem the escalating violence that has led to fears that chemical weapons may have been used.

The foreign ministers urged an immediate investigation by the United Nations to substantiate claims that chemical weapons had been used. "If these allegations are proven to be correct, there will be severe consequences," they said in their statement.

Flight of Boston Marathon bombing suspects ended in mayhem

By Jonathan Allen

(Reuters) - As a massive manhunt geared up for the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing on Thursday evening, the brothers wanted in the attack decided to take their chances by venturing into the streets near their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Before the night was out, one of the young men was dead, crushed beneath his own hijacked getaway car, while the other cowered in a boat, bleeding heavily, as police closed in.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and his brother Dzhokhar, 19, broke their cover hours after authorities released photographs of the suspects. It is unclear why they decided to remain in the area so long after Monday's attack.

The evening began to unravel when the brothers encountered Sean Collier, a 26-year-old police officer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to accounts by police and government agencies.

Collier had been responding to a call of a disturbance at the university's Cambridge campus. Whether that call was connected to the brothers is unclear. Earlier reports that the pair had robbed a nearby convenience store were later withdrawn by the authorities.

In any case, Collier's body was found in his car at about 10.30 p.m. on Thursday. He had been shot multiple times, in what Boston Police Chief Ed Davis described as an assassination-style murder.

The brothers, meanwhile, were fleeing west across Cambridge to the nearby suburb of Watertown in a hijacked car. For a time, the car's owner was an unwilling passenger and listened as the pair told him that they had bombed the marathon earlier in the week.

After about half an hour, the brothers pulled into a gas station and forced the man to withdraw cash from an ATM before leaving him behind. Apparently unknown to them, police were tracking their movements using the man's cellphone, left behind in his car. Somewhere along the way, they stole a second a car.

AT LEAST SIX BOMBS

At about 12:30 a.m. on Friday, a police officer from the suburb of Watertown found the brothers, each now in his own stolen car, on a quiet street. Almost immediately, the brothers emerged from their vehicles and began firing, Edward Deveau, the chief of Watertown police, said in an interview with CNN on Saturday.

He said other officers arrived to find themselves in the middle of a gun battle, including a transitpolice officer who would be shot in the groin. About 200 rounds were shot in five or 10 minutes.

The brothers, armed with handguns and a rifle, also lobbed explosive devices, some resembling crude grenades, according to Deveau.

Police believe they had at least six bombs, three of which exploded, Deveau said. One was a pressure cooker bomb similar to a device used in the marathon bombing, Boston police said.

Towards the end of the battle, Tamerlan began walking towards the officers, shooting as he approached. Then, a few feet from the officers, his ammunition ran out, Deveau said.

He was tackled by the officers, who attempted to handcuff him in the street. Meanwhile, Dzhokhar had gotten back into a car and raced towards the group.

"One of them yells, 'Look out!', and here comes the black SUV, the carjacked car, directly at them," Deveau said.

The officers were able to dive out of the way. Tamerlan was not. He was hit by his brother's car and dragged a short way down the street, Deveau said, leaving a streak of blood in the asphalt that was still visible on Saturday, according to residents.

Tamerlan would later be pronounced dead at a hospital, while the younger brother disappeared into the night, leaving the car abandoned and fleeing on foot.

As the manhunt dragged on through Friday, residents of the Boston area were urged to stay indoors as officers in combat gear went house to house in a cordoned-off zone of about 20 streets in Watertown.

Even as authorities were announcing that the "stay-indoors" request was being lifted at about 6 p.m., a call came in to the Watertown police that there appeared to be someone hiding in a boat stored in a backyard about half a mile from the earlier shootout.

The hiding place was just outside of the perimeter of the manhunt during the day, police said.

Officers stormed the property around 7 p.m., and once again a flurry of gunfire reverberated on the streets of Watertown. Police lobbed stun grenades in an attempt to immobilize whoever was in the boat.

But police did not immediately rush the boat once the initial gunfire subsided. They said they hoped to take the suspect alive and were concerned that Dzhokhar might be carrying additional explosives or that the boat's half-full gas tank might be ignited.

As the siege dragged on for more than an hour, a police robot moved in to lift a plastic sheeting covering the boat.

An FBI negotiator stared down at the boat from the second floor of the house, relying on a helicopter flying overhead with heat-tracking devices to confirm that someone was still moving beneath the tarpaulin.

It took the negotiator 15 or 20 minutes, but, eventually, a badly injured Dzhokhar emerged from beneath the tarpaulin, lifting his shirt as instructed to show he was unarmed.

Dzhokhar, who had lost a considerable amount of blood, was loaded into an ambulance and rushed under police escort to Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in serious condition.

(This story fixes typo in Deveau in paragraph 15 in April 20 story)

Israeli Doctors Are Treating Boston Bombing Suspect: New Details on His Condition

Boston-Beth-Israel-Deaconess-Med-Center-AP

Police stand guard outside Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterFriday, April 19, 2013 after an ambulance carrying Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a19-year-old Massachusetts college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings, arrived (AP)

As 19-year-old Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "clings to life," Israeli media revealed that two of the senior doctors treating Tsarnaev have abundant past experience treating victims of terror. That's because they're from Israel.

Dr. Kevin (Ilan) Tabb, president and CEO of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston told the Israeli website Ynetthat Tsarnaev is in stable condition but that because of wounds to his throat, he may never be able to speak again.

Tabb received his medical degree at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is also a board member of Hadassah-Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. That background gave him a unique perspective in responding to Monday's terrorist attack.

"Unfortunately, I have had a lot of experience with these types of injuries after years of treating people injured in terror attacks inIsrael," Tabb said.

Ynet reports:

He told Ynet that the Boston Marathon attack resulted in "numerous leg injuries from the blasts, and there were many amputations as well. In Israel we are used to this and here they are not, but the hospital was prepared. Most of those who were seriously injured in the attack were sent to the three main trauma centers in Boston, including ours.

"It was very similar to what I was used to in Israel in that we had to admit many injured people in a short period of time," Professor Tabb said. "The fact that we are treating both the victims and the suspected terrorist also reminds me of similar situations in Israel. In Israel we had an injured soldier and a terrorist lying on adjacent beds. When an injured person is admitted to the ER, the doctor or nurse treats him without asking questions."

"We have a few Israeli doctors in the emergency room, and the director of the ER is also Israeli. But most of the physicians at the hospital are not Israeli, and they functioned exceptionally well," Tabb added.

Dr. Daniel Talmor, the Israeli physician who heads the ER at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center tells Israel Army Radio that Tsarnaev has "serious injuries, but I believe he will live."

Police asked the medical staff not to offer further details on the specifics of the medical treatment being provided to the suspect, who Talmor says is in isolation with "very, very tight security."

He gave kudos to the staff's professionalism while treating the suspect authorities believe to be behind Monday's atrocity.

Talmor said in the interview Sunday morning, "The staff is very professional. Just like it responded professionally to the wounded on Monday, it responded professionally to [the arrival of] both of the terrorists. We admitted both of them... the main feeling of the staff is a feeling of closure that they were able to capture the terrorist and to arrest him. The people are treating him like any seriously injured patient, professionally, exactly like Israeli doctors, Israeli [hospital] staff treat all the injured who arrive."

Talmor worked in Israel during the 1990s and treated victims of Palestinian terror attacks then that killed and maimed civilians.

"The feeling is always that Israel is home, especially in days like today," he said.

"The subject of a mass terrorist act is something we practice a lot. I think one of the reasons for the good treatment the patients received on Monday is because we were already trained for a mass terrorist act at the marathon. Like in every year, tens or hundreds of people arrive who get dehydrated or faint at the marathon..." Talmor added.

This year, instead of treating those who were dehydrated, doctors at the medical center treated the seriously wounded.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk also noted the similarity of Monday's scene with Israel's experience with Palestinian suicide bombings.

While on a visit to Israel this weekend, he told Israel Channel 2, "It's strange that I'm here...and now it's happening back home."

"Israel is usually Ground Zero for terrorism" he said.

"Home grown terrorism is a very scary thing...to imagine that they are in our beds," he added,according to the Jerusalem Post.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren described the shared U.S.-Israeli experience of being in the crosshairs of terrorists:

"The people of Boston, who on the day of the bombing were celebrating liberty's birthday, will not submit. Our experience in Israel has taught us that communities and caregivers, police and security forces, elected leaders and volunteers can unite at such times and block the terrorists from achieving their objectives," Amb. Oren wrote on CNN.com.

"While taking all possible measures to prevent further loss of life, we adamantly refuse to forfeit our way of life," Oren added.