8 killed in car bomb attack

A car bomb killed eight people and wounded two members of parliament in Somalia's capital on Wednesday, officials said. The bomb was in a car parked near a hotel in Mogadishu, police commander Ahmed Hassan Maalin said. Along with the eight people who were killed, 11 were seriously injured, Somali parliamentarian Mohamud Abdullahi Wehelie said.The Somali militant group al-Shabab said it was responsible for the attack in a Twitter message, saying the target was a restaurant frequented by senior government officials, members of parliament and intelligence personnel. African Union troops supporting the weak United Nations-backed government have largely pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu, but the militants continue to carry out roadside and suicide bombings in the capital. Somalia has not had a functioning central government for more than 21 years. Sentencing in Missouri Killer teen: 'I really am extremely, very sorry' A Missouri teenager who had described the slaying of a young neighbor girl as an "ahmazing" thrill made an emotional apology Wednesday to the girl's family and was sentenced to a potential lifetime in prison. Moments before her sentence was imposed in Jefferson City, 18-year-old Alyssa Bustamante rose and turned to face the family of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, whom she confessed to having killed in October 2009. "I really am extremely, very sorry for everything. I know words," she said, pausing to take a deep breath and struggling to compose herself, "can never be enough, and they can never adequately describe how horribly I feel for all of this." She later added: "If I could give my life to get her back, I would. I'm sorry." Elizabeth's mother, Patty Preiss, who on the first day of Bustamante's sentencing hearing called her an "evil monster," sat silently, staring forward. Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce then sentenced Bustamante to the maximum possible sentence for second-degree murder -- life in prison with the possibility of parole. Bustamante originally had been charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty last month to lesser charges. Military talks U.S., Japan closer to moving Okinawa Marines Japan and the U.S. agreed Wednesday to proceed with plans to transfer thousands of U.S. troops out of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, leaving behind the stalled discussion about closing a major U.S. Marine base there. The transfer, a key to U.S. troop restructuring in the Pacific, has been in limbo for years because it was linked to the closure and replacement of the strategically important base that Okinawans fiercely oppose. The announcement Wednesday follows high-level talks to rework a 2006 agreement for 8,000 Marines to transfer to the U.S. territory of Guam by 2014 if a replacement for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma could be built elsewhere on Okinawa. That agreement has been effectively scuttled by opposition on Okinawa, where many residents say they believe the base should be closed and moved overseas or elsewhere in Japan. More than half of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan, including 18,000 Marines, are stationed on Okinawa. The two governments said in a joint statement that the transfer of thousands of U.S. Marines to Guam would not require the prior closure of Futenma, as the original pact required. Details of the realignment will be discussed further, but about 10,000 troops will remain on Okinawa, as in the original agreement. Progress on the issue is important to the U.S., which is revising its military and diplomatic posture in Asia to reflect the rising power of China and increasing tensions over territorial disputes throughout the region. Diplomatic crisis Egypt says threats to cut aid won't stop case Egypt's government won't back off its criminal investigation of American and other civil society workers even if the U.S. withdraws its financial aid, Egypt's military-appointed prime minister said Wednesday, in a case that could spell the end of one of the closest Arab alliances with the U.S. Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri's remarks were his first public comment on the brewing diplomatic crisis over Egypt's prosecution of 43 nongovernmental organization workers focused on democracy-building. At least 16 Americans, including the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, are among those facing charges of illegally receiving foreign funds. Outraged U.S. lawmakers have said they will cut Egypt's annual $1.3-billion military aid package. Death in the water Fatal shark attacks at two-decade high A new report finds that fatal shark attacks worldwide last year reach their highest level in two decades, though none of the 12 happened in the U.S. The University of Florida released its International Shark Attack File report for 2011 on Tuesday, saying the number of deaths in 2011 doubled from 2010. The U.S. and Florida saw a five-year downturn in the number of reported unprovoked attacks. A total of 75 attacks were reported worldwide. Florida led the U.S. with 11 of the nation's 29 attacks. SeaWorld battle 5 whales called slaves; judge tosses lawsuit A federal judge has dismissed an unprecedented lawsuit by an animal rights group seeking to grant constitutional protection against slavery to a group of orcas that perform at SeaWorld parks. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller issued his decision Wednesday in San Diego. SeaWorld called the lawsuit baseless. It was filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and named five whales as plaintiffs. PETA attorney Jeffrey Kerr says his organization does not plan to give up its fight to protect the orcas, but he did not specify what the next action will be.