UR MAG

Two soldiers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, were injured in a brown bear attack on Friday during a training session.

"The incident involved two soldiers participating in a land navigation training exercise," a news statement from the 11th Airborne Division, of which both soldiers are a part, said. "Both individuals sustained injuries and are currently receiving appropriate medical care. For privacy reasons, we are not releasing names or specific details about their conditions until next of kin has been notified."

Further details on the extent of the soldiers' injuries were not made available as the investigation is ongoing, officials said.

Both soldiers carried and deployed bear spray during the land navigation training exercise, according to the statement provided to CBS News.

It was likely a defensive attack by a bear recently emerging from a den after hibernating during the winter, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said after an investigation. Officials said they weren't able to locate a bear when scouring the remote region.

"We hope both individuals have a full and quick recovery, and our thoughts are with them during this time. ADF&G will continue investigating the circumstances that led to the attack and try to learn everything we can about what happened to increase public safety around wildlife in Alaska," Regional Supervisor Cyndi Wardlow said in a statement. "In this case, having bear spray with them in the field may have saved their lives."

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is home to more than 40,000 people, of whom more than half are active duty military members. In addition to the 11th Airborne, it is also the home of the 673d Air Base Wing and U.S. Army Alaska.

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It is not unheard of for soldiers to be attacked by bears at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. In May 2022, a soldier, identified as Staff Sgt. Seth Michael Plant, 30, was killed when he was attacked by a bear west of the Anchorage Regional Landfill,according to the base.

Bear attacks are fairly common in Alaska due to the large population. There are about 100,000 black bears and 30,000 brown bears in Alaska, according to the Department of Fish and Game.

There were 68 people hospitalized following bear attacks in the state from 2000 to 2017, according to astudyby Alaska's Section of Epidemiology. The vast majority of attacks – similar to the one on Thursday – are by brown bears, about 96%, according to the study.

There were 10 fatalities resulting from eight separate attacks over that time period, the study showed.

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Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of a “cover-up” after he doubled down on his denial that he knewPeter Mandelsonhad failed crucial security vetting – despiteThe Independentreporting concerns to No 10 seven months ago.

The “furious” prime minister insisted he only found out aboutthe vetting failurethis week and said it was “staggering” and unacceptable that he was not told sooner.

ButKemi Badenochsaid that was “preposterous” whenThe Independenthad approached Downing Street about the issue last September, when the disgraced peer was sacked from his US ambassador job.

The Tory leader said the revelation meant it was clear the prime minister had misled parliament when he claimed – three times – that due process had been followed during his appointment, and once again called for him to quit.

She told a press conference in Westminster: “The prime minister is now asking us to believe that no one in government thought to tell him or his team that Mandelson had failed vetting, that the first he heard about it was on Tuesday night. This is preposterous.”

She added: “We know that No 10 was told that Mandelson had failed his vetting because journalists told them in September last year.

“This leaves us with two possibilities: either the prime minister is lying or he is so incompetent that he is unfit to run the country. Either way, his position is untenable.”

The Independentoriginally revealed the story last year – and discussed it with Sir Keir’s then-director of communications,Tim Allan, who responded: “Vetting done by FCDO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] in normal way.”

Months later, in February, Sir Keir told the House of Commons that there were no issues with the vetting process, and on Friday, he claimed he had not been told of the failure of Lord Mandelson to pass it until this week.

ReferencingThe Independent’s story in September, Ms Badenoch said: “I did see David Maddox's image of the message which he sent to Tim Allan... one of the most senior officials in No 10.

“That is very significant. Back in September, these questions were asked. I find it very hard to believe that the director of communications did not tell anyone or even ask anybody before answering. He did not deny the claims.

“That is one of the reasons why I think that they knew more than they are pretending to know. Now, I think it is very significant that we are seeing that questions were asked and answers were denied. This is a cover-up, one way or another.”

The binding parliamentary vote, which is forcing the government to release documents about Lord Mandelson’s appointment, should also cover what happened “afterThe Independentasked those questions”, she said.

She also called for all the papers to be made public by the end of next week – including the reasons the former Labour grandee failed the vetting, and added: “I am very concerned now that a lot of documents are not being released because they will show the extent of this cover-up and just how incompetent the operation in No 10 going right up to the prime minister has been.”

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A memo released by Downing Street on Friday night appeared to back the prime minister’s assertion that FCDO officials were responsible for clearing Lord Mandelson's appointment without his knowledge, and that he was informed of this on Tuesday evening.

Its publication by the government came asThe Guardianreported two of those present at Tuesday's meeting, cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo, and cabinet office permanent secretary Catherine Little, had known since March about sensitive information linked to Lord Mandelson's vetting.

The email said: "As part of the humble address process, that file had been shared with Cat [Catherine Little]. On reviewing the file she had therefore learned that the recommendation from the vetting officer had been that DV [Developed Vetting] should not be granted to Peter Mandelson."

One Labour MP toldThe Independentit “looks like he [Starmer] might be toast”, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he believes the PM will be “gone by the summer”. He said: “Nothing the prime minister has said adds up”, adding: “He has lied to the country and needs to go.”

The Lib Dems also reported Sir Keir to his own ethics adviser for not notifying parliament of LordMandelson’s failed security vetting as soon as he became aware of it.

Insisting that he did not know before this week, Sir Keir told reporters on Friday: “That I wasn't told that Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting when he was appointed is staggering.

“That I wasn't told that he had failed security vetting when I was telling parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable. Not only was I not told, no minister was told, and I'm absolutely furious about that.

“What I intend to do is to go to parliament on Monday to set out all the relevant facts in true transparency, so parliament has the full picture."

Challenged about this publication’s reporting and that it had been made aware of the vetting issue, Downing Street said on Friday that it did not “accept that a media inquiry is equivalent”.

Asked if they would have checked after the inquiry fromThe Independent, Downing Street said: “No 10 has repeatedly, throughout this process, asked about the facts surrounding this case, Peter Mandelson, his security vetting and at no point in the process was No 10, the prime minister told that UK security vetting had recommended against him.”

Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem cabinet office spokesperson, said: “There is clearly something deeply wrong at No 10 when reports from journalists of Mandelson failing his vetting didn't even get through the door. Starmer looks frankly like a lame duck, totally out of control of his own government.”

Ms Badenoch also called for Sir Olly Robbins – the top Foreign Office official who was sacked for taking the unusual step of overriding security officials who denied Lord Mandelson’s security clearance – to give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee.

She said: “I do think that Olly Robbins should come to parliament and explain exactly what's going on. Parliament deserves the truth. The public deserve the truth.”

Sir Olly is expected to give evidence to the Commons select committee next week.

DNA analysis has identified theremains found in a carin the Columbia River as those of an Oregon family that went missing in 1958 while on a trip to find Christmas greenery, authorities said Thursday.

The state medical examiner's office has identified parents Kenneth and Barbara Martin and their daughter Barbie from remains located in the river within the wreckage of the car, the Hood River County Sheriff's Officesaid. The sheriff's office said it concluded its investigation and found no evidence of a crime.

The Ford station wagon thought to belong to the family was found in 2024 by Archer Mayo, a diver who had been looking for it for several years. Authorities pulled part of the car from the river the following year.

The family vanished in December of 1958. The bodies of two of the family's children were found months after the disappearance, but the other members never turned up.

The search for the Martin family was a national news story at the time and led some to speculate about the possibility of foul play, with a $1,000 reward offered for information.

"Where do you search if you've already searched every place logic and fragmentary clues would suggest?" an Associated Press article asked in 1959, months after the disappearance.

Only the frame and some attached components were retrieved from the water because of the "extent to which the vehicle had been encased in sediment," the sheriff's office said. Analysis of those items allowed investigators to conclude that it was indeed the Martin family's car.

Later in 2025, Mayo located human remains that were ultimately turned over to the state medical examiner's office.

Scientists developed DNA extracts from the remains and generated a profile that was compared with relatives of the Martin family, allowing for the identifications, authorities said.

Othram, a DNA lab in Texas,did forensic analysis on the remains, which ultimately led to the positive identification.

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Othram's Colby Lasyonetold CBS affiliate KOIN-TVthat more than a dozen experts worked on the case, noting they extracted a bone sample and used advanced techniques to isolate and analyze the DNA. DNA comparisons with a living relative positively identified Kenneth Martin.

"Skeletal remains that have been submerged in water for decades can be particularly challenging to work with," Lasyone said. "Unfortunately, the skeletal remains for the other individuals were too degraded and couldn't be worked with."

Mayo also found remnants of a shoe and a camera case with Kenneth's name and address, seat belt buckles and camera film, KOIN-TV reported.

"Maybe there'll be pictures published one day of what that is, because that's a pretty cool piece to a mystery," he told the the station.

Mayo told KOIN-TV he was gratified the case was finally solved.

"It's not going to get more resolved than it is now and so that feels good," he told the station. "And that really lets us write the last chapter of that book."

In 2020,KOIN-TV did a four-part podcast on the case.

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MOSCOW, April 15 (Reuters) - Russia is ready to increase energy supplies to China ahead of an expected visit by ‌President Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister ‌Sergei Lavrov as saying on Wednesday at a news conference in Beijing.

Russia's President Putin holds talks via video link with China's President Xi

The agencies quoted ​Lavrov as saying that the visit would take place in the first half of the year, while the Vedomosti newspaper cited sources as saying it would be during the week beginning May 18.

President Xi ‌Jinping met Lavrov on ⁠Wednesday, assuring Moscow of China's friendship and saying that China and Russia must trust and support each ⁠other, deepen cooperation, and defend each other's interests.

U.S. President Donald Trump is also scheduled to meet Xi during his first visit to China ​in ​eight years on May 14 and ​15.

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Lavrov told the news ‌conference that Russia was ready to help China and other countries affected by the Middle East crisis with energy supplies.

"Russia can, of course, make up for the resource shortfall facing both China and other countries that are interested in working with us on an ‌equal and mutually beneficial basis," Lavrov ​told the news conference in China.

Lavrov also ​said that Russia and ​China had all the necessary means to avoid reliance ‌on what he described as ​U.S. efforts to ​disrupt global energy markets through conflict in the Middle East.

"Thank God, China and Russia have every capability, including those already ​in use, reserve capacity, ‌and planned capacity, to avoid depending on such aggressive ​gambits, which undermine the global economy," he said.

(Writing by ​Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Mark Potter)

Health officials and law enforcement agencies across the country are raising alarms about an emerging synthetic opioid that is believed to be up to 10 times stronger thanfentanyl.

The drug is known as cychlorphine, but is scientifically referred to as N-propionitrile chlorphine.

Because of its extreme potency, even very small doses of cychlorphine are potentially lethal. Officials said it has been linked to a growing number of overdose deaths and is being found in other illicit drugs.

Another major concern is that it requires multiple doses of naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, to try and reverse an overdose.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) San Francisco Field Division has identified the drug in cases around Northern California, according to a local ABC-affiliate.

In eastern Tennessee, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center noted that cychlorphine had been detected in 41 deaths across its 23-county service area as of early April.

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Citing "reports," the Knox County Regional Forensic Center claimed that officials believe cychlorphine originated in China in 2024 and quickly moved to Europe before hitting the United States in late 2024 where it possibly first appeared in Florida.

TheCenter for Forensic Science Research and Educationsaid it was first detected in mid-2024 and has been showing up in toxicology reports from at least eight states and several Canadian provinces.