Nation and World briefs for January 30

UN-hosted Syria peace talks get off to shaky start

GENEVA (AP) — Peace talks aimed at ending Syria’s five-year civil war got off to a shaky and chaotic start Friday, with the main opposition group at first boycotting the session, then later agreeing to meet with U.N. officials — while still insisting it would not negotiate.

That small commitment by the group known as the Higher Negotiating Committee came just minutes before U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura met with a delegation representing the government of President Bashar Assad.

The developments gave a glimmer of hope that peace efforts in Syria might actually get off the ground for the first time since two earlier rounds of negotiations collapsed in 2014.

The conflict has killed at least 250,000 people, forced millions to flee the country, and given an opening to the Islamic State group to capture territory in Syria and Iraq. It has drawn in U.S. and Russia, as well as regional powers such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The HNC, a Saudi-backed bloc, had previously said it would not participate in the U.N.-sponsored talks without an end to the bombardment of civilians by Russian and Syrian forces, a lifting of blockades in rebel-held areas and the release of detainees.

Treasure hunter disappears searching for $2 million in gold

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An antiquities dealer who inspired tens of thousands to search the Rocky Mountains for $2 million in hidden treasure now leads an increasingly desperate mission to find one of his fans.

Forrest Fenn has been flying out in chartered helicopters or planes, searching remote stretches of the upper Rio Grande for any sign of Randy Bilyeu, now missing in the wild for more than three frigid weeks. Fellow treasure hunters also are searching for Bilyeu, who was last seen on Jan. 5 while trying to solve Fenn’s mystery.

“Every time we go out and don’t find Randy it’s discouraging but we’re not going to give up,” Fenn told The Associated Press. “There are still places out there that I want to look.”

Fenn, an eccentric 85-year-old from Santa Fe, has inspired a cult following since his announcement several years ago that he stashed a small bronze chest containing nearly $2 million in of gold, jewelry and artifacts somewhere in the Rockies. He dropped clues to its whereabouts in a cryptic poem in his self-published memoir, “The Thrill of the Chase.”

The hidden treasure has inspired thousands to search in vain through remote corners of New Mexico, Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere in the mountains. Treasure hunters share their experiences on blogs and brainstorm about the clues. The mystery has been featured by national media, igniting even more interest.

US declares 22 Clinton emails ‘top secret’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration confirmed for the first time Friday that Hillary Clinton’s home server contained closely guarded government secrets, censoring 22 emails that contained material requiring one of the highest levels of classification. The revelation comes three days before Clinton competes in the Iowa presidential caucuses.

State Department officials also said the agency’s Diplomatic Security and Intelligence and Research bureaus are investigating if any of the information was classified at the time of transmission, going to the heart of Clinton’s defense of her email practices.

The department will release its next batch of emails from her time as secretary of state later Friday.

But The Associated Press learned seven email chains are being withheld in full for containing “top secret” information. The 37 pages include messages a key intelligence official recently said concerned “special access programs” —highly restricted, classified material that could point to confidential sources or clandestine programs like drone strikes.

“The documents are being upgraded at the request of the intelligence community because they contain a category of top secret information,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told the AP, calling the withholding of documents in full “not unusual.” That means they won’t be published online with others being released, even with blacked-out boxes.

Authorities: 1 of 3 fugitive inmates arrested in California

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Police arrested one of three violent fugitive inmates on Friday after he told a woman in the same city where the jailbreak occurred a week ago that he wanted to surrender, authorities said. The other two men remained at large.

Bac Duong, 43, was taken into custody in Santa Ana, where the trio made their brazen escape on Jan. 22 from the maximum security facility, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said.

Lee Tran, an owner of Auto Electric Rebuilders, said Duong came into the shop looking for Tran’s sister, Theresa, and told her that he wanted to turn himself in.

Tran says his sister called 911 and Duong went outside to smoke a cigarette and wait for police to arrive.

He says his sister’s boyfriend knows Duong and that marshals had come by to speak with her earlier this week because she might have visited Duong in jail.

Iran flies unarmed military drone over US aircraft carrier

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran flew a surveillance drone over a U.S. aircraft carrier and published video of the encounter Friday, the latest in a series of edgy naval incidents between the two countries in the Persian Gulf after the recent nuclear deal.

While the U.S. Navy stressed it knew the drone was unarmed and the flyover didn’t interrupt U.S. operations in the war against the Islamic State group, the incident underlined the continued tension over control of waterways crucial to global oil supplies. It follows a rocket test last month by the Islamic Republic near coalition warships and commercial traffic, as well as Iran’s brief capture of American sailors who strayed into its territorial waters.

Iranian state television and the semi-official Fars news agency, which has close ties to the Revolutionary Guard, published identical images Friday both said came from the drone. The footage, which The Associated Press could not independently verify, purported to show the drone being launched and then hovering over an unidentified aircraft carrier, a targeting bracket briefly passing over a jet parked on the deck below.

The Iranian reports suggested the footage was from Friday. However, Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, said an unarmed Iranian drone flew near the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and “directly over” the USS Harry S. Truman on Jan. 12 as the vessels were in international waters in the Persian Gulf.

He said the Navy launched a helicopter that determined the drone wasn’t armed and “posed no danger to the ship” as the carrier wasn’t conducting flight operations at the time. His comments implied that had there been active takeoffs and landings of U.S. aircraft, the situation might have changed.

Prosecutors use refuge occupiers’ own words against them

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ammon Bundy and his followers made ample use of social media and videos to summon armed recruits to join their takeover of a wildlife refuge and to declare their readiness to stand their ground. Now federal authorities are using the occupiers’ own words against them.

Two criminal complaints unsealed this week against the 11 protesters under arrest show that FBI agents have carefully scrutinized social media postings, interviews and online talk shows that were broadcast from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge during the siege that began nearly a month ago.

Four holdouts continued to occupy the refuge in the snowy high country near Burns, and on Friday they posted a YouTube video demanding pardons for everyone involved in the occupation.

A speaker believed to be David Fry said he asked the FBI whether it was possible to “get out of here without charges,” but “they keep saying that’s not possible.”

Bundy and several other jailed leaders were due to appear in federal court in Portland on Friday to answer charges they used force or intimidation to prevent government employees at the refuge from carrying out their duties.

Quirky caucuses pose organizational challenge for Sanders

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Bernie Sanders feels like the hottest candidate in the Democratic race. Thousands flock to his rallies across Iowa, screaming his name as they “feel the Bern.”

The question is whether all that energy translates into warm bodies ready to turn out and caucus for him on that cold Monday night.

Even Sanders admits he doesn’t know the answer.

“No, I’m not,” he replied when asked if he was predicting a win on caucus night. “I am saying that we are right now in Iowa in a very, very close election.”

For decades, Iowa has been a key testing ground for insurgent Democratic candidates trying to wrest the nomination from the establishment pick.

Cruz and Clinton feel pressure in final stretch

RINGSTED, Iowa (AP) — Lagging Republicans struggled to climb higher in their crowded field, while Hillary Clinton faced more email troubles Friday as the presidential contenders barreled toward a final weekend of campaigning before Iowa’s crucial caucuses.

Most of the candidates were scattered across Iowa in a last-chance try to gin up enthusiasm, sharpen attacks and set expectations — all part of efforts to emerge from Monday’s voting with momentum and a slice of the spotlight.

Some were also burdened with playing defense.

Clinton’s campaign tried to deflect fresh suggestions that the former secretary of state’s use of a private email server for government business may have posed a security risk. The news heightened some Democrats’ fears that the email controversy could dog their front-runner well into this year’s campaign.

On the Republican side, Ted Cruz found himself a prime target for a field that long ago let go of any hopes of coming in first in Iowa. With Donald Trump seeming secure in the lead, the fight for second or third — or just “better than expected” — was underway. In that second-tier fight, all the knives were out for Cruz, who’s campaigned as the one true conservative in the race.