ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Authorities look for suspect in Anchorage mall shooting

Police on Sunday were looking for a suspect in a shooting at an Anchorage mall who may have been wearing a wig and fake mustache when a 29-year-old man was gunned down outside a barber shop.

Police said Edwing Matos was shot multiple times at the Dimond Center mall in south Anchorage on Saturday. Officers were called to the scene just before 6:30 p.m., and Matos was rushed to a hospital, where he died.

According to police, an off-duty Alaska state trooper tackled a man fleeing the scene. The man was taken to Anchorage police headquarters for questioning and released, police said Sunday.

Homicide detectives interviewed more than a dozen witnesses.

Police said that initial interviews at the mall indicated the shooting was connected to gangs. However, they said Sunday that they had no indication that a gang was involved.

 

WASHINGTON

President Obama declared fit for duty after checkup

President Obama hasn’t kicked the smoking habit, takes anti-inflammatory medication to relieve chronic tendinitis in his left knee and should eat better to lower his cholesterol, his team of doctors concluded Sunday after the 48-year-old’s first medical checkup as commander in chief.

The president, who has endured an exhausting White House run and yearlong battles with congressional Republicans, was otherwise declared in excellent health and fit for duty.

The White House physician, Navy Capt. Jeffrey Kuhlman, said Obama should stick with “smoking cessation efforts,” the use of nicotine gum, and come back in August 2011 after he turns 50.

Obama’s cholesterol levels have crept up to borderline high and he should alter his diet accordingly, according to a report the White House released after the 90-minute examination at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. While at the facility, he visited 12 military service members receiving treatment and rehabilitation for injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The president is the picture of health, eats modest portions and exercises regularly. He is an avid basketball player and golfer. The slightly elevated cholesterol levels, tendinitis in his left knee and occasional smoking were the only negatives noted.

Obama said at a June news conference that he still had an occasional cigarette. It was his first public acknowledgment that he hadn’t kicked the habit. He chews nicotine gum to avoid regular smoking, and his doctor said that should continue.

Kuhlman also said the president should modify his diet to bring his LDL, or bad cholesterol, below 130. At the time of his last exam, Obama’s total cholesterol was 173, while his LDL was 96 and HDL, or good cholesterol, was 68.

This time, total cholesterol was up to 209, with HDL down slightly at 62. LDL was up to 138. Borderline high cholesterol starts at 200, with LDL considered in the same category at 130.

 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

Tests show Hamas leader was drugged, suffocated

Dubai police say forensic tests show a Hamas commander was drugged and then suffocated in his hotel room.

Police officials say tests showed a substantial amount of a fast-acting muscle relaxant called succinylcholine was found in Mahmoud al-Mabhouh’s bloodstream.

The analysis was part of tests conducted after al-Mabhouh was killed Jan. 19.

Dubai authorities have blamed a hit squad organized by Israel’s Mossad secret service.

The drug is sometimes used to administer a breathing tube or anesthesia.

Dubai police on Sunday also said a third Palestinian suspect is in custody.

At least 26 other suspects are wanted after being accused of traveling on fake European and Australian passports.