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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Suicide bomber blamed in 13 deaths in Anbar, Iraq

BAGHDAD – Iraqi security officials said Tuesday a suicide car bomber killed 13 troops and allied Sunni militiamen near the insurgent-held capital of the western Anbar province.

The officials said the suicide bomber used an army vehicle to approach forces advancing southeast of Ramadi, west of Baghdad on Tuesday. They said seven people were wounded in the attack.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but it bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which controls Ramadi and much of the vast Sunni province.

Troops and allied militias have been battling IS militants for months in Anbar but have not been able to dislodge them from areas under their control.

Troublesome bears now in Dakota zoo

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A zoo in southeast South Dakota has taken in two black bears that caused some trouble at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

The Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum of Natural History in Sioux Falls will now be home to a 12-year-old female bear and her young cub. Zoo officials said the older bear has a long history of nuisance behavior at Grand Teton, where she had raided backpacks and campsites for food for several years.

The bears have been placed in quarantine and will join an exhibit in about a month. The exhibit already includes a 16-year-old male black bear.

Panda mom isn’t accepting small cub

WASHINGTON – The National Zoo says panda mom Mei Xiang isn’t letting keepers swap in her smaller newborn cub for feedings, but keepers are caring for the smaller cub.

The zoo announced Tuesday that Mei Xiang has the larger cub but hasn’t let keepers swap the cubs since Monday afternoon. Officials say the smaller cub’s behaviors are good, but the team is managing it more intensely.

Since pandas won’t usually nurse twins if left to their own devices, officials are trying to switch the cubs every several hours to allow the mother to nurse and bond with one cub at a time.

Keepers are bottle and tube feeding the smaller cub. They are also giving antibiotics to that cub because it has shown some signs of regurgitation, which can cause food to be sucked into the lungs.