Nation, world briefs

Terror weapons came from abroad

PARIS -- France's prime minister demanded tougher anti-terrorism measures Tuesday after deadly attacks that some call this country's Sept. 11 -- and that may lead to a crackdown on liberties in exchange for greater security. Police said the weapons used came from abroad, as authorities in several countries searched for accomplices and the sources of financing for last week's attacks on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, a kosher market and police. A new suspect was identified in Bulgaria. "We must not lower our guard, at any time," Prime Minister Manuel Valls told Parliament, adding: "Serious and very high risks remain." He called for increased surveillance of imprisoned radicals and told the interior minister to quickly come up with new security proposals.

Tsarnaev lawyers: Stop jury selection

BOSTON -- Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev asked a judge Tuesday to suspend jury selection in his trial for at least a month because the recent terrorist attacks in France have placed the marathon bombings "at the center of a grim global drama." The lawyers said a delay would allow some time "for the extraordinary prejudice flowing from these events -- and the comparison of those events to those at issue in this case -- to diminish." They said potential jurors have been instructed to avoid media reports about Tsarnaev's case, but were exposed to reports about the French attacks.

Military suicides rise slightly in 2014

WASHINGTON -- Suicides among members of the active-duty military personnel rose slightly in 2014, led by increases in the number of sailors and airmen who took their lives, new Defense Department figures show. There were fewer suicides by Army soldiers and Marines, the two services that have seen the most combat in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade. According to preliminary Pentagon data, there were 288 confirmed and suspected suicides by active-duty personnel in 2014, compared with 286 in 2013. Both totals, however, represent a drop from the 2012 number of 352.

Principal: Hurl cans of food at intruders

VALLEY, Ala. -- An Alabama middle-school principal wants to stockpile cans of corn and peas in classrooms for students to hurl at possible intruders as a last resort defense. In a letter Friday, W.F. Burns Middle School principal Priscella Holley asked parents to have each student bring an 8-ounce canned item. "We realize at first this may seem odd; however, it is a practice that would catch an intruder off guard," she wrote in the letter, published by TV station WHNT in Huntsville. "The canned food item could stun the intruder or even knock him out until the police arrive," Holley wrote. "The canned food item will give the students a sense of empowerment to protect themselves and will make them feel secure in case an intruder enters their classroom." The school is in Valley, part of the Chambers County school system. The food cans would be stored in classrooms and students wouldn't be carrying them around school, Hodge said.

-- From wire reports