Nation, world briefs

Senate OKs human trafficking bill

WASHINGTON -- The Senate unanimously passed legislation Wednesday to help the victims of human trafficking, ending a tortuous partisan standoff over abortion that also delayed confirmation of President Barack Obama's attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch. The vote was 99-0 to approve the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which expands law enforcement tools to target sex traffickers and creates a new fund to help victims. The House has passed similar legislation, and the White House has voiced support.

Saudis claim Yemen operations are over

SANAA, Yemen -- Saudi-led airstrikes targeted Iran-backed rebels and their allies in Yemen on Wednesday, hours after Riyadh declared an end to a nearly monthlong air campaign. The Shiite forces later said they would welcome United Nations-led peace talks to end a conflict that's killed hundreds without dislodging them from the capital. The rebels, known as Houthis, say they call for a resumption of dialogue and any efforts under the auspices of the U.N. that lead to a peaceful compromise. The continuing Saudi-led strikes suggest the U.S.-backed offensive, aimed at restoring Yemen's internationally recognized president, is entering a new phase in which military action will be scaled back but not halted.

Reagan shooter seeks to leave asylum

WASHINGTON -- The would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan is "clinically ready" to live fulltime outside a mental hospital, his lawyer argued in federal court Wednesday. John Hinckley Jr. has been in "full and stable remission" for more than two decades, his lawyer Barry Levine said. Prosecutor Colleen Kennedy argued to the contrary, saying more restrictions and conditions are needed to keep both Hinckley and others safe. Hinckley was 25 when a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of Reagan in 1981, which seriously wounded press secretary James Brady. For a dozen years now, Hinckley gradually has been given more freedom. Now 60, he spends more than half his time -- 17 days a month -- at the home of his 89-year-old mother in a gated community that surrounds a golf course in Williamsburg, Virginia. He goes to movies and the bookstore, shopping and eating out like anyone else, and mostly goes unnoticed, although the U.S. Secret Service keeps watch now and then.

40-year fugitive turns himself in

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Frail and tired of leading a secret life for four decades, 66-year-old Clarence David Moore called police this week to surrender. The deputy who answered thought it was a prank. It wasn't. Moore escaped from police custody three times during the 1970s and eventually settled into a quiet life, living in Kentucky since at least 2009. His health is poor from a stroke, and he has difficulty speaking. Without a legitimate ID or Social Security number, he apparently had struggled to get medical care. "I think he was tired of running," Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton said. "He's at a point in his life and medically that he's got to have help."

-- Associated Press