Nation, world briefs 4/9/15

Mother sentenced for salt-poisoning son

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A woman convicted of fatally poisoning her 5-year-old son with salt in his hospital feeding tube got a break on her murder sentence Wednesday because she suffers from a mental illness she has refused to acknowledge, the judge said. Lacey Spears, 27, of Scottsville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the 2014 death of Garnett-Paul Spears at a hospital. Prosecutors said the mother force-fed high concentrations of sodium through the boy's stomach tube because she craved the attention his illness brought to her, especially through her posting on social media. Acting state Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary said Spears' crime was "unfathomable in its cruelty" and brought her son "five years of torment and pain." But he said he was not imposing the maximum 25 years to life because "one does not have to be a psychiatrist to realize you suffer from Munchausen by proxy."

Afghan soldier kills 1 American soldier

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan soldier shot and killed a U.S. soldier and wounded two others Wednesday before being shot dead, the first so-called "insider attack" to target NATO troops since they ended their combat mission at the start of the year. The shooting happened after Afghan provincial leaders met a U.S. Embassy official at the compound of the Nangarhar provincial governor in the city of Jalalabad. All U.S. Embassy staff were accounted for and safe, the diplomatic mission said. "Right after the U.S. official had left, suddenly an Afghan army soldier opened fire on the U.S. soldiers who were present in the compound," said Afghan Gen. Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, police chief for eastern Nangarhar province. The American troops returned fire, killing the Afghan soldier.

Compassion urged for Kenya killers

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Some relatives of students who were gunned down by Islamic militants said Wednesday they would pray for forgiveness for the killers, responding to a Catholic archbishop who visited a morgue where victims' bodies are being kept. Cardinal John Njue, the archbishop of Nairobi, prayed with some of the families with a son or daughter, nephew or niece who died in the April 2 assault on Garissa University College by al-Shabab, the extremist group based in Somalia. Four gunmen killed 148 people. The gunmen also died when Kenyan security forces regained control of the campus. "You should pray for your enemies, so that they can change," said Teresa Kiiru, whose cousin, 22-year-old Obeddy Oking, died in the attack. "As Christians, we are told to forgive those who sin against us."

Baltimore police spy on cellphones

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Police Department has used secretive cellphone surveillance equipment 4,300 times and believes it is under orders by the U.S. government to withhold evidence from criminal trials and ignore subpoenas in cases in which the device is used, a police officer testified Wednesday. The unusual testimony in a criminal case marked a rare instance in which details have been revealed about the surveillance devices, which the Obama administration has tried to keep secret. On Wednesday, Baltimore police officer Emmanuel Cabreja said his technical unit has deployed the device, called Hailstorm, about 4,300 times since 2007.

-- Associated Press