In the news

WORLD

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A suicide truck bomber sent a deadly storm of metal, stone and jagged plaster through worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque Saturday, killing at least 39 in a possible sign of escalating internal Sunni battles between insurgents and those who oppose them.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, but it carried the hallmarks of an increasingly bloody struggle for control of Anbar province, a hotbed of anti-U.S. guerrillas since the uprising in Fallujah in 2004 that galvanized the insurgency.

U.S. military envoys and pro-government leaders have worked to sway clan chiefs and other influential Anbar figures to turn against the militants, who include foreign jihadists fighting under the banner of al-Qaida in Iraq. The extremists have fought back with targeted killings and bombings against fellow Sunnis.

The blast in Habbaniyah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad, was among the deadliest against civilians in Anbar.

NATION

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A misdemeanor assault case against Hank Williams Jr. has been dismissed, 10 months after a cocktail waitress accused the country singer of yelling obscenities and choking her at a local hotel, a prosecutor said.

“We didn’t feel we had a case we could prove,” District Attorney General Bill Gibbons said Friday.

Holly Hornbeak testified that Williams, 57, left red marks and bruised her neck when he choked her.

Gibbons would not say whether Hornbeak wanted to drop the case or the parties reached a financial settlement. A private attorney hired by her parents demanded $250,000 from Williams two days after the alleged assault, but Hornbeak denied that the case was driven by money.

Hornbeak’s attorney and Williams’ spokesman did not return phone calls Saturday to The Associated Press.

STATE & LOCAL

RICHMOND – Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery.

Sponsors of the resolution say they don’t know of another state that has apologized for slavery, although Missouri lawmakers are considering such a measure. The resolution does not carry the weight of law but sends an important symbolic message, supporters said.

“This session will be remembered for a lot of things, but 20 years hence I suspect one of those things will be the fact that we came together and passed this resolution,” said Delegate A. Donald McEachin, a Richmond Democrat who sponsored it in the House of Delegates.

The resolution passed the House 96-0 and cleared the 40-member Senate on a unanimous voice vote. It does not require Gov. Tim Kaine’s approval.

The measure also expressed regret for “the exploitation of Native Americans.”

The resolution was introduced as Virginia begins its celebration of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, where the first Africans arrived in 1619. Richmond, home to a popular boulevard lined with statues of Confederate heroes, later became another point of arrival for Africans and a slave-trade hub.