Dr. Kermit Gosnell, shown in 2010, was an abortion doctor who catered to minorities, immigrants and poor women at the Women's Medical Society in Philadelphia. (Yong Kim/Philadelphia Daily News/AP Photo)




National editor's pick of the top news stories in the nation and world at this hour:


Philadelphia abortion doctor convicted of murdering babies


A Philadelphia abortion doctor was found guilty of three out of four counts of first-degree murder Monday for ordering or performing the "snipping" with scissors of babies' spinal columns after they were born alive. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who faces the death penalty, was also convicted in the manslaughter of an adult patient who died of a drug overdose. Gosnell, 72, was cleared in the death of a fourth baby, who prosecutors say let out a soft whimper before he snipped its neck. Defense



James Holmes wants to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. (RJ Sangosti/Denver Post/AP Photo)


attorneys argued that no babies were born alive at Gosnell's clinic, saying any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms. The jury didn't believe it, seeming to agree with the tone of prosecutor Ed Cameron's questions to Gosnell during his close: "Are you human? To med these women up and stick knives in the backs of babies?" Authorities entered Gosnell's clinic two years ago and found a foul-smelling "house of horrors" with bags and bottles of stored fetuses, jars of feet, bloodstained furniture, dirty medical instruments and cats roaming the premises.

More weird crime: James Holmes and O.J. Simpson


The man charged with opening fire in a crowded Colorado movie theater told a judge Monday that he wants to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. The judge delayed a ruling on whether to accept James Holmes' new plea, saying he would consider arguments about constitutional questions the defense has raised about Colorado's insanity and death penalty laws. Meanwhile in Las Vegas, a gray, chunky-looking O.J. Simpson was in court Monday to argue that he deserves a new trial in the armed robbery and kidnapping case that sent



O.J. Simpson appears in court Monday in Las Vegas. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal/AP Photo)


him to prison in 2008. Simpson claims his lawyer, Yale Galanter, had a conflict of interest and should never have represented him, and he says the lawyer never told him that a plea deal was on the table. Simpson says Galanter knew ahead of time of his plan to retrieve what he thought were personal mementos from two sports memorabilia dealers at a casino hotel room in September 2007. Simpson is serving a sentence of up to 33 years.

Obama: Benghazi blowback is a 'sideshow'


President Barack Obama on Monday called the controversy over talking points on Benghazi a "sideshow," saying, "There's no there there." At a news conference with British Prime



Appearing with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama pushes back angrily Monday against continued questions about the aftermath of the 2012 attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)


Minister David Cameron, Obama was asked whether he still maintained that his administration hadn't significantly changed CIA talking points on the 2012 attack in Libya to downplay the role played by foreign terrorists. "The fact that this keeps on getting churned up, frankly, has a whole lot to do with political motivations," Obama said. He said the security at the diplomatic post in Benghazi where four Americans were killed on Sept. 11 was clearly inadequate, and he said the focus should be on making sure that U.S. diplomats around the world are protected. "The whole issue of talking points, frankly, throughout this process has been a sideshow," Obama said. "If anybody out there wants to actually focus on how we make sure something like

Pakistan's prime minister-apparent, Nawaz Sharif, speaks to reporters Monday at his home in Lahore. (K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo)


this doesn't happen again, I'm happy to get their advice and counsel." Obama also spoke for the first time on revelations that the IRS targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny of their tax-exempt status, saying he wouldn't tolerate such behavior. "If in fact IRS persons engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that's outrageous and there's no place for it," Obama said. "And they have to be held fully accountable."

Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif criticizes U.S. drone program


Fresh from victory in national elections, Pakistan's presumptive prime minister said the



country has good relations with the U.S., but he called the CIA's drone campaign a challenge to the country's sovereignty. "Drones indeed are challenging our sovereignty," Nawaz Sharif told reporters Monday. "Of course we have taken this matter up very seriously. I think this is a very serious issue, and our concern must be understood properly." While his remarks could signal that he may take a tougher line on U.S. strike strikes in Pakistan's tribal region, analysts noted that it's not uncommon for politicians to criticize drone strikes publicly but tolerate them privately. The drone strikes are widely hated, but Pakistan receives hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid every year, and it needs U.S. support for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund to shore up its shaky financial footing.

Makeover of 'Brave' heroine infuriates creator


The feisty redhead from the animated film "Brave" has gotten a makeover, and the creator of the character is livid. Merida, the tomboy archer from the 2012 film, was crowned by Disney as its 11th princess on Saturday, but she was redrawn to look totally different, with a Barbie doll waist, sultry eyes, flowing tresses and an off-the-shoulder gown the real character would have hated. In the new image, she doesn't even have her bow and arrow, a symbol of her strength and independence. Marin filmmaker Brenda Chapman, who won an Oscar for writing and codirecting the feature, called it "a blatantly sexist marketing move based on money" and said she had given Disney "a piece of my mind" for glamorizing her rough-and-tumble character. "When little girls say they like it because it's more sparkly, that's all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy 'come hither' look and the skinny aspect of the new version," Chapman wrote. "It's horrible! Merida was created to break that mold -- to give young girls a better, stronger role model, a more attainable role model, something of substance, not just a pretty face that waits around for romance." Disney tried to deflect the criticism, saying in a statement, "Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate, and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world."


The Wire, a summary of top national and world news stories from the Associated Press and other wire services, moves weekdays. Contact Karl Kahler at 408-920-5023; follow him at twitter.com/karl_kahler.