Would-be bomber, 15, says she was abducted

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — A teenager who surrendered before carrying out a suicide bombing attack in northern Cameroon has told authorities she was one of the 276 girls abducted from a Nigerian boarding school by Islamic extremists nearly two years ago, authorities said Saturday.

If confirmed, the development would mark the first news of the missing Chibok girls in many months. It has long been feared that some are being used by their Boko Haram abductors to carry out such attacks given the growing number of young female suicide bombers.

The girl is about 15 years old and turned herself in before detonating her explosives, said Idrissou Yacoubou, the leader of a self-defense group in Limani, Cameroon.

“The girl looked tired, malnourished and psychologically tortured and could not give us more details about her stay in the forest and how her other mates were treated,” he said.

Cameroon has ordered investigations to determine the authenticity of the 15-year-old's declarations, said Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of the Far North Region.

Authorities said Saturday that, along with the 15-year-old, two other young women came with explosive belts — one was arrested and the other fled.

In Chibok, a community leader said that the girl's age could correspond to that of a 14-year-old who was the youngest among 276 girls abducted in the early hours of April 15 from a government boarding school. Dozens of the girls managed to escape on their own within hours, but 219 remain missing.

Syrian forces seize 3 Palmyra neighborhoods

Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian airstrikes seized three neighborhoods inside Palmyra, a town with famed Roman-era ruins that fell to the Islamic State last May, state media reported Saturday.

Russian jets carried out 40 air sorties near Palmyra in the past day, hitting 158 targets and killing over 100 militants, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

Retaking the town would be a major victory for President Bashar Assad's government, which has made steady gains in recent months against insurgents.

Ambulance copter crew, patient killed in Ala.

GOODMAN, Ala. — The Alabama Emergency Management Agency said three crew members and a patient were killed in an ambulance helicopter crash in southeast Alabama early Saturday.

Coffee County EMA Deputy Director James Brown told WSFA-TV the aircraft was responding to a wreck.

Troy Regional Medical Center CEO Teresa Grimes said in a Facebook post that the medical center “is saddened” by the loss of the crew and patient during the transport.

Airline co-pilot detained, may have been drunk

Federal authorities say an American Airlines co-pilot was detained at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after he was suspected of being drunk.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the co-pilot was held from a Saturday flight from Detroit to Philadelphia, which was ultimately canceled.

Airport spokesman Michael Conway said the pilot was released as authorities determine whether charges will be filed. Conway said the pilot is in his early 50s and from Pennsylvania.

Black Hawk helicopters sent to Kansas wildfire

MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. — Firefighters trying to snuff out the biggest wildfire in Kansas history are getting help from military helicopters — and a potential assist from looming rain or snow.

Four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Kansas National Guard were deployed Saturday in the effort to contain the persistent prairie blazes that since Tuesday have charred at least 620 square miles in Oklahoma and southern Kansas.

Six homes have been destroyed. No serious injuries have been reported.

The Newsmaker

Pope's message of hope

Pope Francis wrapped up a bleak week in Europe following terror attacks in Brussels by presiding Saturday over a solemn vigil service and ushering in Easter with a message of hope.

In his homily, Francis said the hope that Easter brings is a lesson for the Christian faithful to cast aside the hopelessness that can “imprison” people inside of themselves.

Day after Iraq blast, U.N. chief offers condolences

BAGHDAD — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences Saturday to the families and friends of the 41 killed in a suicide bombing at a soccer stadium in Iraq a day earlier, adding that the “the international community stands with Iraqis in horror and outrage.”

Speaking in Iraq, Ban said the battle against the Islamic State group — which claimed the attack — must comply with international law, noting continued reports of arbitrary arrests and killings in Islamic State-liberated areas.

A musical U.S. debut

April 3

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The date an ensemble of young Japanese musicians founded in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima tsunami and nuclear plant disaster is making its U.S. debut at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Senior musicians from Japan, the U.S., England and India will accompany the 50 teens, part of the Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta, on the trip. The group has nearly 150 musicians ages 13 to 18.

Deal would boost Calif. minimum wage to $15

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California legislators and labor unions on Saturday reached an agreement that will gradually take the state's minimum wage from $10 to $15 an hour, a state senator said, a move that would make for the largest statewide minimum in the nation by far.

Democratic state Sen. Mark Leno said the proposal would go before the Legislature rather than voters. A separate, union-backed initiative has already qualified for the ballot, and a second, competing measure is also trying to qualify.