Nation & World Glance

Scalise upgraded from ‘critical’ to ‘serious’ condition

WASHINGTON — Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise was upgraded from “critical” to “serious condition” Saturday and continued to show signs of improvement after he was wounded in a shooting at a Republican baseball practice outside Washington.

Medstar Washington Hospital Center released the update on behalf of the Scalise family.

The congressman underwent another surgery Saturday, and the hospital said he was more responsive and speaking with family.

Scalise, the House majority whip, was one of five people shot when a gunman opened fire Wednesday as the Republican team practiced in Alexandria, Va.

He has required surgery several times since the shooting.

The man who shot Scalise and others at the baseball practice had with him a piece of paper with doodles and the names of three lawmakers, according to a person familiar with the case.

The person told The Associated Press on Saturday that investigators aren’t sure of the significance of the names and don’t know if it was a list of people he was targeting.

This person was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. The person did not disclose the names, but said those listed had been briefed.

Colombia: Bombing at mall kills 3, including French woman

BOGOTA, Colombia — A bomb rocked one of the busiest shopping centers in Colombia’s capital Saturday, killing three people, including a 23-year-old French woman, and injuring nine others.

Witnesses told of being evacuated from movie theaters and stores after the blast in a second-floor women’s restroom at the upscale Centro Andino in the heart of Bogota’s tourist district.

Ambulances and firetrucks rushed to the scene and the injured were taken to a hospital, where two later died.

Police said a bomb from an undetermined explosive had caused the destruction.

Mayor Enrique Penalosa called it a “cowardly terrorist bombing,” and attention immediately focused on the National Liberation Army, which is the last rebel movement still active in Colombia. The group, known as the ELN, carried out a spate of recent attacks in Bogota, but leaders denied involvement in the latest bombing.

Penalosa said the French victim, identified as Julie Huynh, had been in Colombia the past six months volunteering at a school in a poor neighborhood. He said she was preparing to return to France in the coming days in the company of her mother, who was with her in Bogota.

Authorities: 18 injured after ferry crashes into jetty

HYANNISPORT, Mass. — Eighteen people were injured after a high-speed ferry struck a jetty in Hyannisport, Mass., and began taking on water, authorities said.

The U.S. Coast Guard and steamship authority said the ferry Iyanough hit the jetty and grounded on the rocks at the Hyannis Harbor entrance around 10 p.m. Friday. It serves a 26mile (42-kilometer) route between Nantucket and Hyannis.

The ferry is operated by the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, connecting the Massachusetts islands with the mainland. It can hold up to 400 people.

Steamship Authority general manager Wayne Lamson said Saturday it’s still not clear what led to the crash and an investigation is underway. He said the seas were about 4 feet (1.2 meters), and the captain and the pilot may have had difficulty with the entrance to Hyannis in the harbor channel.

Vatican, Germany reaffirm Paris climate accord postU.S.

VATICAN CITY — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Pope Francis encouraged her to work to preserve the Paris climate accord despite the U.S. withdrawal and shared her aim to “bring down walls,” and not build them.

Merkel and Francis met for about 40 minutes Saturday, focusing on the Group of 20 summit Germany is hosting in Hamburg July 7-8.

The Vatican said the talks focused on the need for the international community to combat poverty, hunger, terrorism and climate change.

Merkel told reporters she briefed the pope on Germany’s G-20 agenda, which she said “assumes that we are a world in which we want to work together multilaterally, a world in which we don’t want to build walls but bring down walls.”

She said Francis encouraged her to fight for the Paris accord.