Nation, world briefs 5/19/15

Amtrak trains back in service

PHILADELPHIA -- Amtrak trains began rolling again Monday between Philadelphia and New York, the first time since a derailment almost a week ago killed eight people and injured more than 200. Amtrak resumed service with a 5:30 a.m. southbound train leaving New York City. The first northbound train, scheduled to leave Philadelphia at 5:53 a.m., was delayed and pulled out of 30th Street Station at 6:07 a.m. Both trains arrived at their destinations about 30 minutes behind schedule. About 60 people boarded the New York-bound train in Philadelphia, including two dozen reporters and photographers.

Saudi airstrikes resume in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen -- Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Yemen's Shiite rebels resumed Monday, and fierce clashes were underway across the impoverished country after a five-day truce expired. The cease-fire repeatedly had been violated, with the rebels, known as Houthis, and Saudi-backed forces loyal to exiled Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi trading blame for the continued violence. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes to convene a peace conference on Yemen in the near future but wants the fighting to stop before he sends invitations, his spokesman said. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq also said Yemen's health facilities reported higher casualties from the conflict which "are likely to be underestimates" -- 1,820 people killed and 7,330 wounded since March 19. He said aid groups estimate more than 545,000 people were displaced between March 26, when the airstrikes began, and May 7.

Sen. Graham signals presidential run

ATLANTA -- South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham all but confirmed Monday he will run for president in 2016, saying he believes he would be the best choice to serve as commander in chief amid continued unrest in the Middle East. "I'm running because I think the world is falling apart," Graham said in an interview on "CBS This Morning." A critic of President Barack Obama's foreign and military policy, the Republican pointed to the Iraqi city of Ramadi, which recently fell to Islamic State militants, as proof the U.S. must assert itself in the region. The third-term senator said he will make his official campaign announcement June 1 in his hometown of Central, South Carolina.

Professor marks 100th birthday

NEW YORK -- When Brooklyn Law School professors and alumni refer to an "institution," they very well might be talking about Professor Joseph Crea. He's taught generations of students over more than six decades, instilling legal precepts along with some pithy tenets of his own, such as "Never drop your briefcase and run." He marked a milestone -- his 100th birthday -- with a gathering of colleagues and friends Monday at the law school where he's been a student, librarian and professor since 1944. Crea, whose birthday was last month, taught until September and still advises faculty members, sits on the admissions committee and attends faculty meetings. His secret to a long career? "Stay well," he said by phone. "And make sure they don't want to kick you out."

-- From wire reports