Nation, world briefs 1/3/2016

Man killed by cops held phone, not gun

LAS VEGAS -- A man fatally shot by Las Vegas police while holding a cellphone mistaken for a gun recently was convicted of several crimes in Arizona, his attorney said Saturday. Brad Reinhart last had contact with his client, Keith Childress Jr., 23, last month when a jury was set to issue a verdict in his trial for stealing marijuana and guns from a Phoenix home in 2013. Reinhart said he texted Childress to be at the courthouse, but he never showed. Las Vegas police said they were assisting U.S. marshals in arresting Childress because he was accused of violent felonies in Arizona including attempted murder. Reinhart said while Childress' crimes were serious, they never included an attempted-murder charge.

Extremists use Trump clip to recruit

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Al-Qaida's East African affiliate released a recruitment video targeting American blacks and Muslims that includes a clip of presidential candidate Donald Trump calling for Muslims to be banned from entering the United States. The 51-minute video by the Somalia based al-Shabab militant group presents the U.S. as a country of institutionalized racism against blacks that also persecutes Muslims. The video presents radical Islam as the solution. The clip of Trump on the campaign trail consists of his proposal for the "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" to protect the country.

Autistic boy's body found in canal

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- A coroner said the body of a 5-year-old boy with autism was found in a canal about a quarter-mile from a home where he wandered away from a New Year's Eve party. Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said an autopsy Monday will help determine when Jayliel Vega Batista entered the water at Canal Park in Allentown. He had been missing since about 10:30 p.m. Thursday. Police said the boy was playing with a tablet computer with other children when he wandered away barefoot and without a coat. Search dogs tracked the boy's scent to the canal. Police called in divers who found the boy's body 8 feet from shore in 6 feet of water.

France quarrels over revoking citizenship

PARIS -- The push by France's Socialist government to revoke the citizenship of convicted terrorists with dual nationality after the Paris attacks has turned into a political dispute, with the far right applauding the move while some on the left express indignation at what they call a divisive measure. French President Francois Hollande submitted the proposal three days after the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 dead, in a shift toward a hard line on security. Several polls over the past week suggest 80 percent to 90 percent of the French are in favor of the proposal.

-- From wire reports