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nity," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei.
• The timing of the launch came as something of a surprise after Pyongyang had indicated technical problems might delay it. That it succeeded after several failed attempts was an even greater surprise.
• ___

• PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The mall Santa was waiting for the next child's Christmas wish when shots rang out, causing the shopping mall to erupt into chaos.
• About to invite a child to hop onto his lap, Brance Wilson instead dove for the floor and kept his head down as he heard shots being fired upstairs in the mall Tuesday afternoon.
• "I heard two shots and got out of the chair. I thought a red suit was a pretty good target," said the 68-year-old Wilson. Families waiting for Santa scattered. More shots followed, and Wilson crept away for better cover.
• Wilson was among hundreds of horrified people who ducked or ran for cover when a gunman, dressed in camouflage and a mask and possibly wearing body armor, fired dozens of rounds.
• When it was over, three people were dead, including the gunman who police say killed himself.
• ___

• NEW DELHI (AP) -- With an instrument perplexing to most Westerners, Ravi Shankar helped connect the world through music. The sitar virtuoso hobnobbed with the Beatles, became a hippie musical icon and spearheaded the first rock benefit concert as he introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over nearly a century.
• From George Harrison to John Coltrane, from Yehudi Menuhin to David Crosby, his connections reflected music's universality, though a gap persisted between Shankar and many Western fans. Sometimes they mistook tuning for tunes, while he stood aghast at displays like Jimi Hendrix's burning guitar.
• Shankar died Tuesday at age 92. A statement on his website said he died in San Diego, near his Southern California home with his wife and a daughter by his side.

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