National news capsules

N.C. girl's body found after 7 days

SANFORD, N.C. (AP) — For a week, authorities feverishly searched for a 5-year-old girl across central North Carolina, only to find her body Monday off a rural road following accusations the girl's mother offered her for sex.

The investigation into the disappearance of Shaniya Davis yielded the arrest of her mother and two men, though one man was later released. Searchers found Shaniya dumped into the woods 30 miles from her hometown in Fayetteville. Hundreds of volunteers hoping to find her alive left the site of the search dejected, unable to bring Shaniya home to an emotional father, her 7-year-old brother and the dolls she loved to play with.

"I still feel kind of sick to my stomach," said Angela Jackson, 27, from nearby Sanford, who has a 2-month-old daughter but searched for consecutive days.

Particularly disturbing were the accusations lodged against Shaniya's mother, 25-year-old Antoinette Davis. Police charged Davis with human trafficking and felony child abuse, saying Shaniya was offered for prostitution.

Groups suing BLM over uranium mining

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Environmental groups are suing the federal Bureau of Land Management over its decision to allow a uranium mine to reopen north of the Grand Canyon.

Canadian mining firm Denison Mines Corp. received the final state permit needed to move forward on its Arizona 1 Mine in September. The BLM says Denison has an approved mine plan and should be allowed to resume operations.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Grand Canyon Trust and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit Monday. They argue that the mine plan has expired, an environmental analysis is outdated and Denison has not proven its claims.

The mine is about 20 miles from the canyon's northern border. Denison plans to mine nearly 110,000 tons of uranium ore from the site over 10 years.

Chicago education president kills self

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago's school board president apparently shot himself in the head near the Chicago River before dawn Monday, officials said as his death was met with disbelief by civic leaders and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott had said in August that he had been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating allegations of politically influenced admissions to top schools, but authorities did not immediately make any connection between the legal case and his death.

"It is simply too early for us to draw any conclusions," Police Superintendent Jody Weis told reporters Monday afternoon.