The Morning Report -- Sunday February 3 2013

Italian Doctor Has Heart Attack...Mid Surgery -- Fee's For Using Less Gas? -- New Iran/United States Talks -- North Korea Issues Guidelines -- Ex Navy Seal, Author Fatally Shot -- HS Coach Shoots Armed Attackers

DOCTOR IN MID SURGERY HEART SCARE

An Italian surgeon is recovering after completing a brain operation despite suffering an angina attack during the procedure, media reports say.

Claudio Vitale, 59, insisted on finishing the surgery in Naples before undergoing his own procedure to clear an artery, Ansa news agency said.

Mr Vitale refused to abandon the operation to remove a tumour, even though he needed emergency treatment.

HYBRID CAR OWNERS CONTEST FEES

WTOP

RICHMOND, Va. - Hybrid and electric car owners circled the Virginia Capitol to protest a $100 yearly fee that would be placed on their vehicles if Gov. Bob McDonnell's transportation plan passes.

On Thursday, a Senate committee reviewed the $3.1 billion transportation package that would eliminate the state's gas tax and impose the $100 fee.

McDonnell called the fee on alternative fuel vehicles a substitute for losses in the federal gas tax when he appeared on WTOP's "Ask the Governor" show this week.

"It's meant to compensate for the federal gas tax that those vehicles do not pay," he said.

IRAN POSITIVE BUT NONCOMMITTAL ON TALKS WITH US

MUNICH (AP) — Iran's foreign minister is welcoming the United States' willingness to hold direct talks with Tehran in the standoff over its nuclear program but isn't committing to accepting the offer.

Vice President Joe Biden told a security conference Saturday the U.S. is prepared to talk directly with Iran but insisted Tehran must show it is serious.

Iran's Ali Akbar Salehi told the same conference Sunday that Iran views recent U.S. statements "with positive consideration."

NORTH KOREA'S KIM ISSUES 'IMPORTANT' GUIDELINES ON HOW TO BOLSTER THE ARMY AND PROTECT SOVEREIGNTY 

Getty Images

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued “important” guidelines on how to bolster the army and protect the nation’s sovereignty at a high-level ruling Workers’ Party meeting, state media said Sunday, an indication that Pyongyang may be ready to conduct an atomic test anytime.

North Korea said last month that it would conduct its third nuclear test to protest international sanctions toughened over its long-range rocket launch in December. The U.S., South Korea and other countries have urged the North to scrap its nuclear test plans or face grave consequences.

EX-SEAL/AUTHOR FATALLY SHOT ON GUN RANGE

Breitbart

GLEN ROSE, Texas (AP) — Former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle was fatally shot along with another man Saturday on a Texas gun range, a sheriff told local newspapers.

Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Kyle, 38, and a second man were found dead at Rough Creek Lodge's shooting range west of Glen Rose, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Stephenville Empire-Tribune. Glen Rose is about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Bryant did not immediately return phone calls to The Associated Press seeking comment late Saturday and early Sunday. A woman who answered the phone at the lodge where the shooting occurred declined comment and referred calls to the sheriff's office.

ARMED DETROIT HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH SHOOTS ATTACKERS

The 70-year-old girls' basketball coach of a Detroit high school shot two teenage attackers who tried to rob him as he was escorting two players to their cars, police said.

The coach was allegedly approached by two men who brandished a gun at him as he was walking two players to their cars near Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School Friday night, ABC's Detroit affiliate WXYZ-TV reported.

One of the attackers died from the shooting, while the other was rushed to the hospital, WXYZ reported.The coach, who police said has a concealed pistol license and is reportedly a reserve police officer, then pulled out his gun and shot at his attackers.