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Commandos gaining upper hand in Mumbai

MUMBAI, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Commandos appeared to be regaining control of two luxury hotels in Mumbai late Thursday as they went room to room freeing trapped guests.

The Taj Mahal Hotel, one of the most famous in India, had been cleared, CNN-IBN reported. The army reported "stiff resistance from the terrorists who were heavily armed and well entrenched inside."

Explosions were heard in the hotels in the evening.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry told CNN that a Jewish community center remained under siege. Authorities said that one gunman remained at the Taj and two at the other five-star hotel, the Oberoi.

Deepak Datta, a guest at the Taj, described his rescue.

"There was a lot of explosions right before my rescue," he said. "They were gradually coming up clearing the rooms. The explosions kept getting louder then they opened the door with a master key,"

Teams of masked men launched simultaneous assaults on hotels and other "soft" targets in Mumbai's southern financial district Wednesday as well as the Orthodox Jewish center.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the group that staged attacks is based outside outside the country. Officials said that questioning of captured suspects suggests that at least some of those involved in the attack are Pakistani nationals, Press Trust of India reported.

M L Kumawat, a special secretary to the Home Ministry, said that the attackers reached Mumbai by boat. PTI said that four boats allegedly used by them have been seized.

Airlines: Mumbai passengers postpone trips

NEW DELHI, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Airlines reported many travelers postponing trips to Mumbai Thursday after terrorists attacked luxury hotels in India's financial center.

The airport remained open and planes continued to land through the day, Press Trust of India reported. Some incoming flights from Europe were diverted to New Delhi.

Two five-star hotels in Mumbai and other targets, including a Jewish community center, were attacked Wednesday by gunmen. By late Thursday, more than 100 people were reported dead as government forces tried to bring the city under control.

About 30 percent of those with reservations from Delhi to Mumbai can canceled, airlines reported. Kingfisher Airlines said that scheduled flights to Mumbai from Delhi, Bangalore, Nasik and Hyderabad were combined because there were so few passengers.

While travelers in Mumbai were trying to get out as soon as possible, some residents of the area apparently decided to postpone travel plans. Singapore Airlines said its flights out of the city left on time with some no-show passengers.

Airlines warned passengers to and from Mumbai to make sure they had valid identity cards and to leave plenty of time for security checks.

Record rain in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- State authorities say little further damage occurred when record amounts of rain fell on parts of Southern California that had been burned bare in wildfires.

Flash flood warnings remained in effect through much of the region Wednesday, while cloudy skies and a 30 percent chance of rain were forecast for Thanksgiving Day as the storm moved out of the state, Accuweather.com reported Thursday.

Residents of an estimated 5,600 households in fire-ravaged Yorba Linda and parts of Santa Barbara County were evacuated early Wednesday because of heavy rain, but allowed to return home later in the day, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Rainfall records were set in Burbank, which measured 1.23 inches of rain and in downtown Los Angeles, which recorded 1.6 inches of rain.

In addition to the fire and subsequent downpour, an earthquake measuring 3.0 shook Yorba Linda Wednesday about 11 a.m. No damage or injuries were reported.

Cuomo said to want Clinton's Senate seat

ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Political observers say New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo is lobbying to fill U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's seat if it becomes vacant.

Clinton is said to be President-elect Barack Obama's pick for secretary of state. If her seat opens, Gov. David A. Paterson has the sole authority to pick her replacement, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Advisers to Paterson told the Times Wednesday that Cuomo is behind news stories and political gossip proclaiming him the best choice for the Senate seat.

"He is not being helpful," one Paterson adviser, speaking anonymously, said of Cuomo.

Publicly, Cuomo has declined to talk about his political ambitions, while Paterson, at a news conference, said he already is tired of being asked about a seat that isn't even vacant.

"My first thought was that I wanted to get this over with quickly enough so that I can answer the phone and answer at press conferences and talk about something else," Paterson said Wednesday.

Barbara Bush recovering after surgery

HOUSTON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Barbara Bush, wife of former President George H.W. Bush, spent Thanksgiving in a Houston hospital after surgery for a perforated ulcer.

The former first lady, also the mother of President George W. Bush, was reportedly making a good recovery. Dr. Pat Reardon, her surgeon at Methodist Hospital, said the first thing she did after she regained consciousness following the operation was to tell a joke.

Mrs. Bush went to the hospital Tuesday because of abdominal pain she later described as "worse than childbirth." The surgery was completed early Wednesday, The Houston Chronicle reported.

Her hospitalization ended plans to attend the Thanksgiving football game between the University of Texas and Texas A&M in Austin. Bush gave the tickets to one of his wife's doctors, an unnamed enthusiastic Texas fan.

Mrs. Bush was also denied Thanksgiving turkey because she was being fed intravenously.

"I appreciate the support from everyone here in Houston and, really, everywhere," Bush said.

The former president said he was especially grateful to the staff at Methodist for working long hours to care for his wife.