ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) – The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia. High rates of obesity and diabetes were reported in more than 80 percent of counties in the Appalachian region that includes Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the new research from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same problem was seen in about 75 percent of counties in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. The five counties with the highest rates were Greene and Dallas counties in Alabama and Holmes, Humphreys and Jefferson counties in Mississippi. All are small, rural counties in the west central areas of each state, and each reported obesity rates of around 44 or 43 percent.

The national adult obesity rate is roughly 26 percent. The statistics are estimates for the year 2007 — based on surveys, census figures and other information for that and other years — and include a margin of error. The obesity rates in many counties were about the same, so it's difficult to say any county or counties was clearly the single most obese county, CDC officials said.

Motobike bomber kills 12 Afghans

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) – A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing 12 people and wounding dozens more, an official said. The attack occurred the day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for a second term, pledging to try to bring peace to the nation and take over security from foreign forces in five years.

“Twelve people, 11 of them civilians and one of them a police officer were killed,” Rohul Amin Amin, provincial governor told AFP, updating an earlier toll of six released by police. The suicide bombing a day after police said Afghan security forces backed by tribal militia killed six Taliban militants in the same province after the rebels beheaded two tribal leaders on the weekend.

The Taliban-led insurgency dogged Afghanistan is now at its deadliest in the eight years since US-led troops ousted their extreme Islamist regime in Kabul, slowly encroaching into previously peaceful parts of the north and west.

3 teens plead not guilty in boy burning

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) – Three teenagers accused of setting a 15-year-old south Florida boy on fire have pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder. Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both 15, and 16-year-old Jesus Mendez are charged as adults. The Broward State Attorney's Office said the teens pleaded not guilty on Thursday. Authorities say Jarvis poured rubbing alcohol on Michael Brewer on Oct. 12 in Deerfield Beach. Mendez is accused of lighting Brewer on fire, and Bent is accused of directing the attack. Brewer sustained burns over 65 percent of his body and is still in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The teens are set to appear again in Broward County court on Jan. 15.

SoKor model found dead at Paris apartment

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A top South Korean model who was a fixture at fashion week in Paris and London was found dead at her apartment in Paris, an official said Friday. Daul Kim, 20, was found dead Thursday by French police, a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said. The official declined to provide further details and asked not to be named, citing ministry policy.

Media reports called it an apparent suicide, but officials have not confirmed the cause of death. Her Seoul agency, Esteem, said her family and agency officials were heading to Paris. Raised in Seoul and Singapore, Kim modeled in Asia before making her fashion week debut in Paris in 2007, modeling for Chanel, Dries van Noten and Maison Martin Margiela, among others, her agency said. She became a fashion week regular in New York, Milan, Paris and London and most recently appeared during Seoul fashion week in October, according to Esteem.

Known for her thick mane of hair – sometimes dyed blond – and her quirky sensibility, the 5-foot-10 model was celebrated for her sense of style. She was featured recently in a commercial for designer Christopher Kane's line of clothing for British retailer Topshop.