US escalates involvement in Syria amid talks on Assad future
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States escalated its fight against the Islamic State in Syria on Friday, pledging the first open deployment of military boots on the ground, even as U.S., Russian and other diplomats pressed a new peace effort that America hopes will hasten the departure of Bashar Assad.
House GOP, eager to mend wounds, elects Ryan as new speaker
WASHINGTON (AP) — Splintered House Republicans elected Rep. Paul Ryan to be the chamber’s 54th speaker on Thursday, turning to the youthful but battle-tested Wisconsin lawmaker to mend the party’s self-inflicted wounds and craft a conservative message to woo voters in next year’s elections.
Cruz and Rubio score points by bashing media during debate
It was not a good night for the media at the CNBC Republican presidential debate.
Cueto's 2-hitter gives Royals 2-0 Series lead
Corey Jones death: New questions about the latest police shooting in Florida
A plainclothes police officer who fatally shot a stranded motorist in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 10 days ago, apparently wasn’t qualified for his undercover surveillance assignment, according to documents obtained by Yahoo News.
Republican Paul Ryan elected as House speaker, replacing Boehner
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted to install Republican Representative Paul Ryan as its new speaker, replacing John Boehner following a revolt by conservative lawmakers who forced his retirement. Ryan won 236 votes among the 247 Republicans in the chamber, indicating that the Wisconsin congressman was deserted by only a handful of the conservatives who pushed out Boehner. Ryan now moves to the number two succession spot for
Sheriff: School officer fired after tossing student in class
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A deputy was fired Wednesday after video showed him flipping a teen backward out of her desk and tossing her across a classroom, with the sheriff saying the officer did not follow proper procedures and training.
Former House Speaker Hastert pleads guilty to lying to FBI
CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to lying to the FBI in a hush-money scheme, agreeing to a deal with federal prosecutors that recommends he serve no more than six months in prison and averting a trial in the case.
Sheriff: School officer fired after tossing student in class
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A deputy was fired Wednesday after video showed him flipping a teen backward out of her desk and tossing her across a classroom, with the sheriff saying the officer did not follow proper procedures and training.
Sheriff: School officer fired after tossing student in class
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A deputy was fired Wednesday after video showed him flipping a teen backward out of her desk and tossing her across a classroom, with the sheriff saying the officer did not follow proper procedures and training.
Former House Speaker Hastert pleads guilty to lying to FBI
CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to lying to the FBI in a hush-money scheme, agreeing to a deal with federal prosecutors that recommends he serve no more than six months in prison and averting a trial in the case.
Former House Speaker Hastert pleads guilty to lying to FBI
CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to lying to the FBI in a hush-money scheme, agreeing to a deal with federal prosecutors that recommends he serve no more than six months in prison and averting a trial in the case.
Wave hit Canada boat on 1 side while passengers on left side
TOFINO, British Columbia (AP) — Passengers were crowded on the left side of the top deck of a whale-watching boat when it was struck by a wave from the right side, causing the vessel to capsize and send 27 people into the water off Vancouver Island, an investigator said.
Wave hit Canada boat on 1 side while passengers on left side
TOFINO, British Columbia (AP) — Passengers were crowded on the left side of the top deck of a whale-watching boat when it was struck by a wave from the right side, causing the vessel to capsize and send 27 people into the water off Vancouver Island, an investigator said.
Wave hit Canada boat on 1 side while passengers on left side
TOFINO, British Columbia (AP) — Passengers were crowded on the left side of the top deck of a whale-watching boat when it was struck by a wave from the right side, causing the vessel to capsize and send 27 people into the water off Vancouver Island, an investigator said.
Officer fired for violating policy in S.C. classroom arrest
The white sheriff’s deputy caught on video flipping a black high school student out of her classroom chair in Columbia, South Carolina, has been fired, a sheriff said on Wednesday. Deputy Ben Fields violated agency policy when he picked up the teenage girl and threw her across a classroom as he attempted to make an arrest, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told a news conference. Videos filmed by students showed
Officer fired for violating policy in S.C. classroom arrest
The white sheriff’s deputy caught on video flipping a black high school student out of her classroom chair in Columbia, South Carolina, has been fired, a sheriff said on Wednesday. Deputy Ben Fields violated agency policy when he picked up the teenage girl and threw her across a classroom as he attempted to make an arrest, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told a news conference. Videos filmed by students showed
Officer fired for violating policy in S.C. classroom arrest
The white sheriff’s deputy caught on video flipping a black high school student out of her classroom chair in Columbia, South Carolina, has been fired, a sheriff said on Wednesday. Deputy Ben Fields violated agency policy when he picked up the teenage girl and threw her across a classroom as he attempted to make an arrest, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told a news conference. Videos filmed by students showed
Former House Speaker Hastert pleads guilty in hush-money case
By Mary Wisniewski and Fiona Ortiz CHICAGO (Reuters) – Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a federal financial crime in a hush-money case stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct, marking the dramatic downfall of a once powerful politician. In exchange for the guilty plea, federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of zero to six months imprisonment, although the judge in the case could potentially sentence Hastert
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Syria government rockets kill 40 in Damascus suburb: monitor
Forty people, including a child, were killed on Friday when rockets fired by Syrian government forces hit a market in a rebel-held area outside Damascus, a monitor said. “There were 40 people killed and at least 100 wounded in the centre of Douma,” a town on the eastern edges of the capital, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP. “There is still heavy fire
Month into Russia's Syria strikes, what has changed?
Russia launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad on September 30, providing air cover for government offensives in several provinces. Q: Where has Russia carried out raids? A: Russia has conducted air strikes in 10 of Syria’s 14 provinces, including the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group strongholds of Raqa and Deir Ezzor.
Month into Russia's Syria strikes, what has changed?
Russia launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad on September 30, providing air cover for government offensives in several provinces. Q: Where has Russia carried out raids? A: Russia has conducted air strikes in 10 of Syria’s 14 provinces, including the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group strongholds of Raqa and Deir Ezzor.
The Latest: Refugees blame Afghan men for border tensions
LESBOS, Greece (AP) — The latest in the odyssey of hundreds of thousands of people crossing Europe in search of a new life. All times local.
The Latest: Refugees blame Afghan men for border tensions
LESBOS, Greece (AP) — The latest in the odyssey of hundreds of thousands of people crossing Europe in search of a new life. All times local.
U.S. aims to see if Iran, Russia ready to dump Syria's Assad
By Matt Spetalnick and Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday it hoped a new round of international talks on Syria’s civil war would clarify whether Tehran and Moscow could eventually accept a new leadership in Damascus, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. More than a dozen powers were headed to Vienna for a fresh effort on Thursday and Friday to end Syria’s four-year civil
U.S. aims to see if Iran, Russia ready to dump Syria's Assad
By Matt Spetalnick and Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday it hoped a new round of international talks on Syria’s civil war would clarify whether Tehran and Moscow could eventually accept a new leadership in Damascus, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. More than a dozen powers were headed to Vienna for a fresh effort on Thursday and Friday to end Syria’s four-year civil
China adopts two-child policy
By Megha Rajagopalan and Koh Gui Qing BEIJING (Reuters) – China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of a strict one-child policy, the ruling Communist Party said on Thursday, a move aimed at alleviating demographic strains on the economy. The policy is a major liberalization of the country’s family planning restrictions, already eased in late 2013 when Beijing said it would
U.S., West see only modest gains likely at Syrian talks
By Matt Spetalnick and Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) – Success at multilateral talks on Syria, which bring regional rivals Iran and Saudia Arabia face-to-face, might be measured by just keeping participants at the conference table, diplomats said on Thursday, playing down expectations of any breakthrough. More than a dozen powers were heading to Vienna for a fresh effort on Thursday and Friday to end Syria’s four-year civil war in which
U.S. Navy scrambled jets after Russian planes approached carrier: official
A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier scrambled four F-18 jets on Tuesday after two Russian anti-submarine aircraft flew within a nautical mile of the warship, a Navy official said on Thursday. A U.S. Navy official said two Russian TU-142 “Bear” aircraft flew within a nautical mile of the Reagan, prompting it to launch four F-18 fighter jets to escort the planes away from the ship. The Navy official, speaking on condition
Air strikes hit at least 12 hospitals in Syria in past weeks: MSF
Air strikes in northern Syria have hit at least 12 hospitals in recent weeks, killing at least 35 patients and medical staff in a new escalation of fighting, international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Thursday. The violence has also caused the displacement of thousands of civilians since the end of September, MSF said, reporting a significant increase strikes on medical facilities. The charity did not specify which country
Two Palestinians shot dead after attacks on Israeli soldiers: security forces
By Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli security forces shot dead two Palestinian assailants in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, police and the army said, as a month-long spate of stabbing attacks showed no signs of abating. The latest assaults, like other recent stabbings, took place in Hebron, a city in the West Bank, signaling that violence was shifting to that territory from Israel and Jerusalem, where police have
Members of Iraq's ruling coalition threaten to withdraw support for Abadi's reforms
By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) – More than 60 members of Iraq’s ruling coalition will seek to withdraw parliamentary support for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s reforms if he does not respond within 72 hours to their demands for wider consultation, parliamentarians said. Growing political tensions could undermine efforts to tackle an economic crisis and form a united front in the war against Islamic State militants, who pose the biggest security
US stocks slip as economic growth lags
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slightly lower in midday trading after the U.S. government said economic growth slowed more than expected in the summer.
Rwanda MPs back constitution change to let Kagame extend rule
By Clement Uwiringiyimana KIGALI (Reuters) – Rwanda’s lower house of parliament voted on Thursday to allow President Paul Kagame to extend his rule beyond a second term that ends in 2017 and possibly stay on until 2034, a move opposed by the United States and other donors. Draft amendments to the constitution approved by the lower house still have to be backed by the upper house of senators and also
Syria: Four years of efforts to end the conflict
Vienna (AFP) – Many attempts have been made to resolve the conflict in Syria, and yet another is getting underway in Vienna.
Ranieri delivers the pizza after Leicester clean sheet
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri is delivering on his promise to treat his players to pizzas after an early season incentive. The Italian had vowed to treat the high-flying Premier League squad to pizzas if they kept a clean sheet. True to his word, Ranieri is footing the bill at a city centre restaurant on Thursday.
Arch-rivals Saudi Arabia, Iran to discuss Syria face-to-face for first time
By Angus McDowall and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia and Iran announced they would attend international talks in Vienna on Friday on the war in Syria, in the first meeting between the regional adversaries aimed at ending the four-year-long war. Saudi Arabia said its participation in the talks aimed to gauge the willingness of Russia and Iran, the Syrian government’s main backers, for a peace deal, Foreign Minister
No physical signs Russian soldier who died in Syria hanged himself: father
By Maria Tsvetkova GRECHANAYA BALKA, Russia (Reuters) – The family of the first Russian soldier confirmed dead in Syria buried their son in a village graveyard on Wednesday, with his father saying there were no signs on the body to support the official account he had hanged himself. Russian defense officials say Vadim Kostenko, 19, hanged himself at a base on the Syrian coast on Saturday because of problems in
Israeli forces kill Palestinian who tried to stab soldier, army says
By Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who tried to stab them in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday and an Israeli woman was wounded in a separate knife attack near a Jewish settlement, the military and police said. The latest assaults underscored what appeared to be a shift in weeks of bloodshed to the West Bank away from Jerusalem, where Israeli police have set
