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Virginia ex-governor's conviction appeal denied by U.S. court

A U.S. appeals court denied former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell’s appeal of his 2014 corruption conviction on Tuesday, setting the stage for an appeal to the Supreme Court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a brief opinion that no judge had voted for a rehearing of McDonnell’s appeal of his 11 convictions. A three-judge panel of the court in July had upheld McDonnell’s conviction for taking $177,000

More than 30 people arrested in Arkansas drug, gun case

More than 30 people in northeast Arkansas have been arrested on firearms and drug charges in a major federal investigation, a U.S. Attorney’s office said on Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas scheduled a news conference later in the day to discuss the unsealing of 40 federal indictments charging 70 defendants with drug and gun crimes in the case, it said in a statement.

Russia, Saudis fail in talks to agree on fate of Syria's Assad

By Katya Golubkova and Gabriela Baczynska MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and Saudi Arabia failed in talks on Tuesday to overcome their differences on the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a central dispute in Syria’s civil war that shows no sign of abating despite renewed diplomacy. Russia is pushing for a coalition to fight Islamic State insurgents — who have seized swathes of northern and eastern Syria — that would

Turkish air strikes hit 17 Kurdish militant targets, military says

By Ece Toksabay and and Seymus Cakan ANKARA/DIYARBAKIR (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes hit 17 Kurdish militant targets in the southeastern province of Hakkari on Monday and Tuesday, the military said, as it ratchets up an offensive against the insurgents. Turkey has been buffeted by increased fighting between its military and the outlawed Kurdistan People’s Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for greater Kurdish autonomy. On Tuesday, the PKK

Charges filed against Washington Post reporter who covered 2014 Ferguson protests

A Washington Post reporter arrested last year while covering protests in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager has been charged with trespassing and interfering with a police officer, the newspaper said on Monday. Wesley Lowery, 25, was arrested after police asked him and another reporter to leave a McDonald’s restaurant being used as a staging area for press coverage of the demonstrations that occurred after