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Syria rebels seize most of Sweida military airport: spokesman

Syrian rebels seized most of a military airport in regime-controlled Sweida province Thursday and shot down a warplane nearby, a spokesman told AFP. “The Southern Front has liberated Al-Thaala military airport and is carrying out mopping-up operations against remaining forces,” the alliance’s spokesman, Major Essam al-Rayes, told AFP. The Syrian Observatory for Human rights also reported the rebel advance into the airport in the Druze-majority southern province.

Tropical storm Carlos forms off Mexico's Pacific coast

Tropical storm Carlos formed off the southern Pacific coast of Mexico on Thursday and was expected to gain some strength in the coming days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Carlos was about 230 miles (370 km) south of the beach resort of Acapulco and had maximum winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km/h), the Miami-based NHC said. The center said the storm was expected to move in a

New York man charged with murdering police officer

A New York man accused of shooting a plainclothes police officer last month was charged with first-degree murder on Thursday, in a 12-count indictment that stiffened prior charges after the officer’s death. Demetrius Blackwell, 35, was arrested hours after he allegedly shot New York Police Department officer Brian Moore, 25, in the head after Moore attempted to question him in a middle-class section of the borough of Queens on May

New York man charged with murdering police officer

A New York man accused of shooting a plainclothes police officer last month was charged with first-degree murder on Thursday, in a 12-count indictment that stiffened prior charges after the officer’s death. Demetrius Blackwell, 35, was arrested hours after he allegedly shot New York Police Department officer Brian Moore, 25, in the head after Moore attempted to question him in a middle-class section of the borough of Queens on May

Escape tests New York prison's ties with rural town

The rural New York prison, that two inmates escaped from over the weekend, has long been nicknamed “Little Siberia” by officials who viewed its location in the state’s far north as an ideal place to tuck hardened offenders. With more than 450 state, federal and local law enforcement officers now in their sixth day of a manhunt for Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, following their escape from the