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Saudis arrest 93 jihadists, say attacks foiled

Saudi Arabia has arrested nearly 100 jihadists, mostly linked to the Islamic State group, and foiled several plots to carry out attacks including on the American embassy, authorities said Tuesday. The arrests have taken place since December and most of those detained were Saudis, the interior ministry said in a statement published by the official news agency SPA. It said two Syrians and a Saudi who had threatened to launch

Baltimore cleans up, mayor scrambles after riot over police-custody death

By Ian Simpson and Warren Strobel BALTIMORE (Reuters) – Baltimore residents on Tuesday began to clear the wreckage of rioting and fires that erupted after the funeral of a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody, while the city’s mayor defended local law enforcement’s light initial response. Acrid smoke hung over streets where violence broke out just blocks from Freddie Gray’s funeral and spread through much of the poor

Skeptical Supreme Court justices hear gay marriage case

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday on whether the Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, with a majority of the nine justices firing skeptical questions at a lawyer asking them to legalize gay marriage nationwide. Five justices including a possible swing vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy, and a member of the court’s liberal wing, Justice Stephen Breyer, asked lawyer Mary Bonauto

Boston bomber's lawyers focus on brother's obsession with Islam

By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) – The older brother of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was transformed from a heavy drinker and drugs user into someone obsessed with Islam after returning from a trip to Russia in 2012, witnesses said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old ethnic Chechen was convicted this month of killing three people and injuring 264 in the bombing, and shooting dead a police officer three days later

World 'closer than ever' to Iran nuclear deal, Kerry says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world is “closer than ever” to reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran but the work is far from over, with key issues unresolved, Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday told a global gathering on nuclear disarmament, where he and Iran’s foreign minister met on the sidelines.