Obama observes Labor Day, extends contractors' paid leave
The president will sign an executive order Monday requiring paid sick leave for employees of federal contractors, including 300,000 who currently receive none.
Britain to take in 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years
British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged on Monday to take in up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years, responding to a growing public clamor for his government to help those fleeing civil war in the country. “We are proposing that Britain should resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refuges over the rest of this parliament. Cameron has been under pressure to take in a far greater number of
Harvard Professor Larry Lessig Says He's Running for President
After exceeding his $1 million crowd-funding goal, Harvard Law School professor Larry Lessig announced today on “This Week” that he is running for president. “I think I’m running to get people to acknowledge the elephant in the room,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.
Merkel demands EU partners share in burden of human tide
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, reflecting on “a moving, in some parts breathtaking weekend behind us,” said Monday that all EU countries should help to accommodate the human tide of Arabs, Asians and Africans seeking refuge from war and poverty.
Sarah Palin on immigrants: 'When you're here, let's speak American'
The former Alaskan governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee weighs in on the war of words between 2016 GOP hopefuls Jeb Bush and Donald Trump.
Illinois town to bury slain officer as police hunt killers
An 18-mile procession beginning after Gliniewicz’s funeral will wind its way from Fox Lake, about 60 miles (97 km) northwest of Chicago, through Lake County. The procession will end at Hillside East Cemetery in Antioch, where Gliniewicz will be buried. Gliniewicz, a decorated 30-year veteran of the Fox Lake Police Department and the father of four boys who was known around the village as “G.I. Joe,” was killed on Tuesday.
Israel's Netanyahu rejects call to take in Syrian refugees
By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a call by Israel’s opposition leader to provide refuge to Syrian refugees, saying the country is too small to take them in. Images in recent days of thousands of refugees herded on and off trains in Europe as they sought a safe haven from Middle East conflict struck a chord in Israel, a state created three years
Powell, Wasserman Schultz support Iran nuclear deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Already a done deal in Congress, the Iran nuclear agreement gained more momentum Sunday when former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic National Committee, announced their support.
Pope calls on Europe's parishes to help shelter families fleeing war, hunger
The Vatican will shelter two families of refugees newly arrived from the Middle East.
6 'Trumpisms' that would spell trouble for anyone but Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lobbing rhetorical stink bombs at a large group of voters is not the normal way to get ahead in U.S. politics. Nor is alienating prominent figures of your own party.
60-something socialist is Britain's unlikely political star
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s surprising new political star is a rumpled 66-year-old with a set of socialist ideas many thought had faded with the Cold War.
Hundreds gather at jail for Kentucky clerk held in gay marriage dispute
Up to 500 supporters gathered outside a Kentucky jail on Saturday to support a county clerk held there for defying a federal judge’s order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, 49, who refused the licenses due to her Christian belief that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, said she was prepared to remain in jail where she has been reading
Prosecutors seek to re-argue case that ended Connecticut death penalty
Connecticut prosecutors asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to reconsider its recent decision on a narrow vote to end the state’s death penalty, a clerk for the state Supreme Court said. The ruling, on a 4-3 vote, added Connecticut to the growing list of states backing away from the death penalty, including Nebraska and Maryland most recently. Thirty-one states have the death penalty.
Four dead in Dallas traffic accident
(Reuters) – Four people were killed on Saturday night in a traffic accident in Dallas, police said, and authorities have taken four people into custody after they fled the scene of the deadly crash.
Guatemala voters choose new president amid fraud scandal
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An uncomfortable challenge confronted Guatemala’s presidential candidates on Sunday: trying to win the votes of a nation that has put the last elected leader in court custody.
Rally to support defiant clerk jailed over marriage licenses
They stood chanting outside the jail house, “Thank you, Kim; Thank you, Kim,” and prayed that the defiant county clerk locked inside could hear them.
Clinton personally paid staffer to maintain private server: report
Hillary Clinton used personal funds to pay a State Department staffer to maintain an email server she used for both personal and government matters when she was U.S. secretary of state, The Washington Post said on Saturday, citing a campaign official. The unidentified official for Clinton’s campaign for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination told the Post the pay arrangement with Bryan Pagliano ensured taxpayer dollars were not spent on a
Exhaustion, elation as 5,000 migrants reach Austria, Germany
Thousands of exhausted, elated migrants reached their dream destinations of Germany and Austria on Saturday.
Ohio voters' measured view of 2016 race as wild summer fades
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — It’s been a tumultuous political summer.
Supporters gather at jail for Kentucky clerk held in gay marriage dispute
By Steve Bittenbender GRAYSON, Ky. (Reuters) – Around 200 supporters gathered outside a Kentucky jail on Saturday to support a county clerk held there for defying a federal judge’s order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, 49, who refused the licenses due to her Christian belief that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, said she was prepared to remain in
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Hungary PM slams migrant 'rebellion', UN warns of millions more refugees
By Krisztina Than and Stephanie Nebehay BUDAPEST/GENEVA (Reuters) – Hungary’s prime minister angrily accused illegal migrants on Friday of “rebelling” against the rule of law in his country as security forces across Europe struggled to control record flows of hungry, scared refugees. The United Nations called for the swift creation of large-scale reception centers in frontline states such as Hungary and Greece, and one U.N. agency warned that millions more
Russia tells Washington: talk to us over Syria or risk 'unintended incidents'
By Christian Lowe MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia called on Friday for Washington to restart direct military-to-military cooperation to avert “unintended incidents” near Syria, at a time when U.S. officials say Moscow is building up forces to protect President Bashar al-Assad’s government. The United States is leading a campaign of air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Syrian air space, and a greater Russian presence would raise the prospect of the
Urban killings, air strikes as bloodshed worsens in Turkish southeast
Turkish jets bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq for a fifth straight night, while the leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition accused security forces of a shoot-to-kill policy in another town under a week-long curfew. Hundreds of militants and members of the security forces have died since hostilities resumed between the PKK and the state after the collapse of a ceasefire in July, shattering a peace process launched
Russia raises stakes on Syria ahead of U.N. meeting in New York
By Gabriela Baczynska and Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) – By refusing to clarify the scale of its military presence in Syria, Russia keeps the West fearing a considerable build-up to win a stronger bargaining position when world powers sit down to talks on the conflict, Western diplomats in Moscow said. Russia’s central demand now is that its long-time ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, should be included in international efforts to
Saudi-led air raids hit bases, Houthi leaders' houses in Yemeni capital
War planes from a Saudi-led military alliance bombed Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Thursday, in what witnesses described as the fiercest attacks on the city in over five months of war. The air strikes hit houses of political leaders in the Iran-allied Houthi movement and military bases, as explosions and wailing ambulance sirens forced a sleepless night on the city’s nearly 2 million shell-shocked residents. “They were afraid the building would
Islamic State attacks Syrian air base in east, dozens reported killed
Dozens of Syrian government troops and Islamic State fighters have been killed in fighting around a government-held air base in eastern Syria in a region that is a stronghold for the jihadists, a monitoring group said on Thursday, Islamic State used at least two car bombs in its latest assault on the air base near the city of Deir al-Zor, where government troops are holed up, the Syrian Observatory for
Western states train Kurdish force in Syria, force's leader says
By Tom Perry and Naline Malla BEIRUT (Reuters) – Western states have provided counter-terrorism training in Syria to Kurdish security forces that are battling Islamic State, the head of the force said, in a significant expansion of support to the Kurdish administration in northern Syria. The internal security force, known as the Asayish, is part of the Kurdish administration that has emerged in areas of northern Syria where the Damascus-based
Juncker urges Europe to welcome refugees
By Alastair Macdonald STRASBOURG (Reuters) – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged EU governments on Wednesday to accept a mandatory system to share out a wave of refugees fleeing war and poverty but also promised to improve frontier defenses and deport more illegal migrants. In his first State of the Union address to the European Parliament, Juncker outlined an emergency plan to distribute 160,000 refugees among the 28 EU member
Russian troops join combat in Syria: sources
By Gabriela Baczynska, Tom Perry, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Phil Stewart MOSCOW/BEIRUT/AMMAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russian forces have begun participating in combat operations in Syria to help defend President Bashar al-Assad’s government, three Lebanese sources familiar with the political and military situation there said on Wednesday. The sources, speaking to Reuters on condition they not be identified, gave the most forthright account yet from the region of what U.S. officials say appears
Khamenei says Iran will not negotiate with U.S. beyond nuclear talks
Iran’s Supreme Leader has said Tehran will not negotiate with the United States on any issue after the landmark nuclear deal with world powers in July, according to his official website on Wednesday. The comments appeared to contradict more moderate president Hassan Rouhani, who said on Tuesday the Islamic Republic was ready to hold talks with the United States on ways to resolve Syria’s civil war. “We negotiated with the
U.S. House mulls canceling vote on Iran disapproval bill-aide
Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives are weighing the possibility of abandoning a disapproval resolution for the Iran nuclear deal, as doubts grow that the legislation has enough votes to even clear a procedural hurdle, a Republican leadership aide said on Wednesday. The House was on a path to vote later on Wednesday on the rule for debating the measure, a procedural step that would have cleared the
Al Qaeda calls Islamic State illegitimate but suggests cooperation
By Omar Fahmy CAIRO (Reuters) – Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri dismissed Islamic State and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as illegitimate but said his followers would join them in fighting the Western-led coalition in Iraq and Syria if possible. In an audiotape on the internet, Zawahri said: “We don’t recognize this caliphate.” It was not clear when the recording was made but references to events suggest it was made
Security forces lock down Beirut as politicians meet, protesters gather
By John Davison BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese security services locked down central Beirut on Wednesday as ministers and parliamentarians met to discuss ways out of a political crisis that has paralyzed government and fueled a wave of street protests. Activists mobilizing against government failures, including a rubbish disposal crisis that has allowed garbage to pile up in Beirut, gathered for protests but were kept away from government buildings by soldiers
UK softens tone against Syria's Assad, moots transition period
By Kylie MacLellan and William James LONDON (Reuters) – Britain could accept Syrian President Bashar al-Assad staying in place for a transition period if it helped resolve the country’s conflict, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Wednesday, in what appeared to be a softening of tone on the Syrian leader. Britain, along with other Western countries, has repeatedly called for Assad to go, saying it is a precondition for bringing
US stocks rise following gains in Asia and Europe
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose in midday trading on optimism that policymakers in Asia will do more to help boost growth in the region. Japan’s stock market logged its biggest gain in almost seven years after comments from the country’s prime minister raised expectations of more measures to shore up economic growth. China’s No. 2 leader said that the nation had no plans to devalue its currency further
Russia reportedly gets Iran's clearance for Syria flights
MOSCOW (AP) — Iran has granted permission for Russian planes to fly over its territory en route to Syria, Russian news agencies reported Wednesday, a bypass needed after Bulgaria refused overflights amid signs of a Russian military buildup in Syria.
Struggling Germany urges neighbors to do more to ease refugee crisis
By Paul Carrel and Georgina Prodhan BERLIN/MUNICH (Reuters) – Germany told its European partners they must take in more refugees on Monday as it struggles to cope with record numbers of asylum seekers and as police in Hungary used pepper spray on migrants who broke out of a reception center at the border. Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking after a weekend in which 20,000 migrants entered Germany from Hungary by train,
Bomb kills 14 Turkish police officers as jets strike PKK in Iraq
Kurdish militants killed 14 police officers in a bomb attack on a minibus in a Turkish province bordering Armenia and Iran on Tuesday, a government official told Reuters, widening a conflict with the Turkish state. More than 40 Turkish warplanes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets overnight in northern Iraq, where the group has bases, in response to Sunday’s killing of 16 soldiers near the Iraqi border, the deadliest attack
Coalition strikes Yemen capital, more foreign troops reported arriving
A Saudi-led alliance launched more air strikes on Yemen’s capital and more foreign troops were reported to be moving into the country as the campaign to rout Houthi forces intensified. The Houthi-run state news agency Saba said that 15 citizens were killed and 77 were wounded in the attacks by warplanes on Sanaa. The alliance, made up mainly of Gulf Arab countries, has increased air strikes on Sanaa and other
Hit by new wave of refugees, Germany warns EU partners
By Paul Carrel and Georgina Prodhan BERLIN/MUNICH (Reuters) – Struggling to cope with a record influx of asylum seekers, Germany told its European partners on Monday they must take in more refugees too, saying the burden could not fall on just a few countries. Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking after a weekend in which 20,000 migrants made their way to Germany from Hungary by train, bus and on foot, described the
