Escaped N.Y. inmate Richard Matt killed by police, partner on run
Escaped convicted murderer Richard Matt was shot and killed by authorities in upstate New York today, according to officials, 20 days after he made an elaborate escape from prison.
Cosby lawyer: Unsealing court docs 'terribly embarrassing'
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A lawyer for Bill Cosby argued Friday that it would be “terribly embarrassing” for the comedian if documents from a 2005 sex-assault lawsuit were unsealed.
Jim Obergefell on historic gay marriage ruling
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Friday that same-sex marriage must be legal nationwide. Yahoo global news anchor Katie Couric spoke to Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the case that challenged the ban on same sex marriages.
Dozens killed in attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France
SOUSSE, Tunisia (AP) — A young man pulled a Kalashnikov from a beach umbrella and sprayed gunfire at European sunbathers at a Tunisian resort, killing at least 39 people — one of three deadly attacks Friday from Europe to North Africa to the Middle East that followed a call to violence by Islamic State extremists.
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizes gay marriage nationwide
By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, handing a historic triumph to the American gay rights movement. The court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law mean that states cannot ban same-sex marriages. With the landmark ruling, gay marriage becomes legal in all 50 states.
Activist takes down Confederate flag outside South Carolina state capitol
The Civil War-era flag has been a focal point for soul-searching across the southern United States in the aftermath of the fatal shooting last week of nine African Americans during a Bible study session at a historic church in Charleston, South Carolina. The suspect in the shootings, Dylann Roof, 21, had posed with a Confederate flag in photos posted on a website that also displayed a racist manifesto. Following the
Supreme Court affirms right to gay marriage
The Supreme Court has found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, striking down bans in 14 states and handing a historic victory to the gay rights movement that would have been unthinkable just 10 years ago.
Clementa Pinckney eulogy caps a roller-coaster stretch for Obama
Barack Obama is experiencing arguably the most pivotal stretch of his tumultuous and consequential two-term presidency as he heads to Charleston Friday to once again take up the unwelcome mantle of comforter in chief.
'Terror' attack in France followed by gunfire at Tunisia tourist spot
At least 27 are confirmed dead at a Tunisian beach after a man was decapitated at a French factory.
9 killed in Alaska sightseeing plane crash
A small plane taking cruise ship passengers on an excursion crashes in southeast Alaska.
Same-sex marriage among last 5 Supreme Court cases
The right of same-sex couples to marry is the biggest of five cases still to be decided.
Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage nationwide
By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, handing a historic triumph to the American gay rights movement. The court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law mean that states cannot ban same-sex marriages. With the ruling, gay marriage will become legal in all 50 states.
U.S. top court rules for white supremacist over sentencing
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday threw out part of a tough federal criminal sentencing law for being overly broad in a ruling that backed a Minnesota white supremacist who challenged his sentence on a firearms crime. The court ruled in favor of Samuel Johnson, who was given 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm. The justices found on a 6-3 vote that a sentencing provision of the
Obama to deliver eulogy Friday for slain South Carolina pastor
By David Adams CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – South Carolina will take a step forward in healing the wounds of last week’s mass shooting when President Barack Obama arrives on Friday to deliver the eulogy for the pastor of the historic church where the attack took place. Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a widely admired state senator and pastor of Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was among the nine people who died
2015 NBA draft winners and losers
One former NBA player believes New York Knicks fans will regret booing his ex-teammate, Kristaps Porzingis.
Timberwolves select Karl-Anthony Towns with No. 1 pick in NBA draft
There might not have been a promise in place, but there’s no longer any question that Flip Saunders sees immense, franchise-changing promise in the 6-foot-11-inch, 250-pound frame of Karl-Anthony Towns.
Live: What does the SCOTUS Obamacare ruling mean?
Katie Couric and guests break down the significance of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Supreme Court upholds Obamacare subsidies
The Supreme Court spared a key part of President Barack Obama’s signature law in a 6-3 decision Thursday, ruling that the federal government may continue to subsidize health insurance in the dozens of states that did not set up their own exchanges.
Supreme Court upholds discrimination claims in housing case
By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday embraced a broad interpretation of the type of civil rights allegations that can be made under the landmark Fair Housing Act by ruling that the law allows for discrimination claims based on seemingly neutral practices that may have a discriminatory effect. On a 5-4 vote in a major civil rights case, the court handed a victory to
The Obama legacy on race
When future historians look back on Obama’s presidency and try to understand his place in America’s racial evolution, they will almost certainly zero in on the one he gave Marc Maron in the comedian’s southern California garage last week, in which Obama dared to publicly utter the most explosive racial epithet in American life.
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U.S. pledges high-end equipment for NATO rapid response force
By Phil Stewart MUENSTER, Germany (Reuters) – The United States said on Monday it would contribute special operations forces, intelligence and other high-end military assets to a new NATO rapid response force that aims in part to deter any future actions by Russia. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the announcement during a trip to Germany, where he delivered an address accusing Moscow of trying to re-create a Soviet-era sphere
U.S., allies target Islamic State with 18 air strikes in Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and coalition forces launched 18 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq on Saturday, with four each in Tal Afar and Mosul, the U.S. military said in a statement. The air strikes hit near nine Iraqi cities in all, destroying Islamic State buildings, tactical units, heavy machine guns and vehicles, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement Sunday. Near Haditha, two air strikes
Islamic State militants plant mines and bombs in Palmyra: monitoring group
Islamic State has planted mines and bombs in the ancient part of the central Syrian city of Palmyra, home to Roman-era ruins, a group monitoring the war said on Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was not immediately clear whether the group was preparing to destroy the ancient ruins or planted the mines to deter government forces from advancing towards the city, also known as Tadmur. Maamoun
Palestinian shot after stabbing Israeli policeman in Jerusalem
A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli paramilitary policeman at the entrance to the walled old city of Jerusalem on Sunday and was then shot by the policeman, police said. Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said both men were seriously wounded. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the border policeman had been stabbed in the neck.
Air strikes kill 15 in Yemen attacks: Houthi media
Arab air strikes killed 15 people and wounded dozens across Yemen late on Saturday, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported. A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been bombarding Houthi rebels and allied army units since March 26 in a campaign to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. Hadi, Riyadh’s ally, was pushed aside last year when Houthis advancing from their northern strongholds overran the government in the capital Sanaa
South Korea reports three new MERS cases, Thailand says none
SEOUL/BANGKOK (Reuters) – South Korea reported three new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome on Sunday, bringing the total to 169 in the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, but Thailand said it had no new infections. South Korea’s Health Ministry late on Saturday reported the 25th fatality, a patient who had suffered a heart ailment and diabetes. Thailand, which discovered its first case last week, says 175 people were exposed
Pope says abuse of migrants "makes one cry," visits Turin Shroud
By Philip Pullella TURIN, Italy (Reuters) – Pope Francis said on Sunday the mistreatment of migrants escaping war and injustice “makes one cry” as he visited the northern Italian city of Turin, stopping to pray before an icon some Christians believe is Jesus’ burial cloth. The Church has not taken an official position, saying the mysterious cloth known as the Shroud of Turin that has baffled scientists is at least
Russian opposition activist attacked on campaign trip
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian activist who works with opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been hospitalized after being attacked while on a campaign trip in Russia’s far east.
Man arrested after trans-Atlantic flight diverted
LONDON (AP) — Authorities have arrested a 42-year-old man for endangering the safety of a plane after a United Airlines flight from Rome to Chicago was forced to divert to Northern Ireland.
Arrests after Lebanon guards shown beating prisoners
Lebanon’s Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi pledged a full investigation and announced two arrests on Sunday after video emerged showing guards beating detainees at the country’s largest and most infamous prison. “We will see through an investigation until the end. This crime cannot go unpunished,” Lebanon’s official National News Agency quoted him as saying.
Charleston massacre church reopens in triumph over 'the Devil'
The church in South Carolina where a white gunman murdered nine African Americans, held Sunday its first service since the massacre, an emotional gathering celebrating the lives of those slain. Hundreds of congregants, some tearful, packed the Emanuel African American Episcopal Church for a service led by visiting clergy because the congregation’s pastor was among those killed by a white supremacist said to have been trying to ignite a race
Car bomb explodes in Yemen capital near mosque used by Houthis, two dead
Islamic State group said it was behind a car bomb that exploded in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Saturday near the Qiba al-Mahdi mosque, killing two people and wounding six others, witnesses and a security source told Reuters. The group said in a statement published on militant Twitter accounts that the attack was targeting the Houthi militia, whose fighters have used the mosque, located in the old city of Sanaa. On
U.S., allies conduct 16 air strikes in Iraq, six in Syria
U.S. and coalition forces targeted the Islamic State on Friday with 16 air strikes in Iraq and six in Syria, the U.S. military said in a statement on Saturday. In Iraq, one strike hit a checkpoint for the Islamic State and also destroyed a storage container near Al Qaim, according to the statement. Striking a checkpoint is intended “to reduce their ability to restrict the movement of, and extort from,
After midnight in the library, Putin sets out his world view
By Paul Ingrassia ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – It was two minutes before midnight when Russian President Vladimir Putin finally entered the meeting room in the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library, more than three hours late, to be interviewed by a dozen exhausted journalists. “We won in a free fight and we are going to host the World Cup,” he declared, slapping away suggestions that Russia cheated with scandal-plagued FIFA to
MERS spreads to Thailand
By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) – One of Thailand’s leading hospitals, known for treating medical tourists, said on Friday it had received the country’s first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), as authorities said it had taken nearly four days to confirm the illness. Thailand said on Thursday a 75-year-old businessman from Oman, who had traveled to Bangkok for medical treatment for a heart condition, had tested positive
Air strikes hit elite Yemen forces, Geneva truce talks break off
By Mohammed Ghobari and Tom Miles SANAA/GENEVA (Reuters) – Saudi-led warplanes bombed elite Republican Guard forces allied with the dominant Houthi faction in Yemen’s conflict on Friday, residents said, and U.N.-sponsored ceasefire talks broke off without a deal to end nearly three months of fighting. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, intervened militarily out of concern for what it sees as a growing Iranian sway in the Arabian Peninsula,
Syrian rebels set eyes on divided Aleppo
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Sylvia Westall and Tom Perry AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian insurgents say they have begun a campaign to capture full control of the divided city of Aleppo, Syria’s most populous city before it become a main battleground in its four-year-old civil war. Neither side has been able to control Syria’s main commercial hub, 50 km from Turkey, since battle erupted there in 2012, turning its UNESCO-listed historic center
Terror attacks, deaths up sharply in 2014: State Department
By Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Terrorist attacks worldwide surged by more than a third and fatalities soared by 81 percent in 2014, a year that also saw Islamic State eclipse al Qaeda as the leading jihadist militant group, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. In its annual report on terrorism, the department also charts an unprecedented flow of foreign fighters to Syria, often lured by Islamic State’s use
English city stunned by family's flight to join Islamic State
By Michael Holden BRADFORD, England (Reuters) – Zahoor Ahmed shakes his head in disbelief as he surveys the back of a terraced house belonging to the family of the three Dawood sisters, believed to have traveled to Syria to join Islamic State militants and brought their nine children with them. “Why would you go to Syria? The case came to light just two days after reports that Talha Asmal, a
Tunisia says consular staff kidnapped in Libya returned home
By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) – Ten members of Tunisia’s diplomatic staff kidnapped in Libya a week ago have been freed and returned to Tunis on Friday, and the Tunisian government has shut down its consular operations in Tripoli. Armed groups in Libya have repeatedly kidnapped diplomats and foreign nationals to pressure their governments to free Libyan militants held in jails overseas. Libya’s two rival governments – one internationally recognized
