Suspect named but few details in killings of rich DC family
A 34-year-old man is being sought in last week’s quadruple homicide.
Domestic violence charges against former NFL player Ray Rice dismissed
(Reuters) – Domestic violence charges against Ray Rice were dismissed on Thursday after the former National Football League running back completed a pretrial intervention program, New Jersey prosecutors said. Rice, a three-time Pro Bowler who played with the Baltimore Ravens from 2008 until being suspended in 2014, had his $35 million contract terminated in September when a graphic video surfaced of him knocking out his then-finance Janay Palmer in an
Around-the-clock cleanup effort under way on oil-fouled California beach
By Alan Devall SANTA BARBARA (Reuters) – Cleanup teams labored on Thursday for a third day to remove patches of crude petroleum that stained a California beach and fouled offshore waters from a pipeline rupture that may rank as the biggest oil spill to hit the Santa Barbara coastline in more than four decades. Working around the clock, about 300 people on the beach were scooping up globs of oil
Two 2016 candidates, two faces of fear
Two top Republican senators aired their grievances against the Obama administration’s approach to foreign policy and surveillance.
Detroit prosecutors join criminal probe of Takata over air bags
Prosecutors in Detroit have joined the U.S. federal probe into Takata Corp’s defective air bag inflators that are linked to at least six deaths globally. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section in Washington “are jointly handling the criminal investigation into Takata,” Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the Detroit office, said on Thursday.
Innovative technologies under development for cleaning up oil spills
As California struggles to deal with Tuesday’s huge oil spill, scientists are working on more efficient technologies to aid in future cleanups.
Nebraska lawmakers vote to abolish death penalty
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill abolishing the death penalty with enough votes to override a promised veto from Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Bin Laden bent on spectacular US attack until the end: files
Hunkered down in his Pakistani compound, Osama bin Laden pleaded with his followers to stay focused on attacking the United States instead of being dragged into Muslim infighting. Documents declassified on Wednesday shed new light on the mindset of Al-Qaeda’s founder, his debates over tactics, his anxiety over Western spying and his fixation with the group’s media image. “The focus should be on killing and fighting the American people and
Banks fined $2.5 billion, to plead guilty to market rigging
Four big banks will pay $2.5 billion in fines and plead guilty to criminally manipulating global currency market going back to 2007. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Barclays and The Royal Bank of Scotland conspired …
Los Angeles gives preliminary approval to $15 minimum wage
By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Los Angeles City Council voted on Tuesday to increase the minimum wage in the nation’s second-largest city to $15 an hour by 2020 from the current $9, in a victory for labor and community groups that have pushed for similar pay hikes in several U.S. municipalities. The council’s 14-1 vote on the measure, which must come back before the panel for final
U.S. releases documents recovered in raid that killed bin Laden
U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday released documents it said were recovered during the 2011 raid on the compound in Pakistan where U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The released material included a variety of declassified documents, a list of English language books recovered from the compound and material published by other militant groups. U.S. forces killed bin Laden, leader of the militant organization responsible for the Sept.
Waitresses chronicle Texas biker bloodshed, uncertain futures
Some ran, others cowered in a walk-in freezer to escape the deadly biker brawl.
Los Angeles becomes latest US city to favor $15 minimum wage
The move is closely watched as Americans’ wages have stagnated.
Shopping area reopens after deadly Texas motorcycle gang fight
By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – The shopping center in the central Texas city of Waco shut after a weekend brawl between rival motorcycle gangs that left nine people dead will reopen on Wednesday, police said. Authorities still are investigating the main crime scene, a Twin Peaks restaurant in the center where five biker gangs used guns, knives, clubs and chains in a Sunday fight that spilled out into
Top Democrat sounds 'alarm bells' over Obama rhetoric on Islamic State
A senior House of Representatives Democrat said Tuesday that the White House’s description of supposed progress in the war against the Islamic State should ring “alarm bells,” and called the fall of the city of Ramadi to the extremists “a very serious and significant setback.”
Takata air bag recall becomes biggest ever in US
Air bag maker Takata Corp. has agreed to declare 33.8 million of its inflator mechanisms defective, effectively doubling the number of cars and trucks that have been recalled in the U.S. so far. The announcement …
Pinterest removes (then reactivates) #GunFAIL boards
David Waldman uses his #GunFAIL boards to keep track of all the children who are accidentally shot and killed in the United States.
Bulk domestic surveillance: Where the 2016 candidates stand
The candidates are split on one of the USA Patriot Act’s most controversial provisions.
Court rejects State Dept. plan for release of Clinton emails
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge rejected the State Department’s proposal to release portions of 55,000 pages of emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by next January, saying the agency must instead conduct a “rolling production” of the emails.
Memo: Violence long simmered between rival Texas biker gangs
WACO, Texas (AP) — Texas law enforcement authorities warned weeks ago of growing animosity between rival motorcycle gangs, a feud that erupted into violence this week with a deadly lunchtime shootout between the two groups in a crowded Waco restaurant.
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Yemen rebels stay away as UN urges all parties to talk
Only a comprehensive solution involving all parties to the Yemen crisis can resolve the conflict, the UN envoy to the war-ravaged country said Sunday at a conference boycotted by rebels. “There is no solution to this crisis but with a comprehensive dialogue that will not exclude anyone,” Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the meeting of Yemeni political parties, intellectuals and civic groups in the Saudi capital. He called on all
Illinois Marine among 8 dead in Nepal helicopter crash
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A U.S. Marine Corps combat photographer from Illinois is among the eight dead who were aboard a Marine helicopter that crashed during a relief mission in earthquake-hit Nepal.
Ingolstadt earns Bundesliga promotion for 1st time
BERLIN (AP) — Ingolstadt was promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time with a 2-1 home win over Leipzig to win the German second division on Sunday.
U.S. special forces hit Islamic State in Syria raid
By Will Dunham and Tom Perry WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S special forces have carried out a raid inside Syria that killed a man identified as a senior Islamic State leader who helped direct the group’s oil, gas and financial operations, U.S. officials said on Saturday. The White House said President Barack Obama ordered the raid that killed the Islamic State figure identified as Abu Sayyaf. U.S. officials said his wife
U.S. special forces hit Islamic State in Syria raid
By Will Dunham and Tom Perry WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S special forces have carried out a raid inside Syria that killed a man identified as a senior Islamic State leader who helped direct the group’s oil, gas and financial operations, U.S. officials said on Saturday. The White House said President Barack Obama ordered the raid that killed the Islamic State figure identified as Abu Sayyaf. U.S. officials said his wife
U.S. says its troops killed senior Islamic State leader in Syria raid
American special operations forces killed a senior Islamic State leader who helped direct the group’s oil, gas and financial operations during a raid in eastern Syria, U.S. officials said on Saturday. The White House said President Barack Obama ordered the overnight raid that killed the man identified as Abu Sayyaf. U.S. officials said his wife, Umm Sayyaf, was captured in the raid and was being held in Iraq.
Turkish jets shoot down Syrian aircraft: news reports
Turkish military jets shot down a Syrian aircraft after it violated Turkey’s airspace on Saturday, media reported. Turkey’s NTV news channel said it came down in Syrian territory. A Turkish military official confirmed that two F-16 fighters flying out of the Incirlik base in southern Turkey had opened fire, but was unable to give any details about the target. NATO member Turkey has a 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria and
U.S., China clash over disputed South China Sea
By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States and China clashed over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea on Saturday, as China’s foreign minister asserted its sovereignty to reclaim reefs saying its determination to protect its interests is “as hard as a rock”. After a private meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi showed no sign of backing
Strong aftershock hits Nepal, near Kathmandu: USGS
(Reuters) – A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit Nepal on Saturday, about 76 km east south east of the capital Kathmandu, at a shallow depth of 10 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on April 25, killing more than 8,000 people and there have been a series of aftershocks since then. (Editing by David Clarke)
Migrants in 'maritime ping-pong' as Asian nations turn them back
By Aubrey Belford and Reza Munawir KOH LIPE, Thailand/LANGSA, Indonesia (Reuters) – A boat crammed with migrants was towed out to sea by the Thai navy and then held up by Malaysian vessels on Saturday, the latest round of “maritime ping-pong” by Asian states determined not to let asylum seekers come ashore. The United Nations has called on countries around the Andaman Sea not to push back the thousands of
Burundi takes 17 people involved in failed coup to high court
Burundi took 17 people suspected of involvement in a failed coup against President Pierre Nkurunzinza to the high court on Saturday, relatives of some of the accused said.
US commandos kill IS commander in rare Syria raid
US Army special forces killed an Islamic State commander in a daring night raid, the White House said Saturday, in the first publicly confirmed American ground operation targeting jihadists in Syria. US commandos have entered Syria before, for example last year on a failed bid to rescue Western hostages, but this week’s operation appeared to mark a departure in missions targeting the militants. On orders from President Barack Obama, elite
Burundi: 5 generals arrested for plotting failed coup
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — A top Burundi official says that five generals have been arrested for plotting a failed coup attempt against President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Jihadists advance on ancient Palmyra as US kills top IS leader
US special forces killed a senior Islamic State group leader in a raid in eastern Syria, the White House said Saturday, as jihadists closed in on Syria’s ancient Palmyra and Ramadi in Iraq. President Barack Obama ordered the raid on Al-Omar in east Syria on Friday night to capture senior IS leader Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf, US officials said.
Burundi accused of crackdown after failed coup
Burundi’s government was Saturday accused of launching a campaign of repression against independent media, the day after loyalist troops defeated an attempted coup against the central African nation’s president. Rights activist Innocent Muhozi said journalists were being subjected to threats of arrest and even death, and that the head of the prominent independent radio station RPA had been forced to flee the country. On Friday President Pierre Nkurunziza thanked loyalist
Taliban claim attack on Afghan guesthouse that killed 14
By Hamid Shalizi and Kay Johnson KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility on Thursday for an attack on a popular guesthouse in Kabul that killed at least 14 people, including foreigners attending a dinner and arriving for a concert. Four Indian nationals, a Briton, an American and a Kazakh national were confirmed among the dead in a five-hour assault at Park Palace guesthouse in an upscale neighborhood of
Choppers and drone hunt for missing U.S. Huey, Nepal quake toll rises
By Ross Adkin and Krista Mahr CHARIKOT, Nepal (Reuters) – Military helicopters flew over eastern Nepal and a team sent up a drone on Thursday to search for a missing U.S. Marines Huey chopper, as the death toll rose from the Himalayan country’s second big earthquake in less than three weeks. A Reuters correspondent flew on a Nepali military helicopter along the Tamakoshi river that runs by the town of
Britain scrambles Typhoon jets to escort Russian bombers
British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian long-range bombers near UK airspace north of Scotland, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. Intercepts of Russian aircraft by NATO have increased over the last year amid heightened tensions between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. “The aircraft were identified as Russian Bear aircraft which were escorted by the RAF Typhoon fighters until
Yemen aid starts to flow as truce mostly holds
By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) – Relief agencies on Thursday used a five-day humanitarian truce in Yemen to expand aid distribution to some of the millions deprived of food, fuel and medicine by weeks of fighting and air strikes. Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of Arab states backed by the West, has pounded Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen’s former leader since March 26, aiming to restore President Abd-Rabbu
Islamic State battles Syrian army near world heritage site
By Laila Bassam and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – Islamic State militants were reported on Thursday to be advancing in a government held area near one of Syria’s world heritage sites, part of a major offensive in central regions by the jihadist group that has destroyed antiquities in Iraq. Islamic State fighters reached online said the group was shelling an air base near Tadmur, an oasis in the desert north-east
