US, Taliban to start talks on ending Afghan war
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) _ The Taliban and the U.S. said Tuesday they will hold talks on finding a political solution to ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan, as the international coalition formally handed over control of the country’s security to the Afghan army and police. The Taliban met a key U.S. demand by pledging not to use Afghanistan as a base to threaten other countries, although the Americans said they must also denounce al-Qaida.
NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence led by lawmakers sympathetic to the spying. The House Intelligence Committee hearing provided a venue for officials to defend the once-secret programs and did little probing of claims that the collection of people’s phone records and Internet usage has disrupted dozens of terrorist plots. Few details were volunteered.
AP EXCLUSIVE: US war games send signal to Assad
ZARQA, Jordan (AP) _ Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American advisers, hundreds of U.S.-trained Jordanian commandos fanned across this dusty desert plain, holding war games that could eventually form the basis of an assault in Syria. With the recent deployment of Patriot missiles near the Syrian border, and the mock Syrian accents of those playing the enemy, the message was clear: There is fear of spillover from the Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom, and the potential for a Jordanian role in securing Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles should Bashar Assad’s regime lose control.
Military plans would put women in most combat jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A top general says cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than physical fitness requirements for women looking to move into the military’s special operations units. Maj. Gen. Bennet Sacolick, director of force management for U.S. Special Operations Command, says "the days of Rambo are over."
CBO: 8 million to gain legal status in Senate bill
WASHINGTON (AP) _ About 8 million immigrants living unlawfully in the United States would initially gain legal status under sweeping legislation moving toward a vote in the Senate, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, adding the bill would push federal deficits lower in each of the next two decades. The eagerly awaited report by Congress’ non-partisan scorekeeping agency said the legislation would increase federal spending in the form of benefits for those gaining legal status, but those expenses would be more than offset by a rise in the labor force, increasing revenues.
Turkey’s `standing man’ launches new protest wave
ISTANBUL (AP) _ After weeks of sometimes violent confrontation with police, protesters in Turkey have found what could be a more potent form of resistance: standing still. The trend was launched by performance artist Erdem Gunduz, who stood silently for hours in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Monday night, in passive defiance of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s violent crackdown on environmental protesters at a park adjacent to Taksim. The square has been sealed off from protesters since police cleared it over the weekend, though pedestrians can still enter.
G-8 seeks unity on Syrian peace talks, tax evasion
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (AP) _ President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other G-8 leaders attempted to speak with one voice Tuesday on seeking a negotiated Syrian peace settlement _ yet couldn’t publicly agree on whether this means President Bashar Assad must go. Their declaration at the end of the two-day Group of Eight summit sought to narrow the diplomatic chasm between Assad’s key backer, Russia, and Western leaders on starting peace talks in Geneva to end a two-year civil war that has claimed an estimated 93,000 lives.
Syrian warplanes strike rebel posts in Aleppo
BEIRUT (AP) _ Syrian warplanes struck rebel positions near a besieged military air base and other rebel-held areas in the country’s north Tuesday as regime forces stepped up attacks against opposition fighters in the key province of Aleppo, activists said. Rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad have for months been trying to take Kweiras and two other military air bases nearby without success. The government has recently gone on the offensive in the province and in areas in the country’s heartland to recapture rebel-held territory.
Booker encounters bumps on possible path to Senate
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) _ In an accelerated election for a new U.S. senator from New Jersey, the Democratic field is Cory Booker vs. everyone else. The Newark mayor’s name recognition and deep-pocketed pals would give him an advantage in any statewide race. But the charismatic Booker _ who clearly has national political ambitions and has spent significant time raising his profile on social media and giving speeches around the country _ may be more familiar to talk show viewers than to New Jersey voters. His ride to Washington got bumpier when the election was moved up a year because of Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s death this month.
Hoffa mystery still fascinates after 4 decades
OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) _ The latest possible resting place of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa is an overgrown farm field where the normal calm of chirping crickets is being drowned out by a beeping backhoe, the chop of an overhead news helicopter and the bustle of reporters and onlookers. Over nearly four decades, authorities have pursued multiple leads into Hoffa’s death that yielded nothing. Yet the mystery endures, fueled by a public fascination with mobsters and murder.
