Syria intensifies military attacks against rebels
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Syrian Army stormed the restive city of Dara’a with tanks and soldiers and helped detain dozens in towns across the country Monday in an escalation of the crackdown on Syria’s five-week-old uprising, according to residents and human rights activists. They said at least 25 people had been killed in Dara’a, with reports of bodies strewn in the streets.
Prison break by Taliban leaders sets hundreds free
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Taliban leaders carried out an audacious plot Monday to free nearly 500 fighters from southern Afghanistan’s largest prison, leading them through a tunnel dug over more than five months and equipped with electricity and air pipes, which suggested that the insurgents remain formidable and wily opponents despite recent setbacks.
Haley Barbour, Mississippi governor, won’t run for president
WASHINGTON — Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi had hired a campaign manager, lined up influential Republican activists in early-voting states and secured commitments from donors across the country, but he surprised them all Monday by announcing that he was abandoning his effort to join the Republican presidential race.
NATO strikes Gadhafi office compound, Italy joins the fight
TRIPOLI, Libya — NATO warplanes struck Moammar Gadhafi’s compound here early on Monday and also bombed a state television complex in an escalation of the air campaign to aid the rebellion against his four decades in power.
April showers will linger this week
The last week of April will have spotty showers as the main weather concern. Through Thursday night we may experience raindrops at almost any time, day or night. A slow-moving low pressure system located in the northern Midwest is responsible for the wet and cloudy weather today. By Wednesday this system will be “pushed” slightly north as another storm system forms in the southern Midwest. But as Thursday rolls around, the new storm will swing a cold front through New England, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms. The weather through this week will be quite warmer than last week, with highs reaching 70°F (21°C) and lows staying in the 50s°F (10–15°C). The warm weather will take shape when a warm front edges its way northward into Canada today. A flow of Gulf moisture will also become apparent with the warm front’s passage.
Yemen’s opposition accepts deal for transfer of power
Yemen’s opposition coalition on Monday accepted a proposal for a transfer of power, bringing the country closer to a resolution of months of political turmoil and countless demonstrations calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.
Protesters for and against Palestinian state clash in Israel
JERUSALEM — A day after dozens of prominent Israeli artists and intellectuals declared their support for a Palestinian state, they took their cause to the streets of Tel Aviv on Thursday and quickly found themselves confronted by rightist opponents calling them “traitors” and, according to some reports, “Jewish Nazis.”
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — Allen West made history when Florida voters sent him to Congress last year, becoming one of only two black Republicans from the South to serve in the House since Reconstruction.
Libyan rebels advance in West, US to deploy drones
CAIRO — The government of Moammar Gadhafi suffered setbacks on multiple fronts Thursday as rebels in the western mountains seized a Tunisian border crossing, fighters in the besieged city of Misrata said they were gaining ground and President Barack Obama authorized the use of armed drones for close-in fighting against the Gadhafi forces.
Survey finds more Americans gloomy about economy, future
Americans are more pessimistic about the nation’s economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Barack Obama’s first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — Unable to stanch the flow of corporate money to Republican causes, Democrats tried a new tack Thursday by bringing a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to force the disclosure of tens of millions of dollars in secret donations.
Severe storms sweep southern states
Spring is the peak season for severe weather in the southern United States, and that fact has been quite apparent over the past week. Last Thursday, a deep low pressure system over the southern Great Plains began to spawn severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in that region. As the storm tracked eastward over the next two days, a major tornado outbreak occurred, with at least 138 tornadoes touching down in 15 states. Forty-three people were killed as a result of tornadoes and high winds associated with thunderstorms during this outbreak.
Ensign, facing ethics inquiry, resigns from US Senate
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, the subject of an ethics investigation related to his affair with the wife of a former top aide, announced Thursday evening that he was resigning, effectively ending the high-profile Senate inquiry that had already ruined his once-promising political career.
Inquiries grow over Apple’s iPhone, iPad data collection practices
The controversy surrounding the security of Apple’s iPhone and iPad escalated Thursday as some European governments said they would investigate whether the company had violated privacy laws by collecting and storing users’ geographic location data.
Shorts (right)
SAN FRANCISCO — Along with big-wave surfing and high-altitude ultramarathons, eating is an extreme sport here. Which explains why, on a recent Saturday night, Tipay Corpuz, 21, a technology specialist for Apple, took a break from blogging about her obsession with fried chicken-and-waffles to join 2,500 fellow food geeks at the Underground Night Market.
Consumer groups call for the breakup of CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark is coming under increasing pressure from consumer groups and shareholders to split up, at the same time that federal and state regulators are looking into accusations of anti-competitive behavior by the merged company.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — It should have been a moment of victory for Speaker John Boehner and fellow members of a House Republican leadership team. Instead, it felt a little like defeat.
Libyan port city brims with migrants desperate to flee siege
MISRATA, Libya — The man pressed close, patting the pockets of a foreigner, repeating a single word: “Food. Food. Food.”
Three colleagues rebuke Gaza report author’s essay
JERUSALEM — Three members of the United Nations panel that investigated Israel’s Gaza war two years ago rejected on Thursday an essay written by the fourth, the former chairman Richard Goldstone, in which he retracted the panel’s key conclusions, especially that Israel had deliberately made civilians targets.
Long weekend of reasonable weather ahead
Severe weather has been striking our nation and looks likely to continue over Patriots’ Day weekend. Significant thunderstorms, tornadoes, large hail, and blizzards are making their way across the Midwest and South. This time of year always seems to have wild weather — on this day in 1921, Silver Lake, Colo., received 76 inches of snow in 24 hours, while New Orleans was drenched in 14.01 inches of rain in 1927!