| U.S., U.N. announce Gaza cease-fire deal Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:45 PM PDT  Israel and Hamas have reportedly agreed to a humanitarian truce to begin Friday.
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| 20 dead, more than 270 injured in Taiwan gas blasts Posted: 31 Jul 2014 03:50 PM PDT  A gas leak reportedly caused multiple explosions in downtown Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
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| NASA to test making rocket fuel ingredient on Mars Posted: 31 Jul 2014 03:14 PM PDT  NASA plans to make oxygen — a key ingredient of rocket fuel — on Mars early next decade.
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| Ebola-infected aid worker to be moved to Atlanta hospital Posted: 31 Jul 2014 03:03 PM PDT  A U.S. humanitarian aid worker who was infected with Ebola in West Africa will be transferred back to the United States and treated in a special high security ward at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, hospital officials said on Thursday. The aid worker, who was infected while working to help contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, will be moved in the next several days to a special isolation unit it has set up in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Earlier on Thursday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a news briefing that the State Department was working with the CDC facilitate options for potential medical evacuations of American humanitarian aid workers who have contracted Ebola in West Africa, although he did not mention the workers by name.
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| Witnesses: No security-camera videos show OKC blast Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:14 PM PDT  The FBI capped off its attempt to persuade a federal judge that it is not hiding unreleased surveillance videos from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing by bringing witnesses Thursday who testified that there has never been any security-camera videos of the bomb going off.
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| Violet Palmer, NBA's first female referee, comes out as gay Posted:  Violet Palmer came into the NBA as something of a trailblazer and pioneer, as she and Dee Kantner became the league's first ever female referees upon their arrival in 1997.
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| Sudanese Christian convert who faced execution due in U.S. Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:52 PM PDT  Mariam Ibrahim had faced execution in Sudan for converting from Islam to Christianity.
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| Ebola-infected doctor lauded for 'heroic and sacrificial service' Posted: 31 Jul 2014 10:56 AM PDT Even from his own sickbed, Dr. Kent Brantly continues to put the well-being of others before his own. |
| ‘Woman in black,' a social-media phenomenon, reaches home Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:23 AM PDT  A 50-something Army veteran who caused an Internet sensation as she traveled nearly 500 miles by foot, clad in long, black robes and sandals, has apparently reached what she calls "home" in Winchester, Va., police in Virginia say. Elizabeth Poles traveled for two months, and was seen from Georgia to West Virginia in her wanderings.
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| Bush impeachment never happened, co-sponsor says Posted: 31 Jul 2014 07:25 AM PDT  Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said Dems never tried to impeach Bush.
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| House cancels vote on $659M border bill Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:28 AM PDT  Divided House abandoned immigration vote after tea partyers withdrew support.
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| U.S. issues travel warning for 3 Ebola-hit countries Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:54 PM PDT U.S. health officials are warning Americans not to travel to the three African countries hit by an outbreak of Ebola. |
| Ruth Bader Ginsburg on retirement rumors Posted:  Justice to Yahoo's Katie Couric: "I'm still here and likely to remain for a while."
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| Crashed drone tried to fly phones, pot into S.C. prison Posted: 31 Jul 2014 09:01 AM PDT  By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON S.C. (Reuters) - A drone being flown in a novel attempt to smuggle phones, marijuana and tobacco into a South Carolina maximum security prison crashed outside its walls, authorities said on Wednesday. The contraband smuggling attempt has been under investigation since the wreckage was discovered in April outside the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, said state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Stephanie Givens. Officials believe it was the first time an unmanned aircraft had been used in an effort to breach prison walls in the state, Givens said. Illegal cellphones, an issue in prisons nationwide, have drawn particular alarm in South Carolina.
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| CIA director says sorry to Senate for improper computer searches Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:40 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA Director John Brennan is apologizing to Senate intelligence committee leaders after his inspector general found that CIA employees acted improperly when the CIA searched Senate computers earlier this year.
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| Tell it to the 99 percent Posted: 31 Jul 2014 10:48 AM PDT  Unemployment at five-year low, July jobs report said positive, yet many feel wallet pain.
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| Ebola outbreak death toll rises: 729 Posted: 31 Jul 2014 06:57 AM PDT  Nigerian authorities identified 59 people who had contact with U.S. citizen who died in Lagos last week.
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| VIDEO: UN official breaks down on camera discussing Gaza crisis Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:59 AM PDT  UN official Chris Gunness broke down in tears while filming an Al-Jazeera Arabic interview on July 30, after a UN school, sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians, was shelled. Gunness is a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and was discussing the "appalling" denial of rights for Palestinians when he broke down in tears. Gunness's appearance has struck a chord with many viewers, perhaps because, as he tweeted himself, "There are times when tears speak more eloquently than words." Credit: Al-Jazeera
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| Twitter twister over 'Sharknado 2' debut Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:12 AM PDT  "Sharknado 2," the sequel to the 2013 B-movie hit "Sharknado," premiered on the Syfy channel on Wednesday. And, judging by the reaction on Twitter, it was likely the most-watched movie about a tornado of sharks in the history of television.
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| Consequential ruling for Wisconsin same-sex couples Posted: 31 Jul 2014 11:45 AM PDT  By Brendan O'Brien MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 2009 law that establishes a registry for same-sex couples, saying it does not violate an amendment to the state's constitution banning gay marriage. Wisconsin voters approved the gay marriage ban in a 2006 referendum. Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in June. Wisconsin Family Action, an anti-gay rights group, argued in a 2010 lawsuit that the registry violated the amendment because it resembles marriage under state law.
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| Matt Bai: Rand Paul reaches out to black voters; why? Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:27 AM PDT  You've got to give this much to Rand Paul: Kentucky's junior senator is willing to do something almost unheard of in modern presidential politics, which is to make arguments that not everyone in his party already cares about. For this reason alone, Paul is probably the most interesting presidential hopeful out there, if not the most likely to succeed.
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| Netanyahu: No ceasefire until underground tunnels destroyed Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:15 PM PDT  By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ari Rabinovitch GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip have agreed to a three-day humanitarian truce to begin Friday morning, and negotiators from both sides will travel to Cairo to discuss a longer-term. The 72-hour break after more than three weeks of fighting was set to begin at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), according to a joint statement released by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. A spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist group dominant in Gaza, said all Palestinian factions would abide by the truce as long as Israel holds its fire. Officials in Israel were not available for immediate comment.
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| Blasts heard as inspectors arrive at MH17 crash site in Ukraine Posted: 31 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT  An international probe into the downing of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine inched forward on Thursday as experts risked attack to reach the site for the first time in nearly a week after Kiev announced a halt to its military offensive. A small team of Dutch and Australian experts accompanied by international monitors accessed the vast site of the doomed Malaysia Airlines jet after days of fierce fighting between government forces and rebels had stopped them reaching the area. Ukraine's military had earlier announced a "day of quiet" across the entire east after a plea from UN chief Ban Ki-moon to halt fighting around the crash site, where the remains of some of the 298 victims lie festering in the sun two weeks after the jet was shot down over rebel territory. Kiev has continually blamed pro-Russian rebels controlling the site for blocking the probe and warned that insurgents were still shelling its troop positions across the region.
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| Wisc. Supreme Court upholds law that ended collective bargaining Posted: 31 Jul 2014 10:20 AM PDT  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The fight over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's signature policy achievement, a law effectively ending collective bargaining for most public employees, ended Thursday with the state Supreme Court declaring it to be constitutional.
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| Ginsburg: Male justices have 'blind spot' Posted: 30 Jul 2014 11:50 AM PDT  Supreme Court justice discusses her dissent in Hobby Lobby case with Yahoo's Katie Couric.
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| The impending death of Libya's dream to be a democracy Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:43 AM PDT  Since then, a chaotic welter of regional militias has been competing for riches and influence. No ordinary turf war, the latest fighting could define Libya's future and perhaps end its dream of democracy. The violence is most likely a calculated attempt at politics by other means, says Karim Mezran at the Atlantic Council, a think-tank in Washington. Libya's political landscape has polarized sharply in recent months between Islamists who have dominated the interim parliament and their non-Islamist rivals.
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| Gaza crisis overwhelms United Nations, leaves it broke Posted: 31 Jul 2014 08:22 AM PDT  By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Noah Browning GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United Nations in Gaza is struggling to withstand a flood of almost a quarter of a million refugees into shelters that have repeatedly come under Israeli fire. Out of cash, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main U.N. body in the impoverished enclave of 1.8 million Palestinians, says it can barely handle the humanitarian crisis unleashed by more than three weeks of fighting between militants and Israel. ...
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| Argentina slides into default as debt talks fail Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:18 AM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The collapse of talks with U.S. creditors sent Argentina into its second debt default in 13 years and raised questions about what comes next for financial markets and the South American nation's staggering economy.
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| Israel calls up another 16,000 reserves Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:56 AM PDT The new call-up orders may allow Israel to widen its Gaza offensive. |
| Archbishop says he didn't mismanage abuse scandal Posted: 30 Jul 2014 10:26 PM PDT  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says he won't resign, despite criticism that he and other local Roman Catholic Church leaders concealed allegations about abusive priests, and he again dismissed allegations of sexual misconduct of his own.
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| Abbas seeks broad support for war crimes charges Posted: 31 Jul 2014 02:11 PM PDT  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Nearly a month into Israel's fierce assault on Hamas in Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is facing mounting domestic pressure to seek war crimes charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
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| CIA spied on Senate, internal review finds Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:41 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA's insistence that it did not spy on its Senate overseers collapsed Thursday with the release of a stark report by the agency's internal watchdog documenting improper computer surveillance and obstructionist behavior by CIA officers.
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| Dow plunges as multiple worries vex investors Posted: 31 Jul 2014 03:41 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — For stock investors, the red flags were everywhere on Thursday.
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| Gas explosions kill 15, injure 228 in Taiwan Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:12 PM PDT Taiwan's National Fire Agency says 15 people were killed and 228 were injured a series of gas leak explosions in a southwestern city. |
| Congress races to finish VA, highway bills Posted: 31 Jul 2014 02:40 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress ran full-tilt into election-year gridlock over immigration Thursday and staggered toward a five-week summer break with no agreement in sight on legislation to cope with the influx of young immigrants flocking illegally to the United States.
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| Libya Islamic militias declare control of Benghazi Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT  BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Islamic hard-line militias, including the group accused by the United States in a 2012 attack that killed the ambassador and three other Americans, claimed control of Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, after overrunning army barracks and seizing heavy weapons.
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| AP PHOTOS: Mansion or shack? It's the $1M question Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:54 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Swimming pool with a hot tub. Four bedrooms and four-car garage. Granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. That's what $ 1 million will buy you in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.
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| Investigators reach Ukraine jet wreckage site Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:29 PM PDT  ROZSYPNE, Ukraine (AP) — As mortar fire landed nearby, an international team of investigators finally reached the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 wreckage site Thursday and got their first look at a scene experts fear has been badly compromised in the two weeks since the plane was blown out of the sky.
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| Default fuels uncertainty, stock drop in Argentina Posted: 31 Jul 2014 03:13 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Stocks fell sharply in Argentina on Thursday as the country entered into economic uncertainty with its second default in 13 years, one forced upon it by New York hedge funds with the backing of U.S. courts.
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| 1 dead as plane crashes into Costco parking lot Posted: 30 Jul 2014 10:27 PM PDT  SAN DIEGO (AP) — A small plane crashed in a San Diego shopping center parking lot Wednesday, killing an 80-year-old woman who was the lone passenger and injuring the pilot, authorities said.
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