Syrian army kills 80 people storming Hama

Syrian tanks firing shells and machineguns stormed the city of Hama on Sunday, killing 80 civilians, rights activists said, in one of the bloodiest days in a popular revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.The assault on Hama, scene of a 1982 massacre when Assad's father crushed an Islamist uprising, began at dawn on the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan after security forces laid siege to the city for almost a month.Hama residents told Reuters by telephone that tanks and snipers fired into unarmed residential areas where people had set up makeshift roadblocks to try and stop their advance.The Syrian state news agency said...

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Paul Menard pulls off upset win at Indianapolis

Paul Menard has won his first career Sprint Cup Series race by conserving fuel then holding off Jeff Gordon to pull off an upset victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.Menard's victory Sunday continued the trend of first-time winners this season in NASCAR's crown jewel events. Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500, Regan Smith won at Darlington Raceway and David Ragan won earlier this month at Daytona.Now Menard is winner of the Brickyard 400, making it to Victory Lane in his 167th series start. His only other NASCAR victory came in the Nationwide Series in 2006.He saved enough gas over the closing laps to drive wide-open to the finish. He held...

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'Cowboys & Aliens,' 'Smurfs' tie for No. 1 spot

Little blue Smurfs and not-so-little green men from space are in a photo finish for the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office.Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford's science-fiction Western "Cowboys & Aliens" and the family adventure "The Smurfs" both opened with $36.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.That leaves Sony's "Smurfs" and Universal's "Cowboys & Aliens" tied for the top spot. Figuring out the No. 1 movie will have to wait until final numbers are counted Monday."In all my years, I've never really seen a race this close," said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "Generally, in the...

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Verdict for 2 Americans in Iran within a week

The lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage said Sunday the court will announce its verdict within a week, dashing hopes for their immediate release after a final hearing in the case.Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, have been held in Iran's Evin Prison since shortly after their arrest along the border with Iraq exactly two years ago on Sunday. The case has added to tensions between the United States and Iran that were already high over issues like Tehran's disputed nuclear program.The Americans' lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, had hoped that Sunday's final court session would result in their immediate release because...

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Scores die as Syrian forces attack defiant cities

Syrian security forces backed by tanks and snipers launched a ferocious assault Sunday on defiant cities and towns, killing at least 70 people and possibly many more as the regime raced to crush dissent ahead of Ramadan. Corpses littered the streets after a surge in violence that drew widespread international condemnation.Estimates of the death toll, which were impossible to verify, ranged from around 75 people to nearly 140 on a day when the attacks began before dawn and witnesses said they were too frightened to collect corpses from the streets.The worst carnage was in Hama, the scene of a 1982 massacre by President Bashar Assad's...

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In debt drama, voters play key, if overlooked role

Dear voter: Want to know why Democrats and Republicans in Congress find it so hard to work together to solve tough problems like the debt ceiling, health care and Social Security?Look in the mirror.Americans gripe about cowardly, self-serving politicians, and Congress doubtlessly has its feckless moments and members. But voters are quick to overlook their own role in legislative impasses that keep the nation from resolving big, obvious, festering problems such as immigration, the long-term stability of Medicare, and now, the debt ceiling.Here's the truth: The overwhelming majority of senators and House members do what their constituents want them to do. Or, more to the point, they respond to people in their districts who bother to vote. Nothing is dearer to politicians than re-election,...

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Really close' to debt deal as deadline nears

Racing to avoid a government default, President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders reached urgently for a compromise Sunday to permit vital borrowing by the Treasury in exchange for more than $2 trillion in long-term spending cuts. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the two sides were "really, really close" to a deal after months of partisan fighting. Yet he and others stressed that no compromise had been sealed, just two days before a deadline to raise the federal debt limit and enable the government to keep paying its bills.As contemplated under a deal that McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden were negotiating,...

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Police: 4 shot after George Clinton concert

Several shots rang out from a handgun during a large fight near an outdoor concert venue in Cleveland, leaving four people wounded after a "Unity in the Park" festival featuring funk music artist George Clinton, police said Sunday.Authorities said they were searching for a male suspect who pulled out a handgun and fired into a group of people Saturday night during the fight. No arrests were reported in the hours after the shooting, Police Sgt. Sammy Morris told The Associated Press."It was a large fight. Somebody in the crowd produced a handgun and fired several times," Morris said, adding all four victims were hit by gunfire.A 16-year-old boy had a gunshot wound to the head and a 20-year-old woman suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, police said. A police statement added that...

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Police: Planes collide over Alaska, 4 dead

Two single-engine float planes collided as they flew near an Alaskan lake and one of them crashed and burned, killing the four people aboard, authorities said. The second plane landed safely despite significant damage.The Cessna 180 was destroyed by the impact and fire, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor told The Associated Press."It was engulfed in flames on the ground," Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.The crash around Amber Lake near Trapper Creek, 80 miles north of Anchorage, came nearly three weeks after another in-flight collision that remarkably left the 13 people aboard the two aircraft unhurt.The second plane in Saturday's crash, a Cessna 206, sustained significant damage but was able to return to Anchorage International Airport and make an...

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US commanders concerned about Ramadan fighting

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan has until mid-October to submit a plan for the initial withdrawal of American troops, decisions that may hinge in part on whether the latest surge in attacks continues through the holy month of Ramadan.Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says commanders are hearing that Taliban leaders may leave their fighters in the country to try to regain lost ground during the Islamic holy period which begins Monday.Speaking to reporters traveling with him in Afghanistan, Mullen said Marine Gen. John Allen, who has just taken over as top U.S. commander here, needs time to evaluate the combat,...

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Bomb kills 11 at police HQ in southern Afghanistan

A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday at the gate of the police headquarters in Lashkar Gah in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 11 people in a city where Afghans have recently taken control of security.The blast was the latest in a string of attacks in the south in recent weeks that have included assassinations of high-level government officials in neighboring Kandahar and a coordinated attack against government buildings in Uruzgan province that killed 19 people last week.The attack early Sunday, which ripped a gaping hole in the station compound's wall, also wounded as least 12 people, said Helmand provincial spokesman Daoud Ahmadi. He said the dead included 10 police officers and one child.People at the site said they saw a police vehicle on fire at the gate. Ahmadi said...

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Activists: 23 Syrians killed in attack on Hama

Activists say at least 23 people have been killed in the Syrian military's assault on the flashpoint city of Hama.A spokesman for The Local Coordination Committees which organizes and monitors anti-government protests in Syria says the group has the names of 23 civilians who died in the onslaught Sunday.Omar Idilbi says the number is likely to be much higher and says local hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops in tanks stormed the flashpoint city of Hama before dawn Sunday, killing at least 13 people in a barrage...

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White House, GOP discuss potential debt limit pact

White House officials and congressional Republicans are discussing a potential agreement that could end their bitter debt limit showdown. The hope is that a deal can be completed by Tuesday to avert a possible government default.Officials speaking on condition of anonymity say the White House and GOP are discussing a plan to raise the government's debt ceiling by about $2.4 trillion, enough to last through next year. There would be slightly larger spending cuts enacted in two stages, and a promise to vote on a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.More...

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Asomugha signing biggest of Eagles' bold moves

With one big move after another over two wild days, the Philadelphia Eagles became strong favorites to reach the Super Bowl.Trading Kevin Kolb was expected. Signing Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin was no surprise. Even getting two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Vince Young to back up Michael Vick hardly turned heads.But the stunner came when the defending NFC East champions swooped in from nowhere and landed Nnamdi Asomugha, the biggest prize on the NFL's free-agent market.The two-time All-Pro cornerback was seemingly headed elsewhere — the New York Jets courted him aggressively — before the Eagles quietly moved in and signed him to a $60...

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Lawyer: 2 Americans held in Iran could be released

The lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage says his clients could be released after a court hearing slated for Sunday.Masoud Shafiei said Saturday the fact that the session in the trial of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal would coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest may indicate that they will be freed.There also is a tradition in the Muslim world of pardoning prisoners for the holy month of Ramadan, which starts early next week.Bauer and Fattal have been jailed since July 2009. Bauer's fiance, Sarah Shourd, was arrested with them but released last year on $500,000 bail.More......

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Commercial plane crashes in Guyana; no deaths

A Caribbean Airlines airliner coming from New York crashed with 140 passengers aboard while landing in Guyana early Saturday and broke in two, causing several injuries but no deaths, said President Bharrat Jagdeo.The Boeing 737-800 apparently overshot the 7,400-foot (2,200-meter) runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport in rainy weather. It barely missed a 200-foot (60-meter) ravine that could have resulted in dozens of fatalities, he said."We are very, very grateful that more people were not injured," he said as authorities closed the airport, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and delaying dozens of flights.Authorities struggled at first to remove passengers without adequate field lights and other emergency equipment. The extent of the injuries was not immediately clear.Geeta...

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Norway suspect was considering other targets

FILE - This photo combo shows the victims who were killed in the July 22, 2011 terror …Police say the man who confessed to a bombing and youth camp massacre that killed 77 people in Norway has told them he also considered other possible locations to attack.Police attorney Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby says Anders Behring Breivik was questioned for 10 hours on Friday and "said he was interested in other targets." Norwegian tabloid VG said Breivik had described the Royal Palace and the head office of the prime minister's Labor Party in Oslo as potential targets. The paper did not cite its sources. Kraby wouldn't comment on the report but said...

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Turkey's military in turmoil as top brass quit

Turkey faced turmoil within its military on Saturday after the country's four most senior commanders quit, offering Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan an opportunity to extend his authority over the once dominant armed forces.Chief of General Staff General Isik Kosaner stepped down on Friday evening along with the army, navy and air force commanders in protest over the detention of 250 officers on charges of conspiring against Erdogan's government.In a farewell message to "brothers in arms," Kosaner said it was impossible to continue in his job as he could not defend the rights of men who had been detained as a consequence of a flawed judicial...

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UK police add computer probe to phone-hack inquiry

London police probing phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch's defunct News of the World tabloid are broadening their investigation to allegations of computer hacking, they said on Saturday.A new investigative team will be set up to tackle the new allegations, reporting to Sue Akers, the officer in charge of the phone hacking probe, the Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement."Operation Tuleta is currently considering a number of allegations regarding breach of privacy, received by the MPS since January 2011, which fall outside the remit of (phone-hacking) Operation Weeting, including computer hacking," the statement by the London police...

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Democrats try to break debt impasse

Senate Democrats aimed to seize the initiative in efforts to head off a ruinous debt default by pushing their deficit-cutting plan on Saturday toward a possible compromise with a divided Republican Party.Entrenched differences were still hampering a compromise as Democratic leaders accused their Republican counterparts of obstructionism, less than 100 hours before the government says it will run out of money to pay all its bills.President Barack Obama used his presidential pulpit for the second time this week to urge rival lawmakers to strike a deal and avert what he has said would be an "inexcusable" default."There are multiple ways...

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Tim Pawlenty aims for strong showing in Iowa

Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has been reading his own political obituary for weeks. But he's still alive as he campaigns across Iowa.Even though the air conditioner had died on his campaign RV somewhere between Oskaloosa and Osceola, the former Minnesota governor showed little sweat as he faced intense pressure to prove he's a viable candidate.He was at ease in the midst of a 1,500-mile Iowa campaign tour, playing a pickup hockey game, joking with audiences and sticking to his pitch: Republicans need to nominate as the challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama a pragmatic, swing-state governor known more for getting...

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Dems, GOP still at loggerheads as clock ticks

The GOP-controlled House and the Democratic Senate remain at loggerheads over debt legislation required to avoid a first-ever default on U.S. financial obligations as lawmakers and the White House head into a pressure-packed weekend in search of compromise.A week of extraordinary partisanship was capped by a power play by Senate Democrats, who killed a House-passed debt limit increase and budget-cutting bill Friday night less than two hours after it squeaked through the House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., set up a test vote for the wee hours of Sunday morning to break a GOP filibuster.Before then, however, the House was...

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Iran may release detained U.S. hikers soon: lawyer

Iran may release U.S. citizens detained on charges of espionage, their lawyer Masoud Shafiee told Reuters on Saturday, a day before a scheduled court session for the two coinciding with the second anniversary of their detention.Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were arrested by Iranian forces in July 2009 on suspicion of spying after crossing into Iran from Iraq. Shourd was freed on bail in September 2010 and returned to the United States.Under Iran's Islamic law, espionage can be punished by execution. "Tomorrow it will be two years since my clients were jailed ... I believe their already two years in detention will serve as...

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