Abandoning Afghanistan a bad idea

U.S. Marines from the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment start their patrol in Helmand Province on June 27. STORY HIGHLIGHTSWhite House aide suggested all U.S. troops could be withdrawn from AfghanistanPeter Bergen said the idea would be dangerous and send the wrong messageHe says U.S. has abandoned Afghanistan before and saw the rise of the TalibanBergen: U.S. is seeking agreement that military will...

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French air power stops Mali Islamist advance

BAMAKO: Mali's army took back a key town from Islamist rebels Saturday aided by French air power, opening a dramatic new phase in the conflict that France's leader declared is a battle against terrorism.International momentum to wrest northern Mali back from the control of Al-Qaeda-linked groups built after the French air raids helped reclaim the front-line town of Konna, with Burkina...

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Making job stress worth enduring

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta swears in reenlisting troops in Turkey. A survey found that military jobs tend to be the most stressful. STORY HIGHLIGHTSMarci Alboher: Annual list of most stressful jobs drew attentionShe says the right issue is whether job rewards compensate for stressPeople who take on stressful jobs that help others report satisfaction, she saysEditor's note: Marci Alboher, is a...

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Haiti quietly marks 3rd anniversary of quake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti President Michel Martelly urged Haitians to recall the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in a devastating earthquake three years ago, marking the disaster's anniversary Saturday with a simple ceremony.Martelly also thanked other countries and international organizations for their help after the Jan. 12, 2010 disaster."Haitian people, hand in hand, we remember...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and,...

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Saudi execution: Brutal and illegal?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSSaudi authorities beheaded Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan womanShe was convicted of killing a baby of the family employing her as a housemaidThis was despite Nafeek's claims that the baby died in a choking accidentBecker says her fate "should spotlight the precarious existence of domestic workers"Jo Becker is the Children's Rights Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch and author of...

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Oil prices slip on profit taking

NEW YORK: World oil prices fell Friday as investors booked profits from the previous day's rally amid sluggish global economic growth.New York's main West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract, light sweet crude for February, settled 26 cents lower at $93.56 a barrel.In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February closed at $110.64 a barrel, down $1.25 from Thursday's close."Today...

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Fonda, Steinem: Let woman head FCC

STORY HIGHLIGHTSJane Fonda, Glora Steinem, Robin Morgan: Obama short on women appointeesThey say women helped him win, he must show he sees them as leaders, not just votersThey say media companies shape attitudes. He should name women to head FCC, FTCWriters: Media is run largely by men. Time to close the gender gap in U.S. media leadershipEditor's note: Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem...

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CDC: Flu grips 47 states; vaccine found 62% effective

Flu activity continues to rise in the U.S., according to new surveillance statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Forty-seven states have now reported widespread influenza activity, according to the CDC's latest FluView report, three more states than officials estimated Wednesday. Two more children have died since last week's report, raising the total to 20...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Exhumation Approved

A judge has approved the exhumation of the Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning.Judge Susan Coleman of the Probate Division of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois today approved the county medical examiner's request to exhume the body of Urooj Khan at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.Khan, 46, died July 20, 2012, from what was initially believed to be natural...

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Bombs kill 92 in Pakistan's Quetta: police

QUETTA: Bomb attacks killed 92 people in Pakistan's city of Quetta on Thursday, as twin suicide bombers targeted a snooker hall frequented by Shiites in the deadliest single attack in the country for nearly two years.At least 81 people were killed and 121 wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the crowded club in an area of the southwestern city dominated by members of...

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Bennett: Obama, wake up to spending

STORY HIGHLIGHTSWilliam Bennett: National debt doesn't look like a priority for President ObamaBennett: Obama more concerned with his legacy rather than our economic well-being He asks why the president is so unwilling to cut the size and scope of governmentBennett: GOP should make it clear that it will fulfill our debt obligations in a responsible way Editor's note: William J. Bennett, a CNN contributor,...

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Student shot at Calif. high school by classmate

Updated at 4:14 p.m. ET TAFT, Calif. A 16-year-old student armed with a shotgun walked into class in a rural California high school on Thursday and shot one student, fired at another but missed, and then was talked into surrendering by a teacher and another staff member, officials said. The teen victim was in critical but stable condition, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told a press conference....

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Jodi Arias' Lies Detailed at Murder Trial

Jodi Arias lied about her relationship with Travis Alexander, where she was when Alexander was killed, and even where she worked as a bartender, according to the case laid out by prosecutors in her murder trial.Prosecutors opened the fifth day of her trial by using Arias' receipts for food, gas and a car rental that essentially tracked her movements in the days before and after...

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Karzai's U.S. visit a time for tough talk

The last time Presidents Obama and Karzai met was in May in Kabul, when they signed a pact regarding U.S. troop withdrawal.STORY HIGHLIGHTSAfghan President Karzai meeting with President Obama in Washington this weekFelbab-Brown: Afghan politics are corrupt; army not ready for 2014 troop pulloutShe says Taliban, insurgents, splintered army, corrupt officials are all jockeying for powerU.S. needs to...

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US urges India, Pakistan to cool Kashmir tensions

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to seek to cool tensions after Delhi accused the Pakistani army of beheading one of two Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir."Violence is not the answer for either country," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland insisted."We've been counselling both governments to de-escalate, to work through this issue, to continue...

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Biden: Obama may act alone to combat gun violence

Vice President Joe Biden said President Barack Obama is exploring executive orders to help stop mass shootings.STORY HIGHLIGHTSWhite House responds to petition calling for Piers Morgan to be deportedConnecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy says "more guns are not the answer" Burlington, Vermont, passed a resolution that could lead to an assault weapons banWal-Mart reversed a decision, saying it now will attend...

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