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President class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Barack Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan on Sunday to visit U.S. forces who are wrapping up a 13-year mission and signaled that he intends to keep a small number of troops in the country for training and counter-terrorism operations. Cheers erupted among the hundreds of U.S. troops gathered in a Bagram hangar when Obama said that at the end of this year, "America's war in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Afghanistan will come to a responsible end." With Afghanistan immersed in a runoff election to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, Obama did not meet Afghan government officials nor travel to the capital Kabul. Karzai has long been out of favor with Washington over his refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement to allow U.S. troops to stay beyond 2014. Obama's fourth visit to Afghanistan came as he faces criticism at home over a foreign policy often derided as too passive in dealin

Yemen's security forces on Sunday killed a senior al Qaeda leader wanted for attacks on local and foreign targets in Sanaa, the Yemeni government said, after a raid near the capital in which at least four other militants died. The government said in a statement that two officers also died when anti-terrorism units raided an al Qaeda hideout and a car bomb-making facility in Bayt al-Adhari and Bani Hakam districts, in the Arhab region, and fought a gunbattle with its occupants. Two officers were also wounded. Security forces also conducted two other separate raids in downtown Sanaa, the statement said, but gave no details. The raids were part of an escalating campaign against militants responsible for a wave of attacks across the country. "The forces exchanged fire with the wanted men who were holed up inside a house," a government official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. "Five were killed and four were captured." The government statement, re

Irish prime minister Enda Kenny's ruling party looked set to slump to second place in local elections on Sunday, a surprise result that will complicate an austerity program to be completed this year to cut a still-high budget deficit. In a warning to other European governments implementing the last of harsh budget cuts, support for Kenny's Fine Gael party fell sharply since its exit from an international bailout in December, when it held a seven percentage point lead in opinion polls. With first preference votes in 134 of 137 local authorities counted, Fine Gael secured 24 percent of the vote compared to 36 percent at parliamentary elections three years ago to fall a percentage point behind main opposition party Fianna Fail. Support for Sinn Fein, once the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, also surged to 15 percent as it closed in on a tripling of its local government representation, while junior coalition party Labour saw its vote collapse. Kenny needs the sup

Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate manufacturer, claimed the Ukrainian presidency with an emphatic election victory on Sunday, taking on a fraught mission to quell pro-Russian rebels and steer his fragile nation closer to the West. A veteran survivor of Ukraine's feuding political class who threw his weight and money behind the revolt that brought down his Moscow-backed predecessor three months ago, the burly 48-year-old won 55 percent in exit polls on a first-round ballot marred by the reality that millions were unable to vote in the troubled eastern regions. Results will not be announced until Monday but runner-up Yulia Tymoshenko, on 13 percent, made clear she would concede, sparing the country a tense three weeks until a runoff round. Poroshenko, known as the "Chocolate King", has no time to lose to make good on pledges to end "war" with separatists in the Russian-speaking east, negotiate a stable new relationship with Moscow and rescue an class

A party that wants to dissolve Belgium was the chief winner of a parliamentary election on Sunday, setting the scene for months of deadlock before a new government can be formed. With about 80 percent of votes counted, the opposition N-VA (New Flemish Alliance), had secured a third of the votes from the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, the economic powerhouse in the north where some 60 percent of Belgians live. The center-right party, which captured 28.2 percent of the Dutch-speaking vote in 2010, has proposed transforming Belgium into a loose confederation of linguistically distinct regions, giving more power to regional governments. It was a sobering night for the socialists of Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, who lost voters to a newly created hard left party although they should remain the largest force in the French-speaking south of Belgium. "I hope it will be possible to form a majority which can take our country forward as soon as possible," Di Rupo said. Belgium

Marine Le Pen's far right National Front scored a stunning first victory in European Parliament elections in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> France on Sunday as critics of the European Union registered a continent-wide protest vote against austerity and mass unemployment. Without waiting for the final result, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls went on television to call the breakthrough by the anti-immigration, anti-euro party in one of the EU's founding nations "an earthquake" for class="mandelbrot_refrag"> France and Europe. Anti-establishment far right and hard left parties, their scores magnified by another low turnout, gained ground in many countries although in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Germany , the EU's biggest member state with the largest number of seats, the pro-European center ground held firm, according to exit polls. A jubilant Le Pen, whose party beat President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists in

Egyptians vote in a presidential election on Monday expected to sweep former army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi into office, reviving strongman rule three years after a popular uprising raised hopes of democracy free from military influence. Sisi has been widely regarded as Egypt's de facto leader since he toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last July and cracked down on his Muslim Brotherhood in the bloodiest chapter of the country's modern peacetime history. He has acknowledged the scale of Egypt's problems, including an energy crisis and Islamist militant violence that has driven away foreign investors and tourists, hammering the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy . "The challenges present in class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Egypt are so many," he told Reuters in an interview this month. "I believe that within two years of serious, continuous work we can achieve the type of improvement Egyptians are looking for. Sisi's sol

A measure to require sugary soft drinks to carry labels warning of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay advanced in the California state legislature on Friday, the latest move by lawmakers nationwide aimed at persuading people to drink less soda. The legislation, if enacted, would put California, which banned sodas and junk food from public schools in 2005, in the vanguard of a growing national movement to curb the consumption of high-calorie beverages medical experts say are largely to blame for an epidemic of childhood obesity. "This is a major victory for public health advocates, community groups, physicians, and dentists," said Democratic state senator Bill Monning, author of the bill. "By informing consumer choice, we can improve the health of Californians."   true       In 2012, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spearheaded a citywide ban on sales of oversized sugary soft drinks, but the move was declared illegal by a state judge after a legal challenge

Charges against a California man accused of abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl stem from brutal crimes committed a decade ago when she was first snatched, prosecutors said on Friday in response to remarks by neighbors that the woman showed no signs of distress. Isidro Garcia, 41, was charged with kidnapping, rape and lewd acts upon a child and a judge on Thursday ordered him held on bail of $1 million, in connection with crimes Orange County prosecutors say he committed against the woman when she was a minor. Now 25, the woman told detectives she endured a decade of physical and sexual abuse by Isidro, was forced into marriage in 2007 and later bore his child. She contacted authorities this week after reaching out to her sister on class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Facebook , police said.   true       "We're talking about the kidnapping of a 15-year-old child who was taken from her mother, taken from her home, taken from her neighborhood and for the past 10 yea

California lawmakers advanced a bill on Friday that would give immigrant students residing in the country illegally and attending public four-year universities in the state access to a revolving loan fund. The measure, if signed into law, would create the California Dream Loan Program, which would allow universities to voluntarily offer loans for undocumented students who have lived in the state long enough to qualify as residents. Individual students could apply for up to $4,000 a year in loans, which would be held to the same interest rate caps as regular undergraduate loans. "We invest in California students from an early age, and many of them have done what we've asked them to do," said state Senator Ricardo Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens who authored the bill. "If we're serious about strengthening our class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy then we must remove obstacles for our future workforce." The measure piggybacks off legislatio

A measure to require sugary soft drinks to carry labels warning of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay advanced in the California state legislature on Friday, the latest move by lawmakers nationwide aimed at persuading people to drink less soda. The legislation, if enacted, would put California, which banned sodas and junk food from public schools in 2005, in the vanguard of a growing national movement to curb the consumption of high-calorie beverages medical experts say are largely to blame for an epidemic of childhood obesity. "This is a major victory for public health advocates, community groups, physicians, and dentists," said Democratic state senator Bill Monning, author of the bill. "By informing consumer choice, we can improve the health of Californians."   true       In 2012, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spearheaded a citywide ban on sales of oversized sugary soft drinks, but the move was declared illegal by a state judge after a legal challenge

An Arizona high school student accused of being a serial rapist pleaded not guilty on Friday to multiple sex-related crimes linked to allegations he assaulted at least a dozen girls during a multiyear spree, a county official said. Tyler Kost, 18, entered the plea through his attorney to 28 felony counts of sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual conduct with a minor and child molestation for crimes against the girls including one as young as 12 years old. Kost was ordered held without bond by a judge during a brief hearing in Pinal County Superior Court, said Dwight Fujimoto, the county attorney's chief of staff. His next court date is July 1.   true       Kost was indicted by a grand jury on May 7 for alleged attacks on 11 girls aged 12 to 17, court documents showed. The alleged attacks date back to 2009. Another charge of sexual conduct with a minor was added in a separate indictment on Wednesday when another girl came forward, Fujimoto said. The crimes occurred mostly in the

California lawmakers advanced a bill on Friday that would give immigrant students residing in the country illegally and attending public four-year universities in the state access to a revolving loan fund. The measure, if signed into law, would create the California Dream Loan Program, which would allow universities to voluntarily offer loans for undocumented students who have lived in the state long enough to qualify as residents. Individual students could apply for up to $4,000 a year in loans, which would be held to the same interest rate caps as regular undergraduate loans. "We invest in California students from an early age, and many of them have done what we've asked them to do," said state Senator Ricardo Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens who authored the bill. "If we're serious about strengthening our class="mandelbrot_refrag"> economy then we must remove obstacles for our future workforce." The measure piggybacks off legislatio

Advocates for same-sex marriage in Oregon, fresh from a major legal victory that paved the way for same-sex couples in the state to wed, said on Friday they no longer plan to put the issue on the ballot this November. _0"> A federal judge on Monday struck down Oregon's decade-old constitutional amendment that defined marriage exclusively as the union of a man and a woman. County officials almost immediately began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, including in Portland where some couples, anticipating the ruling, had camped in front of a county offices. Oregon's attorney general declined to mount a legal defense of Oregon's gay marriage ban. The ruling was one in a series of victories this month for advocates of expanding marriage rights to gays and lesbians. This week, a Pennsylvania court threw out the state's same-sex marriage ban - making Pennsylvania the 19th state to allow same-sex marriage, after Governor Tom Corbett, a conservative Repub

The U.S. government's growing acceptance of commercial military satellites is opening the $20 billion-a-year market to new companies and forcing big arms makers such as Lockheed Martin and class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Boeing to change how they operate. U.S. officials are trying to boost security of U.S. military and intelligence satellites, with an eye on risks from space debris and the proliferation of space-faring countries that could target U.S. satellites in a war. Officials hope the booming commercial satellite market can help the government obtain simpler and cheaper satellites, lower the cost of launching and create more options in other areas. After years of talk, U.S. budget cuts and changes in technology have started to alter a market long dominated by big contractors like Lockheed. "The space market is changing dramatically," said Henry Obering, senior vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton and former Missile Defense Agency director. "T

The Colorado judge presiding over the case of James Holmes, the man charged with mass murder in the shooting deaths of 12 people in a movie theater, ruled on Friday it was premature to consider moving the trial to another jurisdiction. Last month, defense lawyers filed a motion seeking a change of venue, saying it would be impossible to seat an impartial jury locally due to pervasive media coverage of the shooting rampage, including evidence ruled inadmissible at trial. While acknowledging that "publicity surrounding this case has been ubiquitous," Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour said he would defer ruling on whether to move the trial until lawyers question potential jurors. Jury selection is set to begin in October for the trial of Holmes, 26, who is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder for the July 2012 shooting spree at a cinema in the Denver suburb of Aurora during a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark

A small airplane crashed while making a landing approach on Friday outside the southwestern New Mexico town of Silver City, killing all four people aboard and sparking a grass fire that prompted the evacuation of a nearby mobile home park. _0"> Nobody on the ground was hurt in the accident, which occurred shortly before 4 p.m. at the Whiskey Creek Airport east of Silver City, home of Western New class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Mexico University, state police spokesman Sergeant Damyan Brown said. A propane tank adjacent to the airport exploded when the plane slammed into it, touching off the grass fire. Authorities evacuated the adjacent trailer park as a precaution, Brown said. The pilot and three other people aboard the plane all died, but their identities were not immediately available, he said. The cause of the crash was under investigation. (Reporting by Joe Kolb; Editing by Steve Gorman and Ron Popeski )

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he would not press during his term as Boy Scouts of America president for an end to the group's ban on gay adult leaders for fear of causing permanent damage to the century old organization. Gates, who helped end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that barred gays from serving openly in the U.S. military while he was defense secretary, said he strongly supported the Boy Scouts vote last year to lift its ban on gay youth members. He also said he personally supported going further, but would oppose efforts to reopen the issue in his two years as president. His selection had fueled speculation that Gates would seek to end the ban on gay adult scout leaders. "Given the strong feelings - the passion - involved on both sides of this matter, I believe strongly that to reopen the membership issue or try to take last year's decision to the next step would irreparably fracture and perhaps even provoke a fo

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, banned from the NBA for racist remarks, has handed controlling interest in his team to his wife, the co-owner, and she is negotiating with the league to sell the club, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Friday. National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver said this week he would prefer to let the Sterlings sell the team "on a reasonable timetable" rather than proceed with trying to forcibly terminate their ownership. Donald Sterling, controlling owner of the Clippers for 33 years, came under fire four weeks ago when TMZ.com posted an audio recording of him berating a female friend for publicly associating with black people, including NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson. His comments sparked widespread outrage from fans and NBA players and led several commercial sponsors to sever ties with the team. In response, Silver declared Sterling banned from the NBA for life and called on the 29 other tea

Flames engulfed a warehouse outside of Atlanta late on Friday, prompting an evacuation of nearby businesses, but firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to other structures, and no injuries were reported, emergency management officials said. _0"> The fire erupted at about 8:30 p.m. local time in the warehouse of Amrep, a chemical supply company in a small industrial park off Cobb Parkway in Marietta, about 25 miles northwest of Atlanta, the state capital. A dispatcher for Cobb County emergency communications said there were no homes close enough to be threatened by the blaze and that despite the presence of some chemicals stored in the warehouse, the fire posed no environmental hazard to the area. Neel Patel, the night desk manager at the Sun Inn, a small hotel a quarter-mile southwest of the fire, told Reuters he saw flames shooting about 40 feet into the air from the fire, the biggest he has seen in 20 years of working in the area. "There were several large fire

A California mother was charged on Friday with first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of her three daughters - all younger than 3 years of age - at their home in a working-class suburb of Los Angeles, prosecutors said. _0"> Carol Ann Coronado, 30, was arrested on Tuesday evening after police were called to the home by relatives who found her lying on a bed covered in blood beside the bodies of the three girls, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Coronado, who also was charged with attempted murder of her own mother, was taken to a hospital after her arrest to be treated for self-inflicted stab wounds, the sheriff's office said. Authorities have not said if Coronado's mother was actually injured by her daughter and have revealed few other details except to say that the three girls were killed with a knife, and that they ranged in age from about 2 months to 3 years old. The Los Angeles Times, citing accounts of relatives, has reported t

Utah's Mia Love, a Republican darling who could become the first conservative black woman elected to U.S. Congress, is getting a second, and likely better, chance to make history after narrowly losing to a popular incumbent Democrat in 2012. Love, 39, is a Mormon mother of three who is upending stereotypes about the state and its predominant faith. She locked up her party's nomination to vie for an open seat in Utah's 4th District at a state convention last month with an overwhelming 78 percent of the vote. The seat became available when Jim Matheson retired after seven terms in Congress as the heavily conservative state's lone Democrat in Washington. Two years ago, the politically savvy son of a beloved Utah governor beat Love by fewer than 800 votes.   true       If Love wins this time, she would become an unlikely champion in Washington of staunchly conservative views - limited government, fiscal discipline and state's rights. The daughter of Haitian immigra

A teenager who thought a Pennsylvania taxi driver was taking a long route to charge him extra money has been accused of killing the cabbie, police said. _0"> Aazis Richardson, 16, was charged with murder and robbery after admitting the crime to police, according to a criminal complaint filed on Friday by the Scranton, Pennsylvania, police. Officers found the teen hiding in an attic with bloodstains on his jeans, according to the complaint. The body of Vincent Darbenzio, the driver, was found in his taxi with bullet wounds to his head, police said. He was discovered by a fellow driver who had become alarmed by Darbenzio's radio silence early on Friday morning. Police went to an address given to Darbenzio's dispatcher when the taxi was booked and found Richardson in the attic with a handgun believed used in the shooting, the complaint said. Richardson told police that Darbenzio had ignored his suggested short cuts. The teen "started to get mad and felt the cab

At the end of a week rocked by allegations of mismanagement and cover-ups at the Department of Veterans Affairs, President class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Barack Obama used his weekly address on Saturday to vow again to make sure veterans get the necessary medical care. _0"> "Let's keep working to make sure that our country upholds our sacred trust to all who've served," Obama said in his address, which aired on Memorial Day holiday weekend, when Americans honor their war dead. "In recent weeks, we've seen again how much more our nation has to do to make sure all our veterans get the care they deserve," he said.   true       The VA said on Saturday it is taking steps nationally and locally to ensure veterans receive timely care, including providing access to private facilities when necessary. "Each of our facilities is either enhancing their clinic capacity to help veterans get care sooner, or where we cannot increase capacit

A gunman killed six people and wounded seven others in a drive-by shooting in a Southern California college town, spraying bullets from his car until it crashed and he was found dead inside, authorities said on Saturday. Authorities were investigating a possible link between the Friday night shooting in the town of Isla Vista near the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara and a threatening video posted online. In the YouTube video, which Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said appears to have been made by the suspected gunman, a young man bitterly complains of loneliness and rejection by women and says he plans to kill people. Witnesses to the violence reported seeing someone driving a black BMW through the streets and shooting at people in Isla Vista, a beachside community where many college students live. "It's obviously the work of a madman," Brown told a news conference. "There's going to be a lot more information that will come out that