| Crime and lawsuits cloud new 'American Sniper' movie Posted: 26 Dec 2014 04:00 PM PST  By Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - The real-life story behind Hollywood's "American Sniper," rolled out this holiday season, has been a dark tale of lawsuits and a pending murder trial for the man accused of gunning down the movie's hero. Iraq War veteran Eddie Ray Routh is to stand trial in February on charges of murdering Chris Kyle, the former Navy SEAL whose best-selling autobiography "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History" was the basis for the film from director Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper. ...
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| 'Into the Woods,' 'Selma,' 'American Sniper,' 'Unbroken': Editors on This Week's Releases Posted: 26 Dec 2014 03:00 PM PST Find out how these films got their "final rewrite" in the cutting room |
| Islamic State targeted in 39 strikes by U.S., allies: Task Force Posted: 26 Dec 2014 12:43 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces and their allies staged 39 air strikes on Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria over the past two days, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Friday. Fighters, bombers and remotely controlled aircraft hit 19 targets in Syria while 20 strikes were carried out in Iraq, a task force statement said. In Syria, 17 strikes were concentrated on an area near the city of Kobani and destroyed several Islamic State buildings, vehicles and fighting positions. Two air strikes near Hasakah and one near Raqqa also caused damage. ... |
| Family's despair for Pakistan's Aafia Siddiqui Posted: 26 Dec 2014 11:51 AM PST  Militant groups from Al-Qaeda and its offshoots to the Islamic State (IS) have sought the 42-year-old's release in exchange for captives, most recently the US journalist James Foley, beheaded by IS in August. In an interview with AFP in the sprawling, violent Pakistani port metropolis of Karachi, Siddiqui's family protested her innocence and despaired at the horrors associated with her name. Siddiqui's story, one of the most intriguing of the "war on terror" era, began in March 2003 when Al-Qaeda number three and alleged main 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested in Karachi.
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| French Christmas market attacker was drunk Posted: 26 Dec 2014 11:22 AM PST  A man who rammed his car into a French Christmas market, killing one person and injuring nine others, had nearly four times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, a police source said Friday. The 37-year-old man was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.18 in his system after the attack on Monday in the western city of Nantes. The legal limit in France is 0.05. The spate of violence began on Saturday when a man with a knife attacked three police officers in the central town of Joue-les-Tours while shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest).
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| IS claims Iraq suicide bombing that killed 38 Posted: 26 Dec 2014 11:04 AM PST  The Islamic State group on Friday claimed it carried out a suicide bombing south of Baghdad that targeted Sunni fighters who oppose the jihadists, in which 38 people were killed. IS spearheaded a sweeping militant offensive that has overrun much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland since June -- areas that Shiite-led government forces have sought local Sunni help to recapture. The Sahwa, or "Awakening" in Arabic, dates back to the height of the US-led war in Iraq, when Sunni tribesmen joined forces with the Americans to battle insurgents including IS's predecessor organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq. The Sahwa were key to greatly but temporarily reducing the violence, but when Iraq's government took over responsibility for their salaries they were sometimes paid late or not at all.
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| AP-Times Square poll: Feeling optimistic for 2015 Posted: 26 Dec 2014 10:15 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are closing out 2014 on an optimistic note, according to a new Associated Press-Times Square Alliance poll. Nearly half predict that 2015 will be a better year for them than 2014 was, while only 1 in 10 think it will be worse. There's room for improvement: Americans give the year gone by a resounding 'meh.'
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| Jordan pilot ejected over Syria after 'technical failure' Posted: 26 Dec 2014 09:52 AM PST  Technical failure caused a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State group jihadists in Syria to eject after flying at low altitude, activists and a monitoring group told AFP on Friday. He hit the brick factory and then disappeared from sight", said Obada al-Hussein, an activist from IS-held Raqa who spoke to AFP via the Internet. I believe there was a technical failure," Hussein said. Another activist from the city, Abu Ibrahim, also spoke of a "technical failure".
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| Regime strikes kill 52 civilians in Syria: monitor Posted: 26 Dec 2014 09:21 AM PST  Syrian regime air strikes killed at least 52 civilians, including seven children, in strongholds of the Islamic State jihadist group, a monitoring group said Friday in a new toll. The raids struck Al-Bab and Qbasin Thursday in the northern province of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground. "At least 52 civilians, including seven children, three teenagers and two women, were killed in the Syrian army air raids," said the Observatory, adding that dozens were seriously wounded. Activists accuse the government of killing more civilians than jihadists in the raids.
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| US-led coalition hits IS jihadists with 31 air strikes Posted: 26 Dec 2014 08:19 AM PST  The US-led coalition pounded the Islamic State jihadist group with 31 air strikes Friday, including more than a dozen in the flashpoint Syrian town of Kobane, the Pentagon said. The 13 strikes in Kobane, which is known as Ain al-Arab in Arabic, destroyed 19 fighting positions, as well as IS buildings, staging areas and a vehicle, the Defense Department said in a statement. The US-led coalition has been launching air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria since September 23.
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| How pilot's capture threatens Jordan's position in Islamic State fight Posted: 26 Dec 2014 07:41 AM PST The dramatic capture of an air force pilot by Islamic State forces in Syria has forced officials to defend Jordan's role in the US-led coalition and consider releasing the country's most reviled terrorist detainee. |
| 5 More Surprises Hiding in the CRomnibus Bill Posted: 26 Dec 2014 03:30 AM PST  The spending bill sets aside $64 billion above and beyond the Pentagon's already enormous budget to fund the ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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| Obama praises US troops as Afghanistan mission winds down Posted: 25 Dec 2014 10:58 PM PST  President Barack Obama in a Christmas Day speech to US troops stationed in Hawaii hailed their "extraordinary dedication and sacrifices," as NATO prepares to wrap up its combat mission in Afghanistan. After a morning of exchanging gifts with family members during their annual year-end vacation in his birth state, the president and First Lady Michelle Obama paid a visit late Thursday to a Marine Corps base in Hawaii. Next week we will be ending our combat mission in Afghanistan," Obama told the crowd, to cheers and applause. "Because of the extraordinary service of the men and women in the armed forces, Afghanistan has a chance to rebuild its own country.
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| On Christmas, Obama marks end of Afghan combat Posted: 25 Dec 2014 10:30 PM PST  KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AP) — President Barack Obama marked the end of more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan by paying tribute to America's military, telling troops on Christmas Day that their sacrifices have allowed for a more peaceful, prosperous world to emerge out of the ashes of 9/11.
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| On Christmas visit with troops, Obama lauds end of Afghanistan mission Posted: 25 Dec 2014 09:25 PM PST  By Julia Edwards KANOEHE BAY, Hawaii (Reuters) - One week before the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan draws to a close, President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, thanked American troops on Thursday during a Christmas Day visit to Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kanoehe Bay. One man in the crowd yelled "Huah!", a traditional cheer of the U.S. military, and the audience applauded as Obama spoke of the United States officially ending its fighting role in Afghanistan after 13 years of conflict. ...
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| Pope Francis: End the Suffering of Children Posted: 25 Dec 2014 09:15 PM PST Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, is born for us, born in Bethlehem of a Virgin, fulfilling the ancient prophecies. The Virgin's name is Mary, the wife of Joseph. Humble people, full of hope in the goodness of God, are those who welcome Jesus and recognize him. Yes, brothers and sisters, Jesus is the salvation for every person and for every people! Today I ask him, the Savior of the world, to look upon our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria, who for too long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict, and who, together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal persecution. |
| Police in Kosovo stop driver with explosives Posted: 25 Dec 2014 05:38 PM PST PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo police say they have foiled an apparent attempt to detonate a car filled with explosive material in the capital Pristina. |
