Afghan intelligence: Taliban leader Mullah Omar dead

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency said Wednesday that the reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been dead for more than two years. The one-eyed, secretive head of the Taliban hosted Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaida in the years leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks and then waged a decade-long insurgency against […]

Zimbabweans in lion hunt in court; kill was “unethical”

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – Two Zimbabweans arrested for illegally hunting a lion appeared in court Wednesday. The head of Zimbabwe’s safari association said the killing was unethical and that it couldn’t even be classified as a hunt, since the lion killed by an American dentist was lured into the kill zone. A professional hunter identified […]

Brady vows to fight on; Kraft says he regrets not doing so

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) – New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady vowed on Wednesday to fight his four-game “Deflategate” suspension, and team owner Robert Kraft opened training camp by saying he continues to “believe and unequivocally support” the three-time Super Bowl MVP. “It is completely incomprehensible to me that the league continues to take steps to […]

Fire investigation at Lehigh Acres barbershop

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla.- Authorities are investigating a fire at a strip mall on Lee Boulevard. Officials say the fire at the Cutting Edge Barbershop is believed to have been caused by electrical issues. The owner says smoke filled up the small business and about 15 people were forced to evacuate. Fire officials were able to contain the fire and stop it from spreading […]

Coast Guard official says search for missing boaters ongoing

TEQUESTA, Fla. (AP) – Coast Guard and state officials visited the Florida home of one of two missing teenage boaters Wednesday, and a spokesman told news reporters the search for the boys is still “active and open.” Capt. Mark Fedor of the Coast Guard said, “There’s been a lot of rumors that the search has […]

1 boy dies, 1 injured car hits bicycle in South Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A 10-year-old boy is dead and his 11-year-old friend is in the hospital after the bicycle they were riding on was hit by a car near Fort Lauderdale. The Broward Sheriff’s Office said Douglas Sams died at a hospital following the Tuesday night crash. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Gina Carter says Sams […]

Russia vetoes Security Council proposal on MH17 tribunal

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would set up an international criminal court to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine a year ago. The foreign ministers of the Netherlands, Australia and Ukraine attended a meeting over the downing that killed all […]

Chelsea Clinton in Haiti to visit family foundation projects

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Chelsea Clinton on Tuesday encouraged women to educate themselves and learn how to be more independent during a trip to Haiti to oversee projects financed by the Clinton Foundation. Clinton met with local entrepreneurs as she traveled to businesses in the capital of Port-au-Prince with a group of investors and philanthropists […]

Star athletes pitch for Beijing, Almaty ahead of 2022 vote

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Former NBA star Yao Ming and Sochi Olympic bronze medalist figure skater Denis Ten differ in height by exactly two feet. The towering basketballer is representing Beijing’s bid for the 2022 Olympics, and the diminutive figure skater is boosting the bid from Almaty, Kazakhstan. Size didn’t factor into it Wednesday […]