| Trump at center stage, but Cruz in spotlight at GOP debate Posted: 14 Dec 2015 04:28 PM PST |
| Obama really wants to go to Cuba, but only if the conditions are right Posted:  The president tells Yahoo News that he "very much" hopes to visit Cuba.
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| Bowe Bergdahl to face desertion charge in general court-martial Posted: 14 Dec 2015 12:27 PM PST |
| Baltimore jury mulls officer's fate in Freddie Gray's death Posted: 14 Dec 2015 04:13 PM PST  BALTIMORE (AP) — Jurors wrestled over what "evil motive" means Monday as they deliberated the fate of the first of six officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man whose neck was broken in a police van, fueling the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
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| Obama: faster progress needed against Islamic State Posted: 14 Dec 2015 10:42 AM PST  U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday progress needs to speed up against Islamic State militants, calling on allies to increase their military contributions to coalition efforts to destroy the group in Iraq and Syria. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Obama said he was sending Defense Secretary Ash Carter to the Middle East to secure more military help from partner nations in the fight against the group. "This continues to be a difficult fight," Obama said.
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| Egypt says no evidence of terrorism in Russian plane crash Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:08 AM PST  Egypt said on Monday it had found no evidence so far of terrorism or other illegal action linked to the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai that killed all 224 people on board on Oct. 31. Russia and Western governments have said the Airbus A321 operated by Metrojet was likely brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive on board. The crash hit Egypt's tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy.
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| U.S. soldier Bergdahl may face life sentence in court-martial over desertion Posted: 14 Dec 2015 04:44 PM PST  By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who walked away from his post in Afghanistan and became a Taliban prisoner for five years, will face court-martial with a potential life sentence, the Army said on Monday. In ordering the court martial on Monday, Army General Robert Abrams did not follow the recommendation of a preliminary hearing which, according to Bergdahl's lawyer, called for Bergdahl to face a proceeding that could impose a potential maximum penalty of a year in confinement. Bergdahl's lawyer, Eugene Fidell, said the defense team "had hoped the case would not go in this direction." He also urged Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has called Bergdahl a "dirty, rotten traitor," to "cease his prejudicial months-long campaign of defamation against our client." In a later interview on Monday, Fidell also criticized members of Congress for publicly saying they were closely monitoring the outcome of the case.
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| On Sandy Hook anniversary, U.S. activists call for gun restrictions Posted: 14 Dec 2015 01:06 PM PST  Speakers including U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, and survivors of recent U.S. mass shootings made their call outside the Fairfax, Virginia, headquarters of the National Rifle Association lobbying group. On Dec. 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, an attack that stands as one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
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| Seattle passes law letting Uber, Lyft drivers unionize Posted: 14 Dec 2015 04:25 PM PST  By Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Seattle on Monday became the first major U.S. city to pass a law giving drivers for Uber and Lyft the right to unionize, the latest twist in a heated debate about how workers for app-based ride services should be treated. The law approved unanimously by the Seattle City Council recognizes the right of drivers for on-demand ride companies known as Transportation Network Companies, as well as taxi and other for-hire drivers, to collectively negotiate on pay and working conditions. Councilman Mike O'Brien, who proposed the law, said he expects Uber to sue the city to stop the measure.
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