When Pope John Paul II visited Damascus in May 2001, Bashar used his welcoming speech to denounce the Jews, saying, “They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”   read more

An American company that bills itself as a pioneer in tracking emerging epidemics made a series of costly mistakes during the 2014 Ebola outbreak that swept across West Africa — with employees feuding with fellow responders, contributing to misdiagnosed Ebola cases and repeatedly misreading the trajectory of the virus, an AP investigation has found. Emails obtained by AP and interviews with aid workers on the ground show that some of the company's actions made an already chaotic situation worse.   read more

While naturalizations generally rise during presidential election years, Trump provided an extra boost this year. He has described Mexicans as drug-traffickers and rapists. He has vowed to create a deportation force to expel the estimated 11 million immigrants here illegally, evoking mass roundups of the 1950s. “Donald Trump never! Never!” said Minerva Guerrero Salazar. “He has no conscience when he speaks of Latinos. And he is so rude. I don’t know what kind of education his mother gave him.”   read more

The issue has divided students, with classmates on both sides of the issue lobbying lawmakers, signing petitions and speaking out on social media. Faculty members have publicly opposed the measure, choosing to follow the lead of their school presidents, the chancellor and regents. Concerns from college officials that guns on campus would be dangerous for students and faculty and costly for schools are being countered by gun rights advocates and gun-friendly lawmakers.   read more

The judge disagreed with the argument that testing requirements for the helmet and gas mask would not burden Singh's religious rights. She also stated that the Defense Dept didn't explain how Singh's beard would pose a potential safety hazard when Special Forces members in war zones can grow beards. She said the Army "singling out" Singh was "unfair and discriminatory" and that such treatment "has a clear tendency to pressure the plaintiff, or other soldiers [seeking] religious accommodation..."   read more

With heroin cheap and widely available on city streets throughout the country, users are making their buys and shooting up as soon as they can, often in public places. Police officers are routinely finding drug users — unconscious or dead — in cars, in bathrooms of restaurants, on mass transit and in parks, hospitals and libraries. Nationally, 125 people a day die from overdosing on heroin and painkillers, and many more are brought back from the brink of death — often in full public view.   read more

Small companies captured 26% of the government’s contracting dollars last year, representing $90.7 billion, the SBA announced Wednesday. About $17.8 billion of that total went to businesses owned by women during the fiscal year. A Commerce Department analysis recently showing that businesses owned by women are 21% less likely to win government contracts than otherwise similar companies. Firms owned by women tend to be younger and smaller than other businesses, but the disparity remains.   read more

Today Anna will tell a story that has become all too familiar among U.S. law students. Since graduating and passing the bar, she has yet to find a full-time, salaried job as a lawyer. From there, though, her story has taken an unusual twist: Anna is the first former law student whose case against a law school, charging that it inflated the employment data for its graduates as a way to lure students to enroll, will go to trial.   read more

Qualifications for penalty exemptions include being a victim of domestic violence or having a religious opposition to insurance. There's an exemption for those who spent most of the year in another country, had an immediate family member die, or were caring for an ill or aging relative. Taxpayers can even get a pass if their utilities were shut off, if they were the victim of a natural disaster, being homeless or in jail, declaring bankruptcy, getting evicted, or having steep medical debt.   read more

Reda was deputy chief of mission in Berlin in 2004 when then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came to Germany for back surgery and Reda dealt with the publicity surrounding that. Reda assumed a very sensitive assignment in 2008 when he was named ambassador to Israel. He was recalled in 2011 by his government to protest the deaths of three Egyptian soldiers killed in a shootout involving Israeli troops. He did return to Tel Aviv to complete his term, however.   read more

The 9/11 terror attacks spurred calls to shut down the reactors here, amid concern of a similar attack. Then the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan raised fears of a natural disaster on Indian Point. Now, the planned expansion of a natural gas pipeline across Indian Point property is again putting the power plant in a harsh glare. Elected officials, residents and environmental activists have criticized the project, saying that a rupture of the pipeline could unleash a nuclear catastrophe.   read more

The Remote Sensing System temperature data, promoted by many who reject mainstream climate science and especially most recently by Sen. Ted Cruz, now shows a slight warming of about 0.18 degrees Fahrenheit since 1998. "There are people that like to claim there was no warming; they really can't claim that anymore," said Carl Mears, the scientist who runs the Remote Sensing System temperature data tracking.   read more

The issue shows the real-world consequences of the current impasse between President Obama and the Republican-controlled Senate. The number of vacancies at federal agencies is growing, and congressional action on nominees has slowed in the final year of the administration. The Justice Dept. said the court decision “threatens to permanently impair an important presidential power,” to make temporary appointments to vacant positions throughout the government.   read more

“By the time the curtain closes on the Obama administration, we are on track to have delisted more species due to recovery than all previous administrations combined,” said Fish & Wildlife Service's Dan Ashe. “We’ve done that because of several decades of hard work, like with the grizzly bear.” Thursday’s announcement came as conflicts between humans and grizzly bears have been on the rise, including six people fatally mauled since 2010. A record 59 bears were killed by humans last year.   read more

Rep. Gallagher is a sponsor of a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for women to show their breasts or nipples in public with "reckless disregard" for whether it would offend someone. Gallagher and Rep. Spanos said New Hampshire could lose tourism dollars if women are wandering public places with their breasts uncovered. The bill drew national attention after a male lawmaker said if women want to show their breasts in public they should be OK with men wanting to "grab" them.   read more

A referendum to rename Katie Crotch Road to Cadie Road is being considered in Embden in Somerset County. Residents are sorting out the matter with a vote Friday and a town meeting Saturday. Board of Selectman Chairman Charles Taylor says the thefts occur so frequently that "you would think every dorm room in the state of Maine should have one by now."   read more

U.S. efforts to stop the illegal slaughter of elephants, rhinos and other wildlife brought has slowed but not stopped the worldwide smuggling trade that threatens the survival of species, according to a federal progress report released Thursday. Twenty percent of African elephants have died in the past decade and one of every 20 wild rhinos was killed by a poacher in the last year alone.   read more