National Security

By JORGE RUEDA and FRANK BAJAKAssociated PressCARACAS, VenezuelaA former Miss Venezuela and her ex-husband were shot and killed and their 5-year-old daughter wounded when they resisted robbers by locking themselves inside their car after tire punctures disabled it on an

(AP) Iraq: Fighters urged to go as supplies run shortBy QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ADAM SCHRECKAssociated PressBAGHDADTribal leaders in the besieged city of Fallujah warned al-Qaida-linked fighters to leave to avoid a military showdown, echoing a call by Iraq’s prime minister

(AP) Train carrying oil derails, catches fire in CanadaPLASTER ROCK, New BrunswickOfficials in Canada said a derailed freight train carrying crude oil and propane continued to burn Wednesday, and about 150 residents remained evacuated from their homes. There were no

U.S. officials told the Washington Post that Abu Sufian bin Qumu, a former Guantánamo Bay detainee and leader of a paramilitary group with al-Qaeda ties, had a role in the Benghazi embassy attacks on September 11, 2012. Qumu, currently a leader

A report from the non-denominational group Open Doors says the number of Christians martyred around the world for their faith nearly doubled in 2013. The report documents 2,123 Christians killed for their faith in 2013 versus 1,201 killed in 2012.

A large crowd of protesters in Afghanistan rallied against U.S. forces, accusing the U.S.-NATO-led coalition of desecrating the Quran, according to media reports.  The crowd was protesting a rumored sacking of a mosque and subsequent desecration of the Quran by

A letter from three relatives of the Benghazi attack victims raises the question of whether House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) reluctance to form a “select committee” is because its findings may cast a bad light on him politically.  Specifically, it

(AP) Rodman sings happy birthday to North Korean leaderBy ERIC TALMADGEAssociated PressPYONGYANG, North KoreaDennis Rodman sang “Happy Birthday” to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before leading a squad of former NBA stars onto the court Wednesday at a Pyongyang

The Norfolk Eastern Daily Press is reporting that the Pentagon confirmed four U.S. Air Force crew members were killed Tuesday evening when their helicopter, the HH-60G Pave Hawk, a newer version of the U.S. Army Black Hawk, crashed during a

The Chinese Xinhua news agency reports that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry proposed to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that Israel accept 80,000 “refugees” from the 1948 war as part of a final peace settlement. Kerry recently completed his tenth

Amman, Jan. 8 (Petra) — Jordan Customs Department (JCD) staff in Aqaba on Wednesday foiled an attempt to smuggle 69,000 pills of Viagra sexual enhancement, as well as 18,984 toy pistols. The smuggled goods were not declared and will be

More than 13,000 families have fled Fallujah in the past few days amid clashes and shelling after the city fell to Al-Qaeda-linked militants, the Iraqi Red Crescent said on Wednesday.

(AP) Reversals in hard-won Iraqi city vex veteransBy ALLEN G. BREED and JULIE WATSONAssociated PressSAN DIEGO The image of two charred American bodies hanging from a bridge as a jubilant crowd pelted them with shoes seared the name Fallujah into

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com The ‘Battle of Fallujah’ begins in Iraq Turkey’s political crisis grows as police are reassigned The ‘Battle of Fallujah’ begins in Iraq Iraqi army troops are massing around the city of Fallujah in AnbarProvince

(AP) UN warns of humanitarian threat in western IraqBy SINAN SALAHEDDINAssociated PressBAGHDADThe top United Nations official in Iraq is warning of a “critical humanitarian situation” in the country’s west as government forces attempt to regain control of two key cities

(AP) India takes aim at privileges held by US diplomatsBy ELIZABETH A. KENNEDYAssociated PressNEW DELHIIndia chipped away at America’s diplomatic perks Wednesday, ordering the envoys to obey local traffic laws and warning that a popular U.S. Embassy club violates diplomatic

With reports of labor abuse on the rise and the public too busy outraged by the Sochi Olympics to give a World Cup a decade away a proper look, the New York Times has begun to take on the plight

U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents and U.S Attorneys held secret meetings with drug trafficking organizations, especially the Sinaloa cartel, on Mexican soil, revealed Mexico-based newspaper El Universal. The DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s office are both components of the

According to Bob Woodward at the Washington Post, Robert Gates, former defense secretary under Barack Obama, makes clear in his new memoir, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, that Obama was not as concerned with winning the war in Afghanistan as

The Obama Administration has found some unusual allies in its fight against the Menendez-Kirk Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013.The bill, which seeks “To expand sanctions imposed with respect to Iran and to impose additional sanctions with respect to

The U.S. will pursue complete U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of 2014, also known as the “zero option,” unless the Afghan president signs the bilateral security agreement (BSA) between Kabul and Washington in the upcoming “weeks… not

What’s likely the first rap video ever made in North Korea went online Tuesday to the delight of the young and ambitious Washington hiphop duo that created it. Pacman and Peso posted “Escape to North Korea” on their YouTube site

By KELVIN K. CHANAssociated PressHONG KONGRun Run Shaw built a Hong Kong movie and TV empire that nurtured rising talents like actor Chow Yun-fat and director John Woo, inspired Hollywood filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino and produced the 1982 sci-fi

Sixty-nine years ago this month, the Battle of the Bulge raged across Europe’s Ardennes Forest as the Allies fought in brutal arctic weather to contain Hitler’s last great counteroffensive. One veteran–and one of NYC’s oldest homeless men–still battles the elements.