World/Nation Briefs July 31, 2012
Romney's Israel comments anger Palestinians
GDANSK, Poland - It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Mitt Romney outraged Palestinians on Monday, telling Jewish donors that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the Palestinians. That fresh controversy on his visit to Israel came just days after insulting the British on what was intended as a feel-good visit to the Olympics in London.
Whether or not the trip changes votes back home, the effect hasn't seemed to be what Romney's presidential campaign had in mind.
His first steps onto the world stage as President Barack Obama's Republican challenger were carefully crafted to avoid political risk. He visited countries that are staunch U.S. allies, limited questions from the media and arranged made-for-TV appearances at symbolic venues in London and Jerusalem. It was all intended to demonstrate he was ready to handle foreign affairs smoothly and lead during dangerous times.
Instead, as he made his final stop of a three-nation tour in Poland late Monday, Republicans and Democrats alike were shaking their heads in the U.S. Though Republicans said they saw no lasting harm, Democrats raised questions about Romney's ability to handle delicate topics with sensitivity on foreign soil, even under the friendliest conditions.
Thousands flee Syria's embattled city of Aleppo
BUKULMEZ, Turkey - Smoking a cigarette outside a Turkish hospital near the Syrian border, a man in a gray gown and flip-flops held his sleeping 2-year-old daughter, Aya. On Aya's right eye was a bandage. In her left hand was a chocolate bar.
Aya lost her eye when she was struck by shrapnel from a shell that also killed her 8-month-old brother, Mohammad, and their mother. The father and daughter were among some 200,000 people who the U.N. said late Sunday have fled Syria's largest city, Aleppo, during days of clashes between rebels and the military.
Aleppo residents, some severely wounded, are packing up belongings and loading them onto cars, trucks and even motorcycles to seek temporary shelter in rural villages and schools outside the city and dusty tents across the border in Turkey.
Colorado suspect faces 142 felony charges
CENTENNIAL, Colo. - James Holmes appeared just as dazed as he did in his first court hearing after the deadly Colorado movie theater massacre.
Holmes, 24, sat silently in a packed Denver-area courtroom on Monday, as a judge told him about the charges filed against him, including murder and attempted murder, in one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history.
After the charges were read, prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over whether a notebook that news reports said Holmes sent to his psychiatrist and had descriptions of the attack was privileged information.
It's an argument that foreshadows one of the case's most fundamental issues: Does Holmes have a mental illness and, if so, what role did it play in the shooting that left 12 people dead and 58 others injured.
Conservatives work to cull GOP moderates
TOPEKA, Kan. - Frustrated by their inability to achieve some policy goals, conservatives in Republican states are turning against moderate members of their own party, trying to drive them out of state legislatures to clear the way for reshaping government across a wide swath of mid-America controlled by the GOP.
Political groups are helping finance the efforts by supporting primary election challenges targeting several dozen moderate Republicans in the Midwest and South, especially prominent lawmakers who run key state committees.
Two years after Republicans swept into power in many state capitols, the challengers say it's time to adopt more conservative policies.
"If you don't believe in that playbook, then why are you on the team?" asked Greg Smith, a Kansas state rep who's running for the state Senate, with the goal of making it more conservative.
- The Associated Press