World/Nation
Sen. Menendez indicted on corruption charges
WASHINGTON - Sen. Bob Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants who rose to become one of the highest-ranking Hispanic members of Congress, was charged Wednesday with accepting nearly $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions from a longtime friend in exchange for a stream of political favors.
Menendez predicted he would be "vindicated" and, in a defiant statement before reporters and cheering supporters Wednesday evening, said, "This is not how my career is going to end."
"I am not going anywhere. I'm angry and ready to fight because today contradicts my public service and my entire life," he said.
A federal grand jury indictment accuses the New Jersey Democrat of using the power of his Senate seat to benefit Dr. Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye doctor who prosecutors say provided the senator with luxury vacations, airline travel, golf trips and tens of thousands of dollars in contributions to a legal defense fund.
The indictment from a grand jury in Newark contains 14 counts - including bribery, conspiracy and false statements - against Menendez and also charges Melgen, a political donor to Menendez and other Democrats.
Arkansas Senate approves updated religious-objections bill
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson backed away Wednesday from his promise to sign a controversial religious-objections bill, bowing to pressure from critics who included his own son and some of the state's biggest employers, who say the legislation is anti-gay.
The Republican governor said he wants the Legislature either to recall the bill from his desk or pass a follow-up measure that would make the proposal more closely mirror a federal religious-freedom law. Arkansas lawmakers moved quickly to advance a new version aimed at addressing the governor's concerns.
Hutchinson said his son, Seth, was among those who signed a petition asking him to veto the bill.
"This is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial," the governor said. "But these are not ordinary times."
Hutchinson initially supported the bill, and on Tuesday, his office said he planned to sign it into law. But a day later, his position had changed.
Iran nuclear talks stumble after missing deadline
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - With even a vague outline of an Iran nuclear deal eluding their grasp, negotiators headed for double overtime Wednesday night in a marathon attempt to find common ground for a more important task - forging a final deal by the end of June.
Iran and six world powers had cited progress in abandoning their March 31 deadline for the basic understanding that would prepare the ground for a new phase of negotiations on a substantive deal. But as differences persisted into late Wednesday, the State Department announced that Secretary of State John Kerry was postponing his departure and would remain until at least Thursday morning.
The talks - the latest in more than a decade of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear prowess - will hit the weeklong mark on Thursday, with diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany scrambling to reach a framework accord with Iran.
"We continue to make progress but have not reached a political understanding," spokeswoman Marie Harf said in announcing Kerry's decision.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said negotiators were still facing a "tough struggle."
Inmate escapes from jail after overpowering guard
KANKAKEE, Ill. - A man awaiting sentencing for murder escaped from a jail in eastern Illinois Wednesday after beating a guard into unconsciousness, taking his keys and uniform and speeding away in his SUV.
Kamron T. Taylor, who has a history of escape attempts, fled from the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee at about 3 a.m. He somehow escaped from his cell, hid inside the facility, then beat and choked the guard who was making rounds, said Kankakee County Sheriff Timothy Bukowski.
Taylor, a 23-year-old from Kankakee, is considered armed and dangerous, the sheriff said. He was convicted of first-degree murder in February and faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
Besides hunting him down, investigators were eager to determine how Taylor got free in what was the first successful escape from the decade-old lockup housing about 450 detainees.
"The speculation on my part is somebody didn't do their job properly," Bukowski said.
After getting free of his two-man cell in a lockdown unit, Taylor hid and attacked the guard, a military veteran with 10 years of correctional experience, Bukowski said.
By wearing the guard's uniform, Taylor was able to fool other guards in a master control room who opened three sets of doors for him after visual verification by surveillance video, Bukowski said.
Iraq declares 'magnificent victory' over the Islamic State
TIKRIT, Iraq - The government declared victory in Tikrit on Wednesday over extremists of the Islamic State group, and it warned the militants holding other Iraqi provinces that they would be the next to fall.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi walked triumphantly along a street in Tikrit, carrying an Iraqi flag and surrounded by jubilant forces.
Across the border in Syria, however, Islamic State fighters made their deepest foray yet into the capital of Damascus by infiltrating a Palestinian refugee camp, according to opposition activists and Palestinian officials.
Iraq's victory over the extremists in Tikrit was seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants from Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the capital of Nineveh province.
Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi announced the victory, saying security forces have "accomplished their mission" in the monthlong offensive to rid Saddam Hussein's hometown and the broader Salahuddin province of the militant group.
- The Associated Press