World/Nation
Commuter train smashes into SUV on tracks
VALHALLA, N.Y. - A packed commuter train slammed into a sport utility vehicle on the tracks at a crossing on Tuesday night, killing seven people, injuring several others and sending hundreds of passengers scrambling to get to safety as the front of the train and the SUV burst into flames. The impact was so forceful the electrified third rail came up and pierced the train, authorities said.
Among those killed was the SUV's driver, who authorities said had gotten out of her vehicle momentarily after the crossing's safety gates came down around her. She then got back in and was trying to drive forward when she was hit, they said.
"You have seven people who started out today to go about their business and aren't going to be making it home tonight," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the crash site in Valhalla, 20 miles north of New York City.
The northbound Metro-North Railroad train left Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan around 5:45 p.m. and struck the Jeep Cherokee about 45 minutes later. Cuomo said six people aboard the train were killed as well, making this crash the railroad's deadliest.
It was unclear how fast the train was going, but the maximum would be 60 mph, a railroad official said.
The train shoved the SUV about 10 train car lengths. Smoke poured out of the scorched front rail car, its windows blackened. Witnesses said they saw the flames shooting from where the crash occurred, in a wooded area near a cemetery.
Taiwan plane with 58 aboard crashes in Taipei
TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Taiwanese flight with 58 people aboard clipped a bridge shortly after takeoff and careened into a shallow river Wednesday in the island's capital of Taipei, killing at least eight people, state media said.
Parts of the wrecked fuselage of the turboprop ATR 72 jutted out of the Keelung River just a couple dozen yards from the shore near the city's downtown Sungshan airport. The main section of fuselage was on its side, missing a wing.
Rescuers clustered around the plane in rubber boats more than two hours after the crash, and could be seen pulling carry-on luggage from an open plane door.
The country's Central News Agency said eight people were killed of 26 that had been pulled from the plane. The rescue was continuing.
CNA said the flight from Taipei to the outlying island of Kinmen lost contact with flight controllers at 10:55 a.m. and the fuselage landed in the Keelung River near the city's downtown Sungshan airport.
Jordan executes al-Qaida prisoners after IS kills pilot
AMMAN, Jordan - Islamic State group militants burned a captured Jordanian pilot to death in a cage, according to a purported video of the violence released Tuesday. The kingdom, which had vowed a swift and lethal response, executed two al-Qaida prisoners by hanging early Wednesday.
The pilot's gruesome death sparked outrage and anti-Islamic State group demonstrations in Jordan. The video emerged after a weeklong drama over a possible prisoner exchange for a female al-Qaida operative imprisoned in Jordan who was one of the two prisoners executed.
The Jordanian military confirmed the death of 26-year-old Lt. Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, who was captured by the extremists in December when his F-16 crashed while he was flying a mission as part of the U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State group.
He was the first airman participating in the U.S.-led bombing raids against militant positions in Syria and Iraq to be captured.
In Washington, Jordan's King Abdullah II and President Barack Obama vowed in a hastily arranged White House meeting not to let up in the fight against the Islamic State group. Jordan, a staunch Western ally, is a member of the coalition.
In a first response to the killing of the pilot, Jordan executed Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouly, two Iraqis linked to al-Qaida, government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said. Another official said they were executed by hanging.
Republicans challenge Obama on Keystone
WASHINGTON - Newly empowered congressional Republicans challenged President Barack Obama at both ends of the Capitol on Tuesday, voting in the House to repeal the health care program he signed into law but faltering in an initial Senate attempt to roll back immigration policies he issued on his own.
There was a third challenge as well, as Republican leaders announced the House would give final approval next week on legislation clearing the way for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. That would trigger Obama's threatened veto, the first in a new era of divided government.
The skirmishes all seemed likely to end in eventual defeat for Republicans, but served as a potent reminder of their power after Obama challenged them bluntly last month with his State of the Union address and a no-balance budget on Monday calling for higher taxes and new spending. The GOP won control of the Senate in last fall's elections, and has its largest House majority in nearly 70 years.
- The Associated Press