World/Nation
Obama asks fresh, limited war powers to battle Islamic State
WASHINGTON - Vowing that Islamic State forces are "going to lose," President Barack Obama urged Congress on Wednesday to authorize military action against terrorists who are cutting a swath across the Middle East. Yet he ruled out large-scale U.S. ground combat operations reminiscent of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I'm convinced that the United States should not get dragged back into another prolonged ground war," the president said at the White House as he set Congress on a path to its first war-powers vote in 13 years.
Despite his words of reassurance, initial reaction in Congress amounted to bipartisan skepticism, with much of the dissatisfaction centered on his attempt to find a political middle ground with respect to ground forces.
Republicans expressed unhappiness that he had chosen to exclude any long-term commitment of ground forces, while some Democrats voiced dismay that he had opened the door to deployment at all.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also said Obama had ruled out air support for U.S.-trained rebels battling Syrian President Bashar Assad, adding, "That's immoral."
'American Sniper' had called ex-Marine 'straight-up nuts'
STEPHENVILLE, Texas - Shortly before he was shot to death by a troubled former Marine at a Texas gun range, legendary Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle texted a buddy, "This dude is straight-up nuts," a defense attorney told jurors Wednesday.
A lawyer for Eddie Ray Routh said in opening statements of the man's murder trial that Routh's insanity was so evident that Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield exchanged texts expressing alarm as the three rode together in February 2013 to a Texas shooting range.
"He's (sitting) right behind me, watch my six," Littlefield texted back, using a military reference for watching one's back.
But a prosecutor said Routh still knew right from wrong, even with a history of mental illness.
The first day of the highly anticipated trial also included sometimes tearful testimony from Kyle's widow, who spoke about her husband's passion for helping veterans, gun safety and opposition to mixing alcohol with gun use.
Mueller told friends she was determined to help Syrians
PRESCOTT, Ariz. - Friends say the American woman taken hostage by Islamic State militants was determined to get to Syria and learned Arabic so she could perform aid work and advocate for causes in the Middle East.
Kayla Mueller, 26, traveled to the Palestine territories, Israel and other countries before deciding a couple years ago that it was her calling to help the people of Syria, friends said Wednesday. She moved to an area in Turkey near the Syrian border, and about eight months later, she was captured in Syria by Islamic State militants. Her death was confirmed this week by her family and U.S. government.
College friends say Mueller often talked about going to Syria after she graduated Northern Arizona University, and they said she was determined to get there, despite the risks.
"She had determined over many years of serious internal questioning that the best way to deal with the suffering in the world was to face it directly, and to address it on the ground," said Leslie Alamer, who attended college with Mueller.
Mueller's trip from Turkey across the border into Syria in August 2013 was a dangerous move given the bloodshed that has gripped the country under the regime of embattled President Bashar Assad. Nearly half of Syria's population has been displaced, and some 200,000 people have died in the fighting and crossfire.
Boehner: Senate Democrats must 'get off their ass' and pass bill
WASHINGTON - House Speaker John Boehner challenged Senate Democrats Wednesday to "get off their ass" and pass a bill to fund the Homeland Security Department and restrict President Barack Obama's executive moves on immigration.
His comments seemed unlikely to change Senate Democrats' behavior. But they underscored a worsening stalemate on Capitol Hill with funding for the Homeland Security Department set to expire Feb. 27. A day earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared the Senate "stuck" on the issue and said the next move was in the House's court.
Boehner rejected that, insisting the House has already done its job. He said Senate Democrats are at fault for blocking a House-passed bill that funds the department through the remainder of the budget year while also overturning Obama's policies limiting deportations for millions here illegally. Democrats oppose the immigration language.
"The House has done its job, why don't you go ask the Senate Democrats when they're going to get off their ass and do something other than to vote no?" Boehner told reporters after meeting with GOP lawmakers. "The issue here is not Senate Republicans. The issue here is Senate Democrats."
In response, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid chided Boehner that "cursing is not going to resolve the squabbling among Republicans that led to this impasse."
Leaders in Minsk for crucial Ukraine peace talks
MINSK, Belarus - The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine negotiated into the early hours Thursday to try to find a way to halt the fighting in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 5,300 people.
The talks on ending the conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatist rebels came amid intense anxiety over the sharp spike in fighting in recent weeks, as Europe nervously awaits word on whether Washington will send lethal aid to Ukraine and as Russia's economy deteriorates under sanctions imposed by the West.
In a diplomatic blitz that began last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande visited Kiev and Moscow to speak to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, paving the way for the talks in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
- The Associated Press