World/Nation

Obama: Making progress but 'not cured' of racism

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the history of slavery and segregation is "still part of our DNA" in the United States, even if racial epithets no longer show up in polite conversation. He uttered the N-word in making his point.

In an interview, Obama talked about the debates over race and guns that have erupted after the arrest of a white man in the racially motivated shooting deaths of nine black church members in Charleston, S.C.

"Racism, we are not cured of it," Obama said. "And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior."

Obama's remarks came during an interview out Monday with comedian Marc Maron for his popular podcast, where coarse language is often part of the discussion. The president uttering a racial slur aloud stirred controversy, especially on social media, and White House spokesman Josh Earnest said later Monday that wasn't surprising.

Obama didn't plan in advance to use the word to be provocative, Earnest said, but was simply making a point during a casual, free-flowing interview. He said he didn't recall ever hearing the president say the racial slur aloud before, but noted that it did appear in his book, "Dreams from My Father."

European leaders optimistic about Greek debt deal

BRUSSELS - Greece has finally offered economic reforms that creditors consider closer to being acceptable, giving Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a few days to turn a spirit of goodwill into a deal that might keep the country from a painful exit from the euro currency and roil international markets.

Even though a firm deal between Greece and its lenders to get Athens more loans remained elusive at an emergency summit Monday, leaders from the 19 euro nations and the International Monetary Fund said Tsipras' new reform plan offered the basis to break a four-month deadlock in talks.

"We are advancing toward an agreement," said French President Francois Hollande. But the gap separating what Greece wants to yield in painful reforms and what creditors are demanding before providing more funds remained sizable.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that despite the improvements in the Greek offer "it still lacks specificity. And it is still short of everything that we expected."

Bloodshed in El Salvador back to 1980s levels

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Word on the street is that only the girlfriends of gang members are allowed to be redheads or blondes. So in this violent place, women are scurrying to salons to give up their blonde hair and highlights, to dye it all black - not out of fashion sense, but out of fear.

"They also say you can't wear yellow or red clothing," said Claudia Castellanos, a beautician at an upscale salon. "Can you believe it? They've already attacked a woman on a bus for wearing yellow."

There's no evidence the rumors are true. The gangs, sophisticated criminal organizations, even issued a statement to deny the hair-color decree.

But with violence in El Salvador reaching levels rivaling those of the civil war that ended more than two decades ago, few are willing to take risks.

El Salvador has just experienced one of its most violent months since the end of the civil war in 1992, with 635 homicides reported in May for the country of just over 6 million people. June is on track to break that mark, with the latest bloodshed coming Sunday when suspected gang members killed two soldiers guarding a bus terminal in the capital.

Thirty killed by suicide bombing attack in Nigeria

BAUCHI, Nigeria - Two girls blew themselves up on Monday near a crowded mosque in northeast Nigeria's biggest city, killing about 30 people, witnesses said.

It is the fourth suicide bombing this month in Maiduguri, which is the birthplace of the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group.

Fishmonger Idi Idrisa said one teenager exploded as she approached the mosque crowded with people from the nearby Baga Road fish market, performing afternoon prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.

The second teen appeared to run away and blew up further away, killing only herself, he said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he has cancer

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Monday he has "very advanced" and "very aggressive" cancer of the lymph nodes, but he said he will fight for a full recovery and continue to work as the state's chief elected official.

Hogan spoke candidly, choking up at times while also managing to keep a sense of humor, as family, friends and his staff filled the governor's reception room for the announcement. The governor, who has been in office for five months, said the cancer is B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

"Over the coming months, I'll be receiving multiple very aggressive chemotherapy treatments," Hogan said. "I may trim down a little bit, but I won't stop working to change Maryland for the better."

The Republican, who won an upset victory in November in a heavily Democratic state, said he had noticed a painless lump along his jaw earlier this month.

- The Associated Press