U.S. LAUNCHES DRONE CAMPAIGN
washington» The CIA and U.S. special operations forces have launched a secret campaign to hunt terrorism suspects in Syria as part of a targeted killing program that is run separately from the broader U.S. military offensive against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said.
The CIA and the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command are flying armed drones over Syria in a collaboration responsible for several recent strikes against senior Islamic State operatives, the officials said. Among those killed was a British militant believed to be an architect of the terror group’s social media efforts to incite attacks in the United States, the officials said.
The clandestine program represents a significant escalation of the CIA’s involvement in the war in Syria, enlisting the agency’s powerful Counterterrorism Center against a militant group that many officials believe has eclipsed al-Qaeda as a threat.
McConnell says not enough votes to defund Planned Parenthood B
washington» The Senate’s top Republican concedes his party will have to await the next president before it can cut off federal funds that go to Planned Parenthood, prompting heated rebuffs from conservatives.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says Republicans lack the votes to halt the payments. He also says President Barack Obama, who doesn’t leave office until January 2017, stands in the GOP’s way.
Federal agencies run out of money Oct. 1 unless Congress sends Obama legislation financing them. A stalemate would lead to a government shutdown, which McConnell has repeatedly said will not occur. Congress returns next week from a summer recess.
Shortly before leaving on its break, the Senate fell six votes short of advancing legislation that would have blocked Planned Parenthood’s federal money. The organization receives more than $500 million annually in government financing, which includes money from states.
Hungary blocks migrants from trains B
budapest, hungary» Hungary stunned migrants and European partners Tuesday by blocking asylum-seekers from its westbound trains, a move that raised new challenges for the EU’s passport-free travel zone and could drive many into the reckless hands of cross-border smugglers.
Hungary’s right-wing nationalist government defended its Uturn — just days after it started permitting migrants on the trains without any coherent immigration controls at all — as necessary to send a get-tough signal. Cabinet ministers told lawmakers that the nation, struggling to cope with more than 150,000 arrivals this year, was determined to seal its borders to unwelcome travelers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Human rights activists criticized the action as futile and reckless, given that eastern European gangs have mobilized fleets of vehicles for illegally transporting migrants to Austria, Germany and elsewhere — but at steep prices and in dangerous conditions.
Second video emerges of deadly shooting B A
san antonio» second video has emerged that gives authorities a “very clear view” of a confrontation between deputies and a Texas man who had his hands raised before he was shot and killed, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood described the new video and one broadcast earlier as disturbing but cautioned against a rush to judgment as authorities investigate the shooting that killed 41-yearold Gilbert Flores.
An initial video recorded by a motorist from some distance was posted online by a San Antonio TV station. It shows Flores outside a residence Friday facing two deputies when he raises his hands — one arm obscured by a utility pole. The deputies fired multiple times. An investigation is underway to determine whether the deputies will face criminal charges or whether the danger to them was imminent, LaHood said.