Despite loud opposition, Congress now unlikely to block Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran
Despite loud opposition, Congress now unlikely to block Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — The fiercely contested Iran nuclear deal will likely survive in Congress despite unified GOP opposition and some Democratic defections, the top Senate Republican says. That would mean a major foreign policy win for President Barack Obama.
Obama has “a great likelihood of success,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in his home state of Kentucky this week — giving public voice to what other Republicans have acknowledged in private. “I hope we can defeat it, but the procedure is obviously stacked in the president’s favor.”
Indeed, even as Congress’ August recess has hardened Republicans’ opposition to the deal on Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail, reality is setting in: They probably can’t stop it. Significant Democratic defections from Obama would be required in both chambers of Congress, and even with opponents mounting a strenuous lobbying campaign in key congressional districts, such a prospect looks remote.
That means that even with Obama firmly in lame-duck territory and his GOP opponents in control of Congress and aiming for the White House, the president is on the verge of a legacy-defining victory on a pact that he and his supporters say will keep the world safe from Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Opponents continue to warn furiously that the result could be just the opposite: to strengthen Tehran’s hand, in an existential threat to Israel and the world.
On Tuesday a second Democratic senator, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, did announce his opposition to the deal, joining Chuck Schumer of New York.
Security video shows man in yellow shirt leaving backpack at bomb scene in Bangkok
BANGKOK (AP) — In the grainy security video, a man in a yellow shirt sits on a bench at the crowded Erawan Shrine, removes a backpack he is wearing, and leaves it behind when he walks away.
For police hunting who was responsible for Monday’s deadly bombing in central Bangkok, there was no doubt about the man with youthful shaggy dark hair and glasses.
“The yellow shirt guy is not just the suspect. He is the bomber,” police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha called the shrine bombing near a busy intersection that killed 20 and wounded more than 100 “the worst incident that has ever happened in Thailand,” and he promised to track down those responsible.
“There have been minor bombs or just noise, but this time they aimed for innocent lives,” Prayuth said. “They want to destroy our economy, our tourism.”
Officials: Military likely to open most combat jobs to women, maybe even special operations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two women have now passed the Army’s grueling Ranger test, and even tougher and more dangerous jobs could lie ahead. The military services are poised to allow women to serve in most front-line combat jobs, including special operations forces, senior officials told The Associated Press.
Based on early talks, officials say the Army, Navy and Air Force likely will not seek exceptions that close any jobs to women. Marine Corps leaders, they say, have expressed concerns about allowing women to serve in infantry jobs and yet may seek an exception.
The services are wrapping up reviews and must make their recommendations to Defense Secretary Ash Carter this fall. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the internal debate.
Even if Marine leaders object, they are likely to meet resistance from senior Navy and Defense Department officials who want the military to be united on this issue.
Undercutting the Marines’ reservations is that Special Operations Command is likely to allow women to compete for the most demanding military commando jobs — including the Navy SEALs and the Army’s Delta Force — though with the knowledge that it may be years before women even try to enter those fields.
Back in the drivers’ seat: Turkey’s President Erdogan takes high-risk gamble with a new vote
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared a shadow of his former self after his party suffered major losses in the June election — embattled and no longer in control of his political fate. His once-dominant movement was forced into the humiliating position of seeking a coalition with opposition parties intent on reining him in.
Two months later, the shrewd politician seems to be back in the saddle. The coalition-building he reportedly opposed has collapsed, and Turkey is now edging closer toward the new election he has been angling for.
Erdogan appears to be betting that a new ballot could revive the fortunes of the Islamic-rooted party, which he founded and led for more than a decade. That would put him back on course to reshape Turkey’s democracy, giving the largely ceremonial presidency sweeping powers that would allow him to wield control over government affairs.
Last week, he claimed since he was elected by popular vote instead of by Parliament, Turkey now had a “de facto” new system with a more powerful president, and a new constitution was needed to reflect the change. Erdogan has already been overstepping the bounds of his symbolic role on most matters of state, including Turkey’s fight against terror.
But a new election at a time of escalating violence between Turkey’s security forces and Kurdish rebels — and amid Turkey’s deeper involvement in the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State extremists — could backfire.
For Africa’s hunted albino children, US charity offers them false limbs and true hope
NEW YORK (AP) — As 5-year-old Baraka Cosmas Lusambo slept in his family’s home in western Tanzania in March, men wielding torches and knives burst in, knocked his mother unconscious, held him down and sliced off his right hand in the name of witchcraft.
Baraka has albinism, a condition that leaves the afflicted with little or no pigment in their skin or eyes — and makes their body parts valuable on the black market in parts of Africa as ingredients in potions said to give the user wealth and good luck.
“We were simply sleeping when someone just arrived,” Baraka told The Associated Press recently for an interview conducted in his native Swahili. “They came to me with machetes.”
A U.S. charity is now helping Baraka and four other albino children escape the threat, at least temporarily, by bringing them stateside. The Global Medical Relief Fund, started in 1997 by Elissa Montanti, helps children from crisis zones who have lost limbs get custom prostheses.
Montanti, moved by an article she read about Baraka, reached out to Under the Same Sun, a Canada-based group that advocates for and protects people with albinism in Tanzania and had been sheltering Baraka since his attack in March.
Idaho replaces mile marker 420 with 419.9 in attempt to curb sticky-fingered stoners
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — If you’re looking for milepost 420, you won’t find it in Idaho.
Idaho transportation officials say the mile marker has been replaced with 419.9 signs to curb thieves eager to own a number associated with marijuana enthusiasts.
Turns out, Idaho isn’t alone in this problem. States like Washington and Colorado have also replaced 420 signs with 419.9 after consistently having to replace them after thefts by supposed sticky-fingered stoners.
Adam Rush of the Idaho Transportation Department says officials have replaced the old sign along U.S. Highway 95 with “MILE 419.9,” just south of Coeur d’Alene.
Rush added that this is the only 420 sign the department has replaced in Idaho, a state known for its strict anti-marijuana laws despite being nearly surrounded by states with relaxed pot regulations.