Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 US, Saudis demand Syria halt crackdown

AFP

19 hrs ago

US President Barack Obama demanded Damascus “immediately” halt its crackdown on protesters, as activists said Syrian troops killed at least three people in raids on Latakia and other towns.

Obama and Saudi King Abdullah in a telephone call expressed their “shared, deep concerns about the Syrian government’s use of violence against its citizens,” the White House said.

“They agreed that the Syrian regime’s brutal campaign of violence against the Syrian people must end immediately.”

2 American seized in Pakistan ‘was targeted’: police

By Sajjad Tarakzai, AFP

8 hrs ago

An American aid expert kidnapped at gunpoint from his home in the Pakistani city of Lahore was targeted because of his nationality, police said Sunday as they scrambled for leads.

Anti-American tensions are at an all-time high in Pakistan after a covert US raid killed Osama bin Laden on May 2.

The US embassy named the man as Warren Weinstein, who Pakistani police said is a senior official at US-based consultancy J.E. Austin, which works on development projects in the frontline state in the war on Al-Qaeda.

3 US debt remains investor safe haven despite S&P downgrade

By Djallal Malti, AFP

3 hrs ago

US Treasury bonds remain a hot ticket for investors looking for a low risk investment in a volatile market despite the unprecedented downgrade of Washington’s credit rating, analysts say.

The decision by Standard & Poor’s to strip Washington of its top triple-A rating has done little to diminish investors’ appetite for US Treasuries, which along with gold, the Swiss franc and the yen are considered among the safest of assets.

At first it may seem somewhat paradoxical, but with investors concerned about a slowdown in the global economy, they are piling into US bonds which are also attractive because of the dollar’s reserve currency status.

4 Money woes could shutter Edgar Allan Poe house

By Fabienne Faur, AFP

15 hrs ago

The house where American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe lived in poverty for several years in the 1800s, and which now serves as a museum, could soon be forced to close its doors for good.

For the second year running, the house, situated off the beaten path in a poor part of Baltimore, in the eastern US state of Maryland, has received no funding from the city, which has its own financial woes.

Baltimore’s deficit snowballed to $120 million for the 2011 fiscal year, leading the city to tighten its belt and decide to fund only essential services.

5 SlutWalk comes to US capital

By Karin Zeitvogel, AFP

19 hrs ago

Hundreds of women swapped business suits for short skirts and revealing tops as Washington joined the list of cities around the world that have hosted a SlutWalk — a march calling for an end to sexual violence and victim blaming.

A crowd made up mainly of women, which SlutWalk organizer Samantha Wright estimated at around 2,000-strong, marched from the White House to the Washington Monument brandishing signs with messages reading “This is what I was wearing when I was raped,” and, “Rape pre-dates the miniskirt.”

Twenty-three-month-old Virginia Warder sat in her stroller playing with a hot-pink feather boa and eating peaches. A sign on the stroller read “My body is mine” and the toddler’s T-shirt was emblazoned with the words “My mommy is a slut.”

6 Bachmann wins early Republican test in US poll

AFP

21 hrs ago

US congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a darling of the ultraconservative Tea Party movement, won Saturday’s Iowa straw poll, a key early test that could boost her presidential hopes.

But her victory was overshadowed by Texas Governor Rick Perry, a business-friendly social conservative who announced his candidacy hours earlier and could soon lead the crowded 2012 race to replace Barack Obama.

Bachmann took first in the Ames Straw Poll — seen as a key indicator of who will fare well in early nominating contests next year — with 4,823 votes, or around 28.5 percent of the 16,892 ballots cast.

7 Pawlenty drops out of presidential race

By Olivia Hampton, AFP

7 hrs ago

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty announced on Sunday he is dropping out of the Republican presidential contest, after a distant third place finish in a key test vote.

Pawlenty made the announcement after finishing third with a disappointing 2,293 votes Saturday in Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll, over 2,500 votes behind winner Representative Michele Bachmann and second place finisher Ron Paul.

The nonbinding survey is seen as a key indicator of who is best positioned to win the first batch of early nominating contest next year, and Pawlenty had hoped a strong showing would breathe new life into his campaign.

8 Perry looms large in narrowing US Republican race

By Joseph Krauss, AFP

1 hr 30 mins ago

Texas Governor Rick Perry loomed large over a narrowing White House race on Sunday despite Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann’s victory in a key test that saw the first major Republican bow-out.

Perry, a popular fiscal and social conservative, will pose a major challenge to both the ultraconservative Bachmann and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, a moderate who has until now led the polls.

Meanwhile Tim Pawlenty, a low-key former governor of Minnesota who was hoping for a crucial bump from Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll, dropped out after coming in a distant third behind Bachmann and libertarian congressman Ron Paul.

9 US Republican race tightens into three-way brawl

By Joseph Krauss, AFP

2 hrs 17 mins ago

The Republican White House race has sharpened into a three-way brawl, pitting a moderate businessman and a Tea Party firebrand against a Texas governor promising the best of both worlds.

For months, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has led the polls despite conservative misgivings about his history of governing from the middle and his state health care overhaul that inspired “Obamacare.”

But now he faces a major challenge from ultraconservative congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who rode a Tea Party wave to victory in Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll — seen as a key test ahead of early nominating battles.

10 Perry, Bachmann galvanize Republicans in US race

By Jason Clayworth, AFP

10 hrs ago

The US Republican presidential primary race displayed a tilt to the right Sunday after conservative Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the contest and Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann won a telling victory in an early poll.

The fourth-term governor, supported by the Christian right, vowed to put Americans back to work and assailed Barack Obama on the economy, where the president is most vulnerable.

“We cannot and must not endure four more years of rising unemployment, rising taxes, rising debt, rising energy dependence on nations that intend us harm,” Perry said, as he announced his candidacy in South Carolina Saturday.

11 Obama seeks bounce back on jobs bus tour

By Stephen Collinson, AFP

19 hrs ago

Mired in one of the bleakest patches of his presidency, Barack Obama hits the US heartland Monday, seeking to rekindle the spirit of hope which swept him to the White House but has been crushed by a lame economy.

Obama will embark on a fabled ritual of American politics — a bus tour to rural areas of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, which have all felt the lash of the economic crisis and will be important to his 2012 reelection bid.

Hope is a commodity in short supply, as fears mount that the tepid recovery from the worst economic crisis since the 1930s will fizzle into a second recession and with unemployment stubbornly pegged at 9.1 percent.

12 Suicide bombers, gunmen kill 22 in central Afghanistan

By Mohammad Aziz, Reuters

5 hrs ago

PARWAN, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 22 people in a bold attack on a governor’s compound in central Afghanistan during a security meeting Sunday, officials said, with gunbattles and several blasts heard before the assault was put down.

A Reuters witness and others nearby reported hearing at least five explosions as Afghan security forces inside the compound of Parwan governor Abdul Basir Salangi fought back.

Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said 22 people were killed and 34 wounded. The dead included 16 government employees and six police, it said in a statement.

13 Tank, navy attack on Syria’s Latakia kills 26: witnesses

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Reuters

1 hr 18 mins ago

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian tanks and navy ships shelled the main Mediterranean port city of Latakia on Sunday, residents and rights groups said, killing 26 people as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces launched an offensive by land and sea to crush protests against his rule.

Since the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan on August 1, Assad’s forces have mounted operations across the country to try to suppress protests demanding political freedom and an end to 41 years of Assad family rule.

“I can see the silhouettes of two grey vessels. They are firing their guns and the impact is landing on al-Raml al-Filistini and al-Shaab neighborhoods,” one witness told Reuters by phone from Latakia, where tanks and armored vehicles were deployed three months ago to crush dissent against Assad in mainly Sunni neighborhoods of the mixed city.

14 Libyan rebels fly flag over key town near Tripoli

By Michael Georgy, Reuters

1 hr 7 mins ago

ZAWIYAH, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels raised their flag over a strategic town near Tripoli on Sunday after their most dramatic advance in months cut off Muammar Gaddafi’s capital from its main link to the outside world.

The swift rebel advance on the town of Zawiyah, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, will deal a psychological blow to Gaddafi’s supporters and severs the coastal highway to Tunisia that keeps the capital supplied with food and fuel.

There was no sign Tripoli was under immediate threat from a rebel attack: heavily armed pro-Gaddafi forces still lie between Zawiyah and the capital. Previous rebel advances have often been reversed, despite help from NATO warplanes.

15 Pakistan let China see crashed US "stealth" copter

By Rosalind Russell and Alison Williams, Reuters

1 hr 20 mins ago

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan gave China access to the previously unknown U.S. “stealth” helicopter that crashed during the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May despite explicit requests from the CIA not to, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The disclosure, if confirmed, is likely to further shake the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, which has been improving slightly after hitting its lowest point in decades following the killing of bin Laden.

During the raid, one of two modified Blackhawk helicopters, believed to employ unknown stealth capability, malfunctioned and crashed, forcing the commandos to abandon it.

16 U.K. police hit out at Cameron’s hiring of U.S. crime guru

By Avril Ormsby, Reuters

7 hrs ago

LONDON (Reuters) – British police chiefs Sunday hit back at Prime Minister David Cameron’s plans to enlist a U.S. crime expert after last week’s riots, as the conservative leader vowed “zero tolerance” against street violence.

Cameron, criticized by some in his party as being too liberal on crime and punishment, has taken a tough stance after four nights of looting and arson hit cities across England.

“We haven’t talked the language of zero tolerance enough, but the message is getting through,” Cameron said in an interview in the Sunday Telegraph.

17 Struggling Pawlenty exits White House race

By Will Dunham, Reuters

4 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty became the first major casualty in the marathon presidential campaign on Sunday while fellow Republicans Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry built momentum in the race.

Pawlenty, once seen as a strong contender for the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election, dropped out a day after a disappointing showing in Iowa’s straw poll, a key early test of strength among his party’s candidates.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is the early front-runner in the Republican race, but he must fend off a surging Bachmann — who won the poll — and Perry, the governor of Texas who announced his candidacy on Saturday in South Carolina.

18 Bachmann and Perry – a beautiful 2012 rivalry

By John Whitesides, Reuters

6 hrs ago

AMES, Iowa (Reuters) – It was Michele Bachmann’s big moment in the political spotlight and Rick Perry stomped all over it.

Despite her victory on Saturday in the Iowa straw poll, the first big test of the 2012 Republican U.S. presidential campaign, Bachmann had to share the national stage with Perry’s public leap into the White House race.

It won’t be the last time the congresswoman from Minnesota and the governor of Texas step on each other’s toes.

19 Obama embarks on campaign-style Midwest tour

By Alister Bull, Reuters

6 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama hits the road on Monday for a Midwestern bus tour that he hopes will leave doubts over his leadership behind in Washington.

But the three-day trip through Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois — three states seen as vital to his 2012 re-election campaign — could put him in front of voters who, polls show, are furious about political gridlock in the U.S. capital.

Iowa, which launched Obama’s historic journey to the White House in 2008, has recently been playing host to Republican presidential hopefuls who have aggressively slammed his record as they criss-cross the state.

20 Suicide bombers kill 22 in quiet Afghan province

By AMIR SHAH, SOLOMON MOORE, Associated Press

1 hr 58 mins ago

CHARIKAR, Afghanistan (AP) – Six suicide bombers attacked a governor’s security meeting in one of Afghanistan’s most secure provinces, killing 22 people and driving home the point that the Taliban is able to strike at will virtually anywhere in the country.

The governor of Parwan, a relatively peaceful eastern province just 30 miles north of Kabul, survived. He said he picked up an assault rifle and shot at least one of the attackers dead from the waiting room of his office.

Two other insurgents detonated their vests, causing most of the deaths and burning part of the governor’s offices. Several cars were wrecked by shrapnel and bullets. Broken glass and body parts littered a charred lawn.

21 Syria uses gunboats for 1st time to crush uprising

By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press

1 hr 40 mins ago

BEIRUT (AP) – Syria used gunboats for the first time Sunday to crush the uprising against Bashar Assad’s regime, hammering parts of the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia after thousands marched there over the weekend to demand the president’s ouster. At least 25 people were killed, according to activists.

The coordinated attacks by gunboats and ground troops were the latest wave of a brutal offensive against anti-government protests launched at the beginning of the month. The assault showed Assad has no intention of scaling back the campaign even though it has brought international outrage and new U.S. and European sanctions.

“We are being targeted from the ground and the sea,” said a frightened resident of the al-Ramel district of Latakia, the hardest hit neighborhood. “The shooting is intense. We cannot go out. They are raiding and breaking into people’s homes,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

22 ‘Doomsday’ defense cuts loom large for select 12

By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press

7 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – For the dozen lawmakers tasked with producing a deficit-cutting plan, the threatened “doomsday” defense cuts hit close to home.

The six Republicans and six Democrats represent states where the biggest military contractors – Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics Corp., Raytheon Co. and Boeing Co. – build missiles, aircraft, jet fighters and tanks while employing tens of thousands of workers.

The potential for $500 billion more in defense cuts could force the Pentagon to cancel or scale back multibillion-dollar weapons programs. That could translate into significant layoffs in a fragile economy, generate millions less in tax revenues for local governments and upend lucrative company contracts with foreign nations.

23 Bachmann, Perry flocking to same event in Iowa

By THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press

4 hrs ago

AMES, Iowa (AP) – It might be a preview of the months ahead in the GOP presidential race. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who just got into the race, and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, fresh off an Iowa straw poll victory, were competing for attention Sunday as their campaign schedules put them at the same event.

Both have the backing of tea partyers and evangelical conservatives. Both already are making big plays for those two important constituencies in Iowa.

Perry was making his first campaign visit to Iowa since announcing his candidacy Saturday in South Carolina in a speech that emphasized his economic credentials and Texas’ job growth, as well as his conservative stances on social issues and his faith.

24 Obama begins political counteroffensive this week

By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press

4 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama launches a political counteroffensive this week, weighed down by withering support among some of his most ardent backers, a stunted economy and a daily bashing from the slew of Republicans campaigning for his job.

“We’ve still got a long way to go to get to where we need to be. We didn’t get into this mess overnight, and it’s going to take time to get out of it,” the president told the country over the weekend, all but pleading for people to stick with him.

A deeply unsettled political landscape, with voters in a fiercely anti-incumbent mood, is framing the 2012 presidential race 15 months before Americans decide whether to give Obama a second term or hand power to the Republicans. Trying to ride out what seems to be an unrelenting storm of economic anxiety, people in the United States increasingly are voicing disgust with most all of the men and women, Obama included, they sent to Washington to govern them.

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