Iraq Crisis: TheUS has dropped 500-pound bombs on Sunni militant positions outside Erbil to stop ISIS forces from threatening American diplomats and military advisers and to protect a population of Christians that could be the target of genocide.   Navy jets …

Food Fight: Russia is hitting back at the West with economic sanctions of its own, banning the importation of all American food and European produce. It will hurt Western farmers, suppliers, and food companies, but it cuts both ways. Russia …

Ukraine: NATO says Russia has massed 20,000 troops on the Ukraine border in a position to invade. The fear is that as Ukraine slowly defeats pro-Russian separatists, Russia will step in on the pretext of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission.Russia …

Friendly Fire: An American two-star general is reported to have been killed today by a gunman in an Afghan army uniform at a military training academy outside Kabul. Two other soldiers also were reported killed and as many as 15 …

Mudslide: A rare summer rain caused mudslides near Mt. Baldy in California’s San Bernardino County, killing one person and trapping about 3,000 people in the mountains. Among the stranded were 500 campers who had just arrived. The mud wiped out …

Gaza: Ten Palestinians waiting in line for food at a United Nations school were killed by an Israeli missile strike today. It’s the third time a UN school has been hit. In another development, Israel announced that the soldier they …

Gaza: Israel is pounding Gaza while searching for a missing soldier believed to have been captured by Hamas militants only two hours into a 72-hour ceasefire yesterday. Hamas denies it’s holding the soldier. Another 55 people were killed today, bringing …

Trucefire: A 72-hour ceasefire that started at 8am local time in Gaza collapsed hours after it began. An Israeli infantry officer appears to have been captured by Hamas gunmen who emerged from a tunnel and a suicide bomber killed two …

Ukraine: A team of international investigators finally reached the wreckage of Malaysia Flight 17 today, two weeks after it was brought down by a missile. They are expected to focus first on finding remains of the dead and collecting their …

Econ 101: The US economy bounced back from a dreary winter to grow at 4 percent in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department. The numbers make analysts hopeful that the winter shrinkage was an anomaly and the economy …