National: With increased confidence in economic recovery, the Federal Reserve will start dialing back economic stimulus by the end of the year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. Stimulus will end early next year when unemployment hits 7%. Short-term interest …

World: Afghan leader Hamid Karzai is refusing to take part in peace talks with the Taliban unless the process is “Afghanized”. Peace talks were announced only yesterday. Karzai is angry that the US took the lead in setting up peace …

World: The Syrian civil war is dominating talks at a meeting of the G8 leaders in Northern Ireland. Seven countries are pressuring Vladimir Putin to ease Russian support for the regime of Bashar al Assad. ➢Representatives of the Taliban in …

 National: The Supreme Court this morning struck down Arizona’s voter identification law, ruling that a state could not require more proof of citizenship than the Federal government. Federal law requires only a postcard stating citizenship under penalty of perjury, but …

 National: The State of Illinois is $100 billion short on its employee pension obligations and doesn’t know how it will pay. The governor has called a special session of the legislature to deal with it. All the states took a …

 Iran Vote: Moderate cleric Hasan Rowhani is the winner of the election to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is expected to allow more personal freedom in Iran and be less confrontational with the West. National: Detroit’s emergency manager says some …

Gas, Gas, Gas: The Obama administration has decided to send weapons to Syrian rebels after a finding by the US, Britain and France that the Syrian military used chemical weapons against rebel forces. Up to 150 people were killed in chemical …

 Bahston: Mobster James “Whitey” Bulger was described by the prosecution as a “hands on killer’ in opening statements of Bulger’s federal trial on 19 counts of murder. Bulger raked in millions as head of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang, and is …

 Wildland: Several wildfires along Colorado’s front range have destroyed dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents. Enormous forest homes burned to the ground outside Colorado Springs in an area not far from where fire burned 346 …

America’s Most Wanted: Computer contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked information about the US Government’s widespread collection of Internet and telephone data, checked out of his Hong Kong hotel room. If anyone knows where he is, he’s not leaking it. The …