Nation: Authorities in the New York area yesterday rounded up 71 people accused of possessing and swapping child pornography images. The suspects include a small town police chief, a New York City cop, and a mother believed to have produced …

The Big Melt: An enormous portion of the West Antarctic ice sheet is melting and it may be irreversible, according to scientific reports released yesterday. Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the University of California, Irvine said, “It has passed the …

Ukraine: Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine say voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots yesterday in favor of independence from Ukraine. They said the vote was 90 percent in Donetsk and 96 percent in Luhansk, although the election was conducted in some …

Ukraine: Pro-Russians appear ready to go ahead with an independence referendum tomorrow, despite discouragement from Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine government. Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander Turchinov said the vote “would be a step into the abyss for these …

Nigeria: Boko Haram militants invaded a regional state capital Monday killing at least 310 people, Nigerian authorities say. Some of the victims were reported to have been burned alive in buildings where they hid. The village of Gamboru Ngala is …

Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he is pulling back his troops from the eastern Ukraine border. “We have pulled them back. Today they are not at the Ukrainian border but in places of regular exercises, at training grounds.” …

Nation: Senate Republicans blocked a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, saying a hike would slow the economy and force employers to shed hundreds of thousands of jobs. The federal minimum is now $7.25. But …