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 …

Israel: Dozens of people have been killed in Gaza as Hamas and Israel trade a flurry of fire. Hamas is firing longer-range rockets into Israel, falling near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. At least 117 rockets hit Israel yesterday, one of …

The Supremes: The court edited a key provision of Obamacare this morning with a 5-4 majority saying an employer with religious objections does not have to provide free contraception under its healthcare plan. The ruling came in the case brought …

Iraq: The government is using helicopter gunships to hit Sunni Islamic militants in Tikrit, the hometown of the late dictator Saddam Hussein. A major advance involving tanks and thousands of troops may be underway. Meanwhile the US is flying drones …

Iraq: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has rejected international calls to form a unity government that includes the Sunni minority to defuse the country’s civil war. Maliki is a Shiite who has squeezed Sunnis out of power in both the military …

Guilty of Journalism: Three journalists working for the Al-Jazeera English news network today were convicted by an Egyptian court of terrorism related charges and sentenced to seven years in prison. The three, including an Australian, a Canadian Egyptian, and an …

The Caliphate: Sunni militants from Iraq have taken a Syrian border post in a sudden move to the west in their fight to carve out a separate state in the Middle East. They also captured a fourth town in Anbar …

Iraq: President Obama is sending 300 military advisors to stiffen the spine of the Iraqi army that’s collapsing before advancing Sunni Islamist rebels. Although the presence of “advisors” is often the first step to entering combat, Obama said American soldiers …

Iraq: The country’s biggest oil refinery appears to have fallen into the hands of Sunni Islamic militants after the army and helicopter gunships failed to hold them back. Black militant banners are reported to be hanging high within the refinery. …

Taken: American Special Forces nabbed a suspected leader in the 2012 Benghazi, Libya consulate attack who had been living openly in, of all places, Benghazi. Ahmed Abu Khattala is being returned to the US to face charges and trial for …