Taliban attack kills top Afghan officials, US general unhurt
A high-level meeting to lay out security plans for Afghanistan’s upcoming parliamentary elections had just concluded when an elite Afghan guard turned his gun Thursday on the departing delegation in an attack that killed the powerful Kandahar police chief but missed the top U.S. commander in the country, Gen. Scott Miller.
Nation briefs for October 18
A brief look at stories from throughout the nation.
Mexico Beach residents return home again _ some to no home
MEXICO BEACH, Fla. — With stunned faces and tears, residents of hard-hit Mexico Beach returned home for the first time Wednesday about a week after Hurricane Michael hit to find pieces of their lives scattered across the sand and a community altered.
Police search Saudi consul’s home in Khashoggi case
ISTANBUL — Turkish crime scene investigators searched the home of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul on Wednesday in the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, and a pro-government newspaper published a gruesome account of the journalist’s alleged slaying.
New deal keeps open facility that detains immigrant families
HOUSTON — The U.S. government quietly reached a new agreement to keep open a 2,400-bed detention facility used to detain immigrant mothers and children, in a lucrative arrangement for a private prison company and the tiny South Texas town where it’s located.
Inflatable sea monster takes over a rusting warehouse
PHILADELPHIA — A giant sea monster has taken over a building at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard, but only temporarily.
Puppeteer who played Big Bird on ‘Sesame Street’ retiring
WOODSTOCK, Conn. — The puppeteer who has played Big Bird on “Sesame Street” is retiring after nearly 50 years on the show.
Canada now world’s largest legal marijuana marketplace
TORONTO — Ian Power was among the first to buy legal recreational marijuana in Canada but he has no plans to smoke it. He plans to frame it.
Nation and World briefs for October 17
A brief look at news from around the globe.
Mysterious paralyzing illness found among kids in 22 states
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials on Tuesday reported a jump in cases of a rare paralyzing illness in children, and said it seems to be following an every-other-year pattern.