Murdoch kills off News of the World

Murdoch kills off News of the World

LONDON

The Murdoch media empire unexpectedly jettisoned the News of the World on Thursday after a public backlash over the illegal guerrilla tactics it used to expose the rich, the famous and the royal and remain Britain’s best-selling Sunday newspaper.

The abrupt decision stunned the paper’s staff of 200, shocked the world’s most-competitive news town and ignited speculation that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. plans to rebrand the tabloid under a new name in a bid to prevent a phone-hacking scandal from wrecking its bid for a far more lucrative television deal.

Canadian mission ends in Afghanistan

KABUL

Canada formally ended its combat role in Afghanistan on Thursday, closing a mission that has cost 157 soldiers their lives since 2002 — casualties that shocked Canadians unaccustomed to seeing their troops die in battle.

The move adds to the burden of U.S. and Afghan troops who are trying to prevent a Taliban rebound in the militants’ southern stronghold where Canadian troops had been fighting in their bloodiest conflict since the Korean War.

Stay rejected, Texas executes Mexican

HUNTSVILLE, Texas

A Mexican national was executed Thursday for the rape-slaying of a San Antonio teenager after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down a White House-supported appeal to spare him in a death-penalty case where Texas justice triumphed over international-treaty concerns.

Humberto Leal, 38, received lethal injection for the 1994 murder of Adria Sauceda. She was fatally bludgeoned with a piece of asphalt.

House sends mixed message on Libya

WASHINGTON

The House voted Thursday to bar military aid to Libyan rebels battling Moammar Gadhafi but stopped short of prohibiting funds for U.S. involvement in a NATO-led mission now in its fourth month.

Sending a muddled message in the constitutional challenge to President Barack Obama, House Republicans and Democrats signaled their frustration with American participation in a stalemated civil war but also showed their unwillingness to end the operation.

The congressional unrest stems in large part from Obama’s decision not to seek congressional consent for a third war in addition to years-long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Foreclosure rules eased for jobless

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration is making it easier for out-of-work homeowners to stay in their homes, as it tries to revamp its troubled foreclosure-prevention program.

Starting Aug. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will extend the period for unemployed homeowners to miss mortgage payments to a full year from three or four months. That will allow qualified homeowners to go without making a monthly payment for 12 months before the foreclosure process begins. The extended grace period applies only to FHA-backed loans.

Testing near oil spill

BILLINGS, Mont.

Indoor air, cropland soils and residential wells downstream of a Yellowstone River oil spill will be tested for contamination after residents raised concerns about hazards from the tens of thousands of gallons of crude that poured into the watercourse, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.

Associated Press