US pressures Russia over Syria

US pressures Russia over Syria

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

The U.S. is heaping new pressure on Russia to change course and support international action in Syria, warning that intransigence by Moscow may lead to open civil war that could spill across the Middle East with devastating effects. Speaking on Russia’s doorstep in Denmark, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton derided the Russian government for continuing to support Syrian President Bashar Assad, even after last week’s massacre of more than 100 people in the town of Houla. In pointed remarks Thursday, she said Russia’s position “is going to help contribute to a civil war” and rejected Russian officials’ insistence that their stance actually is helping to ease the crisis.

GOP has new offer on student loans

WASHINGTON

Top congressional Republicans made a new offer to President Barack Obama on Thursday in their fight over heading off a doubling of interest rates on federal college loans for 7.4 million students, proposing fresh ways to cover the effort’s $6 billion cost. The GOP ideas were modeled on savings that Obama himself had included in his budget for this year, suggesting that negotiations over ending the election-year impasse could take a serious turn. Until now, both sides have favored extending today’s 3.4 percent interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans for another year but clashed over how to pay for it.

NM wildfire spreads in all directions

RESERVE, N.M.

A massive wildfire in the New Mexico wilderness that already is the largest in state history spread in all directions Thursday, and experts say it’s likely a preview of things to come as states across the West contend with a dangerous recipe of wind, low humidity and tinder-dry fuels. The erratic Gila National Forest blaze grew overnight to more than 190,000 acres, or nearly 300 square miles, as it raced across the area’s steep, ponderosa pine-covered hills and through its rugged canyons.

Littering ticket tossed after uproar

CLEVELAND

Prosecutors tossed out a $344 littering citation against a driver whose money fell to the ground after he reached through his open car window to hand it to a panhandler.

The city dropped the ticket because it decided the cash didn’t qualify as trash, assistant city prosecutor Jonathan Cudnik said during a court hearing Thursday.

John Davis of Elyria had pleaded not guilty to the minor misdemeanor earlier in the week and said he was determined to fight the ticket.

He said he was trying to help someone in need when he handed the money to the panhandler, who was in a wheelchair at a busy intersection during rush hour May 17. A police officer who was behind Davis saw the money hit the ground and cited him for littering.

House OKs vets funding measure

WASHINGTON

The Republican- controlled House approved legislation Thursday to boost health-care spending for veterans and provide more money to compensate record numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans claiming service-related disabilities as they return home.

The 407-12 vote reflected the traditional bipartisan support for veterans in Congress and efforts by Republicans to exempt veterans’ programs from cuts felt by other domestic programs.

Associated Press