Syrian Islamists reject opposition

Syrian Islamists reject opposition

BEIRUT

Syria’s increasingly powerful Islamist rebel factions rejected the country’s new Western-backed opposition coalition and unilaterally declared an Islamic state in the key battleground of Aleppo, a sign of the seemingly intractable splits among those fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.

The move highlights the struggle over the direction of the rebellion at a time when the opposition is trying to gain the West’s trust and secure a flow of weapons to fight the regime. The rising profile of the extremist faction among the rebels could doom those efforts.

Judge denies Hobby Lobby case

OKLAHOMA CITY

A federal judge Monday rejected a request by Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. to block part of the new federal health care law that requires it to provide the morning-after and week-after birth- control pills.

In a 28-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton denied a request by Hobby Lobby to prevent the government from enforcing portions of the health care law that will require it to include contraceptives the company considers objectionable in its health insurance plan.

Congo rebels resume fighting

GOMA, Congo

Rebels believed to be backed by Rwanda fired mortars and machine guns Monday on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Goma, threatening to capture one of the largest cities in eastern Congo in a development that could drag this giant Central African nation back into war.

The gunfire and explosions erupted in the early afternoon, with shells landing as far away as the international airport and near a United Nations position, causing flights to be rerouted and prompting the United Nations to evacuate most of its employees, according to U.N. officials.

30-40 feet stripped from NJ beaches

SPRING LAKE, N.J.

Towns along the Jersey shore that made use of federal money to build up beaches came through superstorm Sandy with far less damage than those that didn’t, findings that are sure to intensify a debate that has raged for years over the wisdom of pumping millions of dollars’ worth of sand onto the coastline, only to see it wash away continually.

The storm caused major erosion along New Jersey’s famous 127-mile coastline, washing away tons of sand and slimming down beaches. Some lost half their sand; the average loss statewide was 30 to 40 feet of beach width, according to findings that are not yet public but were revealed to The Associated Press.

Panel: Expand HIV screening

Nearly everyone age 15 to 64 should be screened for HIV even if they’re not at great risk for contracting the virus, under guidelines proposed by a panel of medical experts. If the panel adopts the recommendation, Medicare and most private health insurers would be required to pay for the tests.

The proposal was written by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group that operates under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services to advise the government and physicians on the medical evidence for preventive health measures. Posted online Monday on the task force website for four weeks of public comment, the guidelines also recommend that doctors offer HIV tests to people under 15 or over 64 if they are at high risk for contracting HIV and - in advice that has not changed - to all pregnant women.

Combined dispatches