Snowden mystery deepens; where is he?

Snowden mystery deepens; where is he?

moscow

Moscow’s main airport swarmed with journalists from around the globe Wednesday, but the man they were looking for, National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, was nowhere to be seen.

The mystery of his whereabouts only deepened a day after President Vladimir Putin said that Snowden was in the transit area of Sheremetyevo Airport.

If Putin’s statement is true, it means that Snowden has effectively lived a life of airport limbo since his weekend flight from Hong Kong, especially with his American passport now revoked by U.S. authorities.

Texas marks 500th execution since ’82

huntsville, texas

Texas marked a solemn moment in criminal justice Wednesday evening, executing its 500th inmate since it resumed carrying out capital punishment in 1982.

Kimberly McCarthy, who was put to death for the murder of her 71-year-old neighbor, was also the first woman executed in the U.S. in nearly three years.

McCarthy, 52, was executedSFlbfor the 1997 robbery, beating and fatal stabbing of retired college psychology professor Dorothy Booth. Booth was attacked with a butcher knife and candelabra at her home in Lancaster, about 15 miles south of Dallas. Authorities say McCarthy cut off Booth’s finger to remove her wedding ring.

It was among three slayings linked to McCarthy, a former nursing-home therapist who became addicted to crack cocaine.

She was pronounced dead at 7:37 p.m. EDT.

Activists: Death toll in Syria tops 100,000

beirut

The civil war in Syria has killed more than 100,000 people, a grim new estimate Wednesday that comes at a time when the conflict is spreading beyond its borders and hopes are fading for a settlement to end the bloodshed.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has tracked the death toll through a network of activists in the country, said most of the 100,191 killed in the last 27 months were combatants. The Observatory said 36,661 of the dead are civilians.

Obama begins first leg of trip to Africa

dakar, senegal

President Barack Obama opened a weeklong trip to Africa on Wednesday, a three-country visit aimed at overcoming disappointment on the continent over the first black U.S. president’s lack of personal engagement during his first term.

Air Force One touched down in the Senegalese capital of Dakar on Wednesday evening.

The president, who is traveling with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha, is scheduled to visit South Africa and Tanzania.

Immigration bill nears Senate’s OK

washington

Far-reaching immigration legislation cruised toward passage in the Senate as House Republicans pushed ahead Wednesday on a different approach that cracks down on millions living in the U.S. illegally rather than offering them a chance at citizenship.

The legislation provides for 20,000 new Border Patrol agents, requires the completion of 700 miles of fencing and requires an array of high-tech devices be deployed to secure the border with Mexico.

Associated Press