Insurgents overrun major city in Iraq

Insurgents overrun major city in Iraq

BAGHDAD

In a stunning assault that exposed Iraq’s eroding central authority, al-Qaida-inspired militants overran much of Mosul on Tuesday, seizing government buildings, pushing out security forces and capturing military vehicles as thousands of residents fled the second-largest city.

The rampage by the black-banner-waving insurgents was a heavy defeat for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he tries to hold onto power, and highlighted the growing strength of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

There were no immediate estimates on how many people were killed in the assault, a stark reminder of the reversals in Iraq since U.S. forces left in late 2011.

Commercial-drone flights get an OK

WASHINGTON

The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it has granted the first permission for commercial-drone flights over land, the latest effort by the agency to show it is loosening restrictions on commercial uses of the unmanned aircraft.

Drone maker AeroVironment of Monrovia, California, and BP energy corporation have been given permission to use a Puma drone to survey pipelines, roads and equipment at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the agency said. The first flight took place Sunday.

Calif. judge strikes down teacher tenure

LOS ANGELES

A judge struck down tenure and other job protections for California’s public-school teachers as unconstitutional Tuesday, saying such laws harm students — especially poor and minority ones — by saddling them with bad teachers who are almost impossible to fire.

In a landmark decision that could influence the gathering debate over tenure across the country, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu cited the historic case of Brown v. Board of Education in ruling that students have a fundamental right to equal education.

Air Force to launch missile-program fixes

WASHINGTON

The Air Force is launching an ambitious campaign to repair flaws in its nuclear missile corps, after recent training failures, security missteps, leadership lapses, morale problems and stunning breakdowns in discipline prompted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to demand action to restore public confidence in the nuclear force.

Air Force leaders are planning to offer bonus pay to missile-force members, fill gaps in their ranks, offer a nuclear-service medal and put more money into modernizing what in some respects has become a decrepit Minuteman 3 missile force that few airmen want to join and even fewer view as a career-enhancing mission.

The potential impact of these and other planned changes is unclear.

New statistics show big rise for diabetes

Driven by surging obesity, an aging population and doubly high risks among blacks and Latinos, the American epidemic of diabetes has leaped to historic heights in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

Diabetes mellitus now afflicts 29 million Americans — 9.3 percent of the nation’s population.

And 1 in 4 don’t know they have the disease, which is thought to increase the risk of heart attack or stroke as much as fourfold.

The agency said an additional 86 million American adults — nearly 1 in 3 — has prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are abnormally elevated but below the criteria for diagnosing diabetes.

Combined dispatches