Deadline set by IS extremists passes


Deadline set by IS extremists passes

CAIRO

Police searches and diplomatic efforts intensified over the fate of a Croatian hostage held in Egypt by Islamic State extremists, who threatened to kill him Friday if the government did not release imprisoned Islamist women.

The group’s Egyptian affiliate said Wednesday that it would kill 30-year-old Tomislav Salopek in 48 hours if the Egyptian government did not release jailed “Muslim women” – a reference to those detained in the government’s crackdown on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists.

Debate shatters Fox News ratings record

NEW YORK

Donald Trump always boasted about his ratings for “Celebrity Apprentice.” Now he can say the same thing about his first presidential debate.

Thursday’s prime-time GOP candidates’ forum on Fox News Channel reached a stunning 24 million viewers, by far the largest audience ever for that network and any cable news event. The closest was the 1992 “Larry King Live” debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot on CNN, which was seen by 16.8 million people, the Nielsen company said.

In fact, it stands as the most-watched television program of the summer so far, Nielsen said.

Pope to use Lincoln’s Gettysburg lectern

PHILADELPHIA

When Pope Francis speaks outside Independence Hall in September, he will stand at the same lectern that President Abraham Lincoln used to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

The Union League of Philadelphia said Friday it would offer the simple wooden stand for the pontiff to use during his planned speech on immigration and religious liberty. The pope’s visit to Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and 27 comes at the close of the World Meeting of Families, a triennial Catholic conference designed to strengthen family bonds. The pope also will celebrate a public Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Lincoln used the lectern Nov. 19, 1863, to dedicate part of the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg as a cemetery.

Judge sets deadline for Clinton records

WASHINGTON

Impatient with years of delays, a federal judge Friday gave the State Department some tight deadlines to provide The Associated Press with thousands of pages of documents related to Hillary Rodham Clinton – a timetable that means many of the files should be released well before the U.S. presidential primary elections.

Friday’s order came one week after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon chastised the department for its slowness in satisfying years-old records requests, including for Clinton’s schedules and calendars.

The AP sued in March after the department failed to turn over files requested under the Freedom of Information Act, including one request made more than five years ago.

Lost Purple Heart is heading to family

ST. PAUL, MINN.

For decades, the family of Wiljo Matalamaki had been wondering where his Purple Heart medal went.

It took a random discovery at a dump and a chance meeting, but nearly half a century after it was lost, the medal will be returned to his relatives Sunday at Minnesota’s Fort Snelling.

Matalamaki was shot down over Germany in 1944 during World War II and presumed dead. The medal disappeared after Wiljo’s mother died in 1966.

Tami Heart’s mother found it at a dump near her cabin in Wawina – a place she later discovered was Matalamaki’s childhood home.

Associated Press

By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use.

» Accept
» Learn More