Senate votes to allow review of nuclear deal

Senate votes to allow review of nuclear deal

WASHINGTON

The Senate muscled its way into President Barack Obama’s talks to curb Iran’s nuclear program, overwhelmingly backing legislation Thursday that would let Congress review and possibly reject any final deal with Tehran.

The vote was 98-1 for the bipartisan bill that would give Congress a say on what could be a historic accord that the United States and five other nations are trying to finalize with Iran. Under the agreement, Iran would roll back its nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling economic penalties.

The lone “no” vote came from freshman Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who wants the administration to submit any agreement to the Senate as a treaty. Under the Constitution, that would require approval of two-thirds of the Senate.

The House is expected to vote next week on the measure.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey to help anti-Assad rebels

ISTANBUL

Casting aside U.S. concerns about aiding extremist groups, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have converged on an aggressive new strategy to bring down Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The two countries — one a democracy, the other a conservative kingdom — have for years been at odds over how to deal with Assad, their common enemy. But mutual frustration with what they consider American indecision has brought the two together in a strategic alliance that is driving recent rebel gains in northern Syria, and has helped strengthen a new coalition of anti-Assad insurgents, Turkish officials say.

That is provoking concern in the United States, which does not want rebel groups, including the al-Qaida linked Nusra Front, uniting to topple Assad.

Magnitude-4.0 quake hits Texas

PECOS, Texas

A remote area of North Texas experienced an earthquake that was unusually strong for the region.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-4.0 quake was recorded at 5:58 p.m. CDT Thursday centered on Mountain Creek about 30 miles southwest of Dallas in Johnson County, between the communities of Venus and Lillian.

USGS maps show the tremor was felt from southern Fort Worth and Arlington south to Hillsboro. There were no reports of injuries, but a Twitter message from the Johnson County Emergency Management Office said reports of minor damage to two foundations were being investigated.

The quake was the sharpest detected in North Texas since seismic activity in the area increased in recent months.

Residents clean up as more storms are on the way

OKLAHOMA CITY

Communities in several southern Plains states set to work cleaning up Thursday after a night of storms that spawned 51 tornadoes, assessing the damage under sunny skies but with the threat of even worse weather on the horizon.

The storms strafed northern Texas, Nebraska and Kansas on Wednesday and early Thursday but reserved their worst for the Oklahoma City area, where at least a dozen people were injured in a trailer park and a 43-year-old woman was killed. Skylyna Stewart apparently took cover in an underground storm shelter and drowned when it was deluged by floodwater, police Sgt. Gary Knight said.

Associated Press