Latest developments in Paris attacks

French investigators tracked down the alleged ringleader of last week’s Paris bloodshed after receiving a startling tip-off: The Islamic militant wasn’t in Syria but in Europe, plotting yet another attack. A discarded cellphone found near a bloodied concert hall led them to his cousin, and then to a suburban Paris apartment where both died in a hail of bullets and explosions.

The Islamic State group is aggressively pursuing development of chemical weapons, setting up a branch dedicated to research and experiments with the help of scientists from Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the region, according to Iraqi and U.S. intelligence officials.

The Paris attacks have given new impetus to a bipartisan push to approve new war powers to fight Islamic State militants, with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday joining Republican and Democratic lawmakers in calling for what would be the first war vote in Congress in 13 years.

Migrants interviewed by The Associated Press joined calls for Europe to make a better effort to weed out potential extremists within the refugee ranks, so that the door is left open only for those in need of help.

Source: Associated Press