Obama vetoes $612B defense bill

Obama vetoes $612B defense bill

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama vetoed a sweeping $612 billion defense policy bill Thursday in a rebuke to congressional Republicans, and insisted they send him a better version that doesn’t tie his hands on some of his top priorities.

In an unusual Oval Office ceremony, Obama praised the bill for ensuring the military stays funded and making improvements on armed forces retirement and cybersecurity. Yet he pointedly accused Republicans of resorting to “gimmicks” and prohibiting other changes needed to address modern security threats.

Hate-crime probe opened in attack on Muslim woman

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.

The FBI has opened a hate-crime investigation into an attack on a Muslim woman in which police say an Indiana University college student shouted racial slurs and tried to remove her headscarf.

FBI Special Agent Wendy Osborne said Thursday that there is no deadline for concluding the investigation into Saturday’s incident in Bloomington, Ind. She said the FBI became aware of the incident Monday and started the investigation Tuesday.

Former Subway pitchman’s victims get $1 million

INDIANAPOLIS

Ten victims of former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle have received a total of $1 million in restitution since he agreed to plead guilty to child pornography and sex-crime charges, and his four other victims could receive their checks by the time he is sentenced next month – a move prosecutors said is rare.

The $100,000 checks were hand-delivered to each of the 10 victims or their parents over the past several weeks, with each signing a form saying they had received the money and that it is intended to benefit that particular victim, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven DeBrota told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Hurricane Patricia now a Category 5

MANZANILLO, Mexico

Hurricane Patricia grew into a monster Category 5 storm and bore down on Mexico’s central Pacific Coast late Thursday for what forecasters said could be a devastating blow, as officials declared a state of emergency and handed out sandbags in preparation for flooding.

Steady rain began to fall after dark in Manzanillo, one of the country’s principal ports, ahead of an expected landfall today. Luis Felipe Puente, Mexico’s civil defense coordinator, said schools would be closed in Colima state, which is home to Manzanillo.

Russia shows military might, pushes diplomacy

HEMEIMEEM AIR BASE, Syria

As Russia unleashed waves of warplanes Thursday from this air base in western Syria to pound militant targets, President Vladimir Putin pushed diplomatic efforts with the West, stressing the need “to consider each other as allies in a common fight.”

Russia put its military muscle on display, bringing Moscow-based reporters to view a day’s worth of fighter jets roaring off a runway in dozens of sorties as helicopter gunships patrolled the edges of the sprawling facility.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet today in Vienna, joined by their counterparts from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, both staunch critics of President Bashar Assad.

Associated Press