1 US service member is killed in attack

1 US service member is killed in attack

WASHINGTON

One U.S. service member was killed and two were wounded in hours-long fighting Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents have made recent inroads.

The fighting, which reflects intensified efforts by the U.S. and its Afghan partners to push back against Taliban gains, was near the city of Marja, Helmand province, which shares a border with Pakistan. The Taliban in recent weeks have focused their efforts on retaking parts of Helmand, and the U.S. has countered with U.S. special operations forces working with Afghan troops.

Details on the battle were sketchy.

Record-tying El Nino’s storms hit California

SAN FRANCISCO

Forced by drought to become miserly with water, Californians were warned against reverting to old habits Tuesday as the first of several storms spawned by a record-tying El Nino began drenching the state.

A series of storms lining up over the Pacific Ocean was welcome news in parched California, despite their potential for causing flash floods and mudslides.

But authorities cautioned that even the wettest of winters can’t replenish depleted reservoirs and aquifers unless everyone keeps pitching in.

California’s water deficit is so deep after four years of drought that a “steady parade of storms” like these will be needed for years to come, said Mike Anderson, climatologist for the state’s Department of Water Resources.

Police: Man in motel standoff stabs self

DECATUR, GA.

A man armed with a knife held 11 children and his girlfriend inside a motel room for five hours before he stabbed himself in the neck Tuesday morning, ending a standoff with police, authorities said.

No one else was injured.

Authorities had surrounded the motel and tried to negotiate with Korrie Thomas, 36, before a SWAT team eventually stormed the room and found him critically injured, police said.

DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said Tuesday that Thomas should have reported to prison to begin a 15-year sentence in November, after he pleaded guilty last year to armed robbery and aggravated assault. A judge sentenced Thomas to nine years behind bars followed by probation.

36 migrants killed in 2 boat disasters

ANKARA, TURKEY

Authorities recovered the bodies Tuesday of at least 36 migrants who drowned off Turkey after their boats overturned in rough waters as they tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, officials and news reports said. Twelve others were rescued.

Nine bodies, including those of children, washed up on a beach in the resort town of Ayvalik early in the morning, prompting authorities to dispatch coast guard boats and officials to search the area by sea and by land for possible survivors.

Seven other bodies were washed up on a shore at Dikili, a resort about 30 miles south of Ayvalik, the victims of a second migrant tragedy, the private Dogan news agency reported.

‘Affluenza’ teen’s mom to go to Texas

LOS ANGELES

The mother of a fugitive teenager known for using an “affluenza” defense in a deadly drunken-driving case agreed Tuesday to be sent from California to Texas to face a charge.

Tonya Couch, 48, said very little at an extradition hearing in downtown LA, where she was flown after being deported from Mexico.

Texas authorities there said they will bring her back before Friday.

She is charged with hindering the apprehension of a felon and will be held on a $1 million bond.

Associated Press