Syria denies US allegations of mass killings

Syria denies US allegations of mass killings

BEIRUT

Syria on Tuesday rejected U.S. accusations it carried out mass killings at a prison near Damascus and then burned the victims’ bodies in a crematorium, describing the allegations as “lies” and “fabrications.”

The allegations are a “new Hollywood plot” to justify U.S. intervention in Syria, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said, noting what it called a U.S. track record of using false claims as a pretext for military aggression.

The State Department said Monday it believes that about 50 detainees are hanged each day at the Saydnaya military prison.

Many of the bodies are then burned in the crematorium “to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place,” said Stuart Jones, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East.

Fox News’ Guilfoyle up for White House press secretary job

NEW YORK

Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle says she is in conversations with the Trump administration about replacing Sean Spicer as White House press secretary.

The former first lady of San Francisco tells the Mercury News in San Jose, Calif., that taking that job or having another press role in the White House has been “raised by a number of people” in the Trump administration.

Guilfoyle, who is one of the co-hosts of the Fox News show “The Five,” says she’s regularly in touch with members of the administration as part of her job.

Study: Taking abortion pill at home is safe

LONDON

Medical abortions done at home with online help and pills sent in the mail appear to be just as safe as those done at a clinic, according to a new study.

The research tracked the outcomes of 1,000 women in Ireland and Northern Ireland, who used a website run by a group called Women on Web to get abortion pills. The Netherlands-based nonprofit provides advice and pills to women seeking an early abortion in more than 140 countries where access to abortion is restricted. Ireland and Northern Ireland have some of the world’s strictest laws, often only granting approval when a woman’s life is at risk.

To use the service, women complete an online form, which is reviewed by a doctor. They are sent two drugs in the mail – mifepristone and misoprostol – and given instructions on how to take the pills, which have been used since 1988 to induce early abortions.

Family: Texas boy, 7, hospitalized with no parental OK

DALLAS

The family of a 7-year-old Dallas boy says his outburst last week at school led to police handcuffing him and placing him in a behavioral health facility without notifying a parent.

An investigator hired by the family’s attorneys, David Ramirez, said Tuesday the boy has hyperactivity and mood disorders. Ramirez says the boy became upset May 9 at his charter school, which called Dallas Independent School District Police.

Ramirez says the boy’s mother was later told he was in the Dallas Behavioral Healthcare Hospital. Ramirez says the boy was sedated and not released until Monday.

A school district spokeswoman says the actions by district police were their own and not a matter of district policy. District police didn’t return messages.

Associated Press