A 'state' in play

December 29, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

As the self-styled Islamic State steadily loses territory, its capability and credibility diminish.

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A grand jury Monday declined to indict a white rookie police officer in the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, a black youngster who was shot while playing with what turned out to be a pellet gun. In explaining the decision, Cuyahoga County (Ohio) prosecutor Tim McGinty said it was "indisputable" that the boy was drawing the pistol from his waistband when he was gunned down. McGinty said Tamir was trying to either hand the weapon over to police or show them it wasn't real, but the officer and his partner had no way of knowing that.

Iraqi forces backed by US-led airstrikes drove Islamic State militants out of the center of Ramadi on Monday and seized the main government complex there, according to military officials, who said insurgents are still dug into pockets of the city west of Baghdad. Ramadi, the provincial capital of the sprawling Anbar province, fell to IS in May, marking a major setback for Iraqi forces and the US-led campaign. Ramadi and nearby Fallujah, which is controlled by IS, saw some of the heaviest fighting of the eight-year US intervention in Iraq.

Residents surveyed the destruction from deadly tornadoes in North Texas as the same storm system brought winter woes to the Midwest on Monday, amplifying flooding that's blamed for more than a dozen deaths and prompting hundreds of flight cancellations. At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in the tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area on Saturday and caused substantial damage. That, plus flooding in Missouri and Illinois, were the latest in a succession of severe weather events across the country in the last week that led to dozens of deaths. The country's midsection was seeing a range of precipitation, including heavy snow, ice and blustery winds in parts of several states and heavy rain in already-waterlogged parts of Missouri and Arkansas. The system caused more than 1,400 flights to be canceled — nearly half of which were at Chicago's two main airports — and 2,600 to be delayed, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. A typical day sees about 150 cancelations and 4,000 delays.

A landmark nuclear deal with Tehran moved closer to implementation Monday, with US Secretary of State John Kerry announcing that tons of enriched uranium that could potentially be turned to use in atomic arms were on a ship heading from Iran to Russia. Kerry hailed the development as "one of the most significant steps Iran has taken toward fulfilling its commitments" under the July 14 nuclear agreement, in comments that expanded on information The Associated Press received from a senior Russian diplomat earlier in the day. That envoy, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to be cited by name, said Iran had permitted Russia to take possession of and ship out most of its low-enriched uranium. Low-enriched uranium is suitable primarily to generate nuclear power and needs substantial further enrichment for use in the core of a nuclear warhead.

An apology from Japan’s prime minister and a pledge of more than $8 million sealed a breakthrough deal Monday in a decades-long impasse with South Korea over Korean women forced into Japanese military-run brothels during World War II. The accord, which aims to resolve the emotional core of South Korea’s grievances with its former colonial overlord, could begin to reverse decades of animosity and mistrust between the two thriving democracies, trade partners and staunch US allies. It represents a shift for Tokyo’s conservative government and a new willingness to compromise by previously wary Seoul.

Meadowlark Lemon, the "clown prince" of basketball's barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters, whose blend of hook shots and humor brought joy to millions of fans around the world, has passed away. Lemon's wife and daughter confirmed to the team that he died Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz., Globetrotters spokesman Brett Meister said Monday. Though skilled enough to play professionally, Lemon instead wanted to entertain, his dream of playing for the Globetrotters hatched after watching a newsreel of the all-black team at a cinema house when he was 11. Lemon ended up becoming arguably its most popular player, a showman known as much for his confetti-in-the-water-bucket routine and slapstick comedy as his half-court hook shots and no-look, behind-the-back passes.

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