A test of Iraq's strength

March 03, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

A new counteroffensive to recapture the Iraqi city of Tikrit may tell whether Iraq has a multi-ethnic future.

Subscribe Now to read this post!

To read this post and thousands more articles, subscribe today!

Police in Los Angeles fatally shot a homeless man in the city's so-called Skid Row district after trying to subdue him with a Taser gun during a struggle that was caught on video, the police department said on Monday. The man was a suspect in a robbery on Sunday and the officers were trying to take him into custody when he began fighting them, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

The US Justice Department could release as soon as this week a report criticizing police in Ferguson, Missouri for unfairly targeting black residents with tickets and arrests in the years before an officer killed teenager Michael Brown, according to The New York Times. The police department's behavior created a tense racial environment and culture of animosity between black residents and police in Ferguson, the newspaper said, citing several officials who have been briefed on the report's conclusions.

North Korea on Monday fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and warned of "merciless strikes" against its enemies as allies Seoul and Washington launched annual military drills Pyongyang claims are preparation for a northward invasion. North Korea regularly conducts such test firings of missiles, rockets and artillery, and they are often timed to express the country's dissatisfaction with actions by Washington and Seoul. Monday was the start of military drills that will run until the end of April.

A federal judge on Monday blocked Nebraska's gay marriage ban, but the decision will not take effect for a week and the state plans to appeal. US District Judge Joseph Bataillon ordered the state not to enforce its ban. Last week he heard arguments for and against a motion for an injunction to block enforcement of the ban while a lawsuit challenging the ban is pending. Bataillon said the order will be effective March 9. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska sued the state in November on behalf of seven same-sex couples challenging the ban, which passed with the approval of 70 percent of voters in 2000.

Waterways around the northeastern United States are beset by ice that is more than a foot thick in some places, making life miserable for those who make their living on the water. Scott Werner of Portland, Maine, said this winter has been "a horror show" for lobster fishermen like himself. The ice has prevented him from getting his boat out to fish in recent weeks, and cut into his ability to make money in the already slow winter lobstering season, he said.

Trading for Lumber Liquidators, the discount flooring company, was halted Monday after its shares dropped more than 20 percent following a CBS report that the company sold flooring with higher levels of formaldehyde than permitted under California's health and safety standards. Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc, a retailer of hardwood flooring in North America, sold flooring with higher levels of formaldehyde than permitted under California's health and safety standards, according to the CBS television news program "60 Minutes."

Consumer spending fell for a second consecutive month in January, weakness that was expected to be temporary. Income rose, reflecting strong job gains during the month. Consumer spending declined 0.2 percent in January following a 0.3 percent drop in December, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

Hewlett-Packard Co said it would buy Wi-Fi network gear maker Aruba Networks Inc for about $2.7 billion, the biggest deal for the world's No. 2 PC maker since its botched acquisition of Britain's Autonomy Plc in 2011. HP has had a dismal record for big acquisitions, having written off multibillion-dollar acquisitions of Autonomy and technology outsourcing provider EDS, which it bought in 2008. With the purchase of Aruba, HP is boosting its share of the wireless local area network market as more companies allow employees to access work systems through their wireless devices.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

Subscribe Now to read this post!

Are you sure?

Forgot to add folder?

Tags Error