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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that if he is elected president he would seek to close four federal agencies as part of an effort to reduce the size of government. "We would do Education, we would do Commerce, we'd do Energy, and we would do IRS," DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum when he was asked whether he favored closing any agencies. . . . . In the current fiscal year, the budgets for the Commerce, Energy and Education departments were $109 billion, $160 billion and $194 billion, respectively, according to government spending data.

In four weeks of combat, Russia may have lost 25 percent of its initial attacking force. These casualties are not on the scale of World War II but are large compared with the relatively small size of the Russian military today. Although reinforcements and replacements can offset some of these casualties, the loss of trained troops will impair military operations and eventually have a political effect. Russian losses to date are high. NATO estimates that Russia has lost between 7,000 and 15,000 soldiers. Wounded who cannot rapidly return to duty generally number about twice the number of dead. That would...

In announcing the new warning, Iranian state TV journalist Dr. Afruz Eslami warned that if people fail to follow any guidance, it could collapse Iran's already-strained medical system. If the "medical facilities are not sufficient, there will be 4 million cases, and 3.5 million people will die," she said. . . Late Monday night, angry crowds stormed the courtyards of the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom. Many people visit the shrine in Qom 24 hours a day, seven days a week, touching and kissing the shrine.

Nepalese internet providers have begun blocking thousands of pornographic websites as part of a government directive aimed at stopping sexual violence, officials said Sunday. The government issued new criminal and civil codes this year that include regulations against the use, broadcast and publication of pornographic materials with punishment for violators of up to one year in prison.

Taking a selfie against a dangerous background or in a frightening position is thrilling and it shows a bravery and courage in getting that next-to-impossible photo, that is until the photographer slips and falls off a mountain or tumbles down a cliff or is killed by a wild animal. >> Read more trending news The number of people willing to risk their life to get that perfect shot is an “emerging problem,” according to a new study on how many people have died in selfie-related accidents over the past few years. Researchers discovered that 259 people worldwide have lost their...

The staff of the Capital Gazette took a jab at President Trump, days after a gunman opened fired in their newsroom and killed five people. The staff of the Annapolis, Md., newspaper released a letter on Sunday to thank those who have offered support in the aftermath of the shooting. “We won’t forget being called an enemy of the people,” the staff wrote. “No, we won’t forget that. Because exposing evil, shining light on wrongs and fighting injustice is what we do.” Their comment appears to be a thinly-veiled hit at Trump’s use of the phrase to attack members of...

On Thursday, four journalists and one staff member of the Capital Gazette were murdered in the newspaper’s Annapolis, Maryland, office. While the event was initially widely covered by all major news outlets, the media is likely to quickly move on from the story, just like it did with the Santa Fe High School shooting, because it doesn’t fit the right narrative. (Unlike many of the Parkland students, the Santa Fe students didn’t respond to the tragedy by calling for gun control measures.) That in itself is a shame, not just because there is much to learn from this tragedy, but...

<p>A survivor of the deadly shooting Thursday at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, had a blunt — and uncensored by CNN — response to Donald Trump offers of “thoughts and prayers”: she “couldn’t give a f–k about them if there’s nothing else.”</p>

Five people have died and several others are hurt after a shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper building in Annapolis, Maryland, local and federal officials say. The names of the dead were not released immediately. The suspected shooter is in custody, and authorities are questioning him, officials said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. "I don't know what to say other than our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families, and we take comfort knowing that they are in God's embrace," Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh said. Injured victims are being treated at R. Adams Cowley Shock...

If NFL fans continue to turn away from football, the TV networks could lose as much as $200 million in earnings, according to a new report. After ratings for Week Two crashed, adding to the angst already felt by a poor showing in Week 1, industry insiders and analysts are sounding the alarm. A new report claims that CBS, ESPN, Fox and NBC could take a $200 million hit to their estimated $2.5 billion in NFL advertising earnings if fans continue to turn off the TV, the The Hollywood Reporter noted recently. The worries over earnings are not allayed by...

That ‘nobody is illegal’ policy has blood on its hands. Here are 8 more examples. (Including two children.) It’s a simple rule of human nature: Behavior that is rewarded will continue. And if there is one thing that we have seen from people on the left, it has been that they want to REWARD illegal immigration. There are eight dead already… and many others are in the hospital in serious condition. That ‘nobody is illegal’ policy has blood on its hands. Here are 8 more examples. (Including two children.) It’s a simple rule of human nature: Behavior that is rewarded...

All 13 Turkish soldiers, including high-ranking generals, on board a Cougar military helicopter were killed when it crashed after getting caught in a high-voltage power line in the Senoba district of Turkey’s southeastern Sirnak province, the army said on Wednesday.In a statement, the army said the AS 532 Cougar had crashed shortly after taking off around 1855 GMT on Wednesday. It said emergency search and rescue teams were dispatched to the area and evaluations were underway at the crash site.Broadcaster CNN Turk said Defence Minister Fikri Isik would travel to Sirnak, while presidential sources said President Tayyip Erdogan had...

When President Trump ordered a vast overhaul of immigration law enforcement during his first week in office, he stripped away most restrictions on who should be deported, opening the door for roundups and detentions on a scale not seen in nearly a decade. Up to 8 million people in the country illegally could be considered priorities for deportation, according to calculations by the Los Angeles Times... {..snip..}

Eight displaced Syrians, including four children, were killed by Turkish border guards while trying to flee their war-torn country Sunday morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The National Coalition umbrella opposition group - based in Istanbul and backed by Turkey - gave a higher toll of 11 killed and condemned the "terrible tragedy." Turkey has repeatedly denied accusations of its security forces firing on Syrians trying to cross the frontier, which has been closed for several months. But the Observatory has recorded numerous incidents this year, and said Sunday's toll was among the highest. The Britain-based Observatory said...

The Egyptian government acknowledged that its security forces had killed 36 Islamists in its custody Sunday, as the military leaders and the country’s Islamists vowed to keep up their fight over Egypt’s future. The news of the deaths came on a day in which there appeared to be a pause in the street battles that have claimed more than 1,000 lives in recent days, most of them Islamists and their supporters gunned down by security forces. The Islamists took measures on Sunday to avoid confrontations, including canceling several protests of the military’s ouster of a democratically elected Islamist-led government. While...

The funeral was being held for Hells Angel Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, who was president of the Hells Angels' San Jose chapter. A member of the rival Vagos motorcycle club is accused of killing Pettigrew Sept. 23 in a Sparks, Nev., casino, sending gamblers diving for cover. The mayor canceled a regional motorcycle rally as a result.

Belgium is on the verge of becoming the first European nation to ban the burka. A parliamentary committee agreed yesterday to outlaw the wearing of face-covering veils in public. The full Parliament will vote later this month. Under the proposals, women could face a week in prison or a fine for wearing a veil in public. There are an estimated 650,000 Muslims in Belgium – 6 per cent of the population. The text of the new law does not specifically mention burkas but makes it illegal for anyone to wear clothing ‘that covers all or most of the face’ in...

The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody. Muntadar al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC. Mr Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr Bush at a news conference, calling him "a dog". The BBC tried to contact Iraq's top security official but he was not available for comment. Meanwhile, offers to buy the shoes are being made around the Arab world, reports say. Mass rallies...

TIJUANA, Mexico (Reuters) - A teenager was injured when U.S. border patrol agents fired tear gas into Mexico over the weekend, despite a Mexican government complaint that U.S. agents were using excessive force. Fifteen-year-old Cristian Saldana was hit in the nose by a tear gas canister on Saturday after he threw stones at border patrol agents trying to stop people from illegally crossing into the United States, witnesses said. The teenager required stitches at a local hospital. Mexico's government criticized the U.S. border patrol for using excessive force after border patrol agents fired tear gas in another incident on Friday....

BRUSSELS, Belgium - One hundred journalists and other news media workers died on the job in the first six months of the year, putting 2007 on the path to becoming the deadliest year for the news business, the International News Safety Institute said Friday. Iraq has been the most dangerous country for journalists in recent years, and the group said the 100-mark was reached with a death there Tuesday — the killing of Hamed Sarha, a 30-year veteran of the Iraqi national news agency by unidentified gunmen. According to statistics compiled by the Brussels-based group, 83 journalists and 17 other...