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Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve this summer. About 500 paratroopers from the division headquarters will leave in June for a nine-month deployment, Fort Bragg said in a news release. Paratroopers will have a contingent in Iraq. Other paratroopers will be based outside Iraq in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The division will serve as the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command-Iraq and provide command and control of coalition troops who are training, advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces. The 1st Infantry Division of Fort Riley, Kansas, is...

TOKYO — U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday that an Al-Qaida branch is making “great gains” on the ground amid the chaos in Yemen, and that the U.S. will have to rethink how it prevents the group from launching attacks in the West. Defence Secretary Ash Carter, in Tokyo to work on deepening the U.S.-Japan alliance, said the collapse of the central government in Yemen makes it harder to conduct counterterrorism operations against the group called Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t continue to take steps to protect ourselves. We have to do it...

The nonprofit group Chrysalis provides work to those who struggle to get hired. The organization gives them jobs cleaning up neighborhoods, answering phones and maintaining buildings, along with training and other assistance to smooth their transition to their next jobs. Now city leaders appear poised to require Chrysalis and other charities to offer their disadvantaged clients something else — raises of at least $3 an hour. Unlike businesses that can pass along increased costs to customers, some nonprofits that rely on government grants worry that state and federal agencies will not increase that funding to offset the higher wages required...

DUBAI — Iran sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, state media reported, establishing a military presence off the coast of Yemen where Saudi Arabia is leading a bombing campaign to oust the Tehran-allied Houthi movement. The Alborz destroyer and Bushehr support vessel sailed from Bandar Abbas on a mission to protect Iranian shipping from piracy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in comments cited by Press TV. Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies have imposed an air and naval blockade on Yemen as part of a two-week campaign to oust the Houthis, who have taken most of...

Eight Muslim schools in England have been featured in the top 50 schools of the examination league tables for 2014. The schools that featured in the league table are: Al-Furqan Community College (Birmingham), Al-Burhan Grammar School, (Birmingham), Al-Khair School, (Croydon), Islamia Girls’ High School, (Brent), Tayyibah Girls’ School, (Hackney), Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School, (Waltham Forest), Al-Ashraf Secondary School for Girls, (Gloucestershire) and Jamiatul Ummah School, (Tower Hamlets). Of the 75 schools featured in The Muslim News performance table, 42 managed to achieve a higher pass rate than the national average. That is also two more schools as compared to...

Hundreds of faqirs – Muslim ascetics who have taken vows of poverty and worship – walked to Ajmer Sharif in New Delhi to assist in the annual Urs festival, which commemorates the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. One Sufi devotee went to extreme lengths to demonstrate his devotion, sticking a knife behind each eyeball. Worshippers at events such as this are known for performing extreme acts.

In case there was any question, Michelle Obama likes to move it, move it. After the last few weeks of dance-filled appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and her own Easter Egg Roll, it seems there may have only been one more place left to go: to kids’ television. And she’ll do just that on Friday morning when she stops by Sprout’s Sunny Side Up Show. The network will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of Mrs. Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, culminating in her joining Chica (that’s the bird character) and her human sidekicks in...

Tufts University announced Tuesday it will “proactively and openly” recruit undocumented students and offer financial aid to eligible students, a clear declaration that immigration advocates hailed as a significant victory. Under the new policy, the private university will consider all students in the country illegally as regular domestic applicants, eligible for the same university aid as US citizens. Because undocumented students are ineligible for federal financial aid, the university will make up the difference out of its own funds for students who cannot afford to pay their own way. The Tufts policy applies to all undocumented students, not just those...

A new study suggests the gases commonly used to knock out patients before surgery are accumulating in the atmosphere, and may be contributing to global warming. Scientists say atmospheric concentrations of common anesthetic gases like desflurane, isoflurane and sevoflurane are on the rise, and have been detected as far away as Antarctica. "Health care in and of itself in the U.S. is one of the worst polluting industries," said Jodi Sherman, an anesthesiologist at the Yale University School of Medicine who reviewed the GRL paper. "It generates 8 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases according to one study. According to the...

The American Civil Liberties Union wants religious organizations to provide abortions to illegal immigrant children. The ACLU is petitioning for a court order that would force the U.S. government to release documents related to their dealings with religious organizations that assist illegals. “Many unaccompanied teenagers come into the U.S. fleeing abuse and torture in their home countries. Many have been sexually abused or assaulted or forced into prostitution,” Brigitte Amiri, an attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said. “We believe deeply in religious freedom. But religious freedom does not include the right to take a government contract that requires...

BALTIMORE - Democratic primary voters should find little difference in political ideology between the two candidates running to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski, according to outside analysts. Both U.S. Reps. Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen are ranked “hardcore liberals” by On The Issues, a political website that analyzes policy issues supported by federal, state and local politicians. Both Edwards and Van Hollen are considered reliable Democrats, who vote with their party 100% of the time, according to The Sunlight Foundation, a national, non-partisan organization that focuses on transparency and accountability in government and politics. Rep. Elijah Cummings, 7th, ranking...

Illinois inmates who will soon get out of jail won't pass "Go" and get $200, but they may collect their Medicaid card. A new plan working its way through the Illinois statehouse would start the enrollment, or re-enrollment, process for inmates 30 days before their release through the state's ObamaCare office. State Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, is sponsoring the legislation that would have Illinois' Department of Health Care and Family Services enroll inmates automatically upon their release. Illinois' prison system released 30,083 people last year, more than 27,000 men and nearly 2,500 women.

Laurence H. Tribe, the highly regarded liberal scholar of constitutional law, still speaks of President Obama as a proud teacher would of a star student. “He was one of the most amazing research assistants I’ve ever had,” Mr. Tribe said in a recent interview. Mr. Obama worked for him at Harvard Law School, where Mr. Tribe has taught for four decades. Many in the Obama administration and at Harvard are bewildered and angry that Mr. Tribe, who argued on behalf of Al Gore in the 2000 Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case, has emerged as the leading legal opponent of...

Thousands of civilians are in "immediate danger" and must be evacuated from "completely dire" conditions following ISIS' affront on a refugee camp, a U.N. official said Tuesday. Some 18,000 civilians have been trapped with limited food and water in the Yarmouk camp near Syria's capital, caught between government forces and dueling rebel groups. Their already-tenuous situation deteriorated sharply last week when ISIS launched a push to seize control of the camp from rival armed groups like the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, setting off street battles and mounting alarm for those trapped in the crossfire. U.N. Relief and Works Agency spokesman...

U.S. Sen. John McCain has announced he will run for re-election in 2016. The Arizona Republican made the announcement to run for a sixth term on Monday in an interview with NBC News. McCain uses his position as chairman to criticize President Barack Obama on national security. "I have never been more concerned about the security of this nation because of the feckless leadership of the president of the United States," he said. McCain, 78, will be 80 by Election Day, but he said his Senate career is "just getting started."

The Greek government says Germany owes Greece nearly €279bn (£204bn; $303bn) in war reparations for the Nazi occupation during World War Two. It is the first time Greece has officially calculated what Germany allegedly owes it for Nazi atrocities and looting during the 1940s. However, the German government says the issue was resolved legally years ago. The new figure given by Greek Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas includes €10.3bn for an occupation loan that the Nazis forced the Bank of Greece to pay. "According to our calculations, the debt linked to German reparations is 278.7bn euros," Mr Mardas told a...

The mechanics of buying school lunch haven't changed much over the years: Pick up a tray, move through the line, eat and get on with the day. The problem is, students have been pushing a lot of those healthy alternatives into the trash can, or opting out of school lunch altogether in favor of more palatable fare from home. Food costs have risen and meal participation has declined, so many school programs are struggling. "If I have to write a letter to Mrs. Obama, I will," said Sue Bahnick, who oversees food service in the Northern Lehigh School District. As...

If you’re at the Seattle Mariners season opener Monday you might run into some folks with clipboards, gathering signatures for a newly-announced initiative for 2016 that would tax carbon emissions. The circulation of petitions to put Initiative 732 on the 2016 ballot signals a new strategy that may come into play if Gov. Jay Inslee and fellow Democrats in the Legislature are unable to pass their own carbon cap-and-trade proposal. The Initiative would phase in a $25-per-ton tax on carbon dioxide emissions from certain fossil fuels and fossil fuel-generated electricity, starting in July, 2017. The proceeds would go into the...

Tom Steyer's climate-focused political group is already gearing up for the 2016 presidential race, announcing on Monday a new effort that will focus on putting Republican candidates on the defense when it comes to global warming. NextGen Climate's chief strategist, Chris Lehane, said in a call with reporters that the group's mission heading into 2016 is to "disqualify" candidates who deny that climate change is real or caused by human activity by proving that "they don't have what it takes to be president." The effort will be called Hot Seat, and NextGen Climate says it will involve media and on-the-ground...

Madison, WI - A group of protesters called Monday for the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation of a white Wisconsin police officer who killed an unarmed biracial man because they feel the U.S. government can't be trusted. Members of Young, Gifted and Black along with 19-year-old Tony Robinson's family held a news conference in front of the Dane County courthouse to call on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council to investigate Robinson's death last month. They added they don't have faith that any U.S. government agency could conduct an objective probe because it's all one prejudiced system. Protesters took...