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In a sharp escalation of the U.S. role in Syria's bloody civil war, the White House announced late Thursday that it will provide military aid to rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad after confirming that his government used chemical weapons on the opposition. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes told reporters on a conference call that President Barack Obama had heard pleas from Syria's rebel Supreme Military Council (SMC) for more help. "Our aim is to be responsive," Rhodes said, underlining that the new assistance would have "direct military purposes."

Exxon Mobil Corp. is launching a push to recruit and educate thousands of new workers in Houston for expanding chemical operations along the Texas coast. The nation’s largest energy company is coordinating with programs at nine Houston-area community colleges and organizations, including Houston Community College, Lee College and Lone Star College, to share expertise and curricula as it tries remedy a huge shortage of workers who are trained and ready to fill positions, said Steve Pryor, president of Exxon Mobil’s chemical division. Exxon Mobil on Friday will announce a $500,000 commitment to coordinate the programs and recruit prospective workers through...

Two women in a convenience store were burned in an assault in the early hours of Monday morning when another woman entered the store and doused them with a flammable liquid that ignited. The women were inside the Buy & Save convenience store in the 2700 block of Azle Avenue playing video games around 2:30 a.m. when the suspect entered and sprayed them with an unknown liquid, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department. [Snip] It is unclear why the women were attacked or how the liquid was ignited. One victim, whom Hilo described as 18 or 19 years...

Title has it.

Inside a Mouse's Brain Lies a Chemical Key to the Fountain of Youth By Greg Thomas Source image via Wikipedia If a scientist came to you with a plan to tweak a gland in the center of your brain so that you may live to be 140 years old, you'd probably back out of the room slowly and go to file a police report, because that's creepy. But new research shows that it's not altogether impossible. A new report from researchers at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in the Bronx shows that scientists can tinker with the minds of...

Following this weekend's explosive escalation in Syria, the big unknown was how Russia and China would respond: the two countries have long been known to be opposed to the US-Israel axis' involvement and intervention in Syria, although they have so far kept their involvement to a minimum. Today we get the answer: "Russia said on Monday it was concerned the chances of foreign military intervention in Syria were growing following reports of Israeli air strikes around Damascus which were a source of "particular alarm". "We are seriously concerned by the signs of preparation of global public opinion for possible armed...

President Obama today defended his administration’s slow response to reports of chemical weapon use in Syria, in spite of his earlier promises that the use of such weapons would be considered ‘crossing a red line’. The President said at a press conference on Tuesday that ‘there is a whole host of steps that we´ve been taking’ but he did not specifically say whether his administration would be prepared to take military action against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. He said the war-torn country is ‘a blemish on the international community.’‘Generally when you use these kinds of weapons, you have the potential

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U.S. President Barack Obama repeated on Friday his past assertions that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a line and produce an American response. At the same time, he indicated that he was not yet 100% certain that the findings by U.S. intelligence agencies are an indication that such weapons had indeed been used. “Knowing that there’s chemical weapons in Syria doesn’t tell us when they were used or how they were used,” Obama told reporters before a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan which focused on Syria. “We ourselves will be putting a lot of...

<p>WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. intelligence community assesses with varying degrees of confidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons on a small scale, the White House said on Thursday, adding however that such assessments were not enough and that "credible and corroborated" facts were needed.</p>

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday the U.S. intelligence community believes the Syrian regime used the chemical weapon sarin, a revelation that immediately raised the question of whether a "red line" had been crossed in the country's civil war. Hagel confirmed the intelligence assessment, which was detailed in a letter to select members of Congress, while speaking to reporters on a visit to Abu Dhabi. The administration swiftly released those letters, which said U.S. intelligence determined with varying degrees of confidence that "the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the chemical agent sarin."...

You know, with President Obama, you often get this tough guy talk that, like a wannabe schoolyard bad dude, sounds a litte hollow. Whether he says he’s trying to figure out “whose ass to kick” or vows to Iran, “I don’t bluff,” one gets the sense that, well, he does bluff. And bluffs sometimes work, and sometimes, bluffs get called. Obama looks dangerously close to having to live up to his vow that use of chemical weapons by Syria would be a “red line” and a “game changer.” What exactly does all that mean? Who knows. But if it doesn’t...

(Reuters) - The Free Syrian Army rebel command said President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a chemical weapon attack on the northern town of Khan al-Assal near Aleppo on Tuesday using a long-range missile.

Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike to stop Syria's chemical weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah or al Qaeda inspired groups, officials said Sunday. The warning came as the military moved a rocket defense system to a main northern city, and Israel's premier warned of dangers from both Syria and Iran.

DES MOINES — A state senator will push for public hearings on the death penalty in the Iowa Senate and House of Representatives as he files legislation to bring capital punishment back to Iowa. Sen. Kent Sorenson, R-Milo, has championed the idea of reintroducing the death penalty in Iowa since the abduction and killing of Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook, 10, this summer in Evansdale. Elizabeth’s parents joined Sorenson and parents of other missing and murdered children at a Capitol news conference, where the senator outlined five pieces of legislation he plans to introduce this session. Iowa abolished the...

The White House on Thursday again evaded direct questions about whether chemical weapons have been deployed in Syria. White House press secretary Jay Carney would not deny definitively that chemical weapons were used in the city of Homs, despite claims made in a recent classified State Department cable that such weapons had been used. Carney referred to the information in the cable as “anecdotal” and said that the State Department could not independently corroborate the information in the cable, which originated from a third-party source on the ground in Syria.

The chemical warfare threat looming over Syria’s civil war and its neighbors has taken an epic turn with the announcement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Saturday, Dec. 22, that “the Syrian government has “consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught and they are under control for the time being.” He added that Russia, “which has military advisers training Syria’s military, has kept close watch over its chemical arsenal.” Debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report: The Russian foreign minister’s statement was a message to Washington that the transfer of Syria’s weapons of mass destruction...

Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren warned Sunday that any evidence of chemical weapons being passed from the Assad regime to terrorist groups like Hizbullah would be a “red line for Israel” and could constitute military action. While Oren could not confirm recent claims that the Syrian regime is mixing and moving components for the deadly sarin nerve gas, he said that Israel is watching the situation "very carefully." "Were those weapons to pass into the wrong hands -- Huzbullah's hands, for example -- that would be a game-changer for us," Oren told "Fox News Sunday."

Israel's ambassador to the United States warned Sunday that any evidence of chemical weapons being passed from the Assad regime to extremist groups like Hezbollah would be a "game-changer," and said that would be a "red line" for Israel. The remark comes amid claims that the Syrian regime is mixing and moving the components for the deadly sarin nerve gas. Ambassador Michael Oren said he could not confirm those reports but made clear that Israel is watching the situation "very carefully." "Were those weapons to pass into the wrong hands -- Hezbollah's hands for example -- that would be a...

War On Terror: As the regime of Bashar Assad disintegrates, the security of his chemical arsenal is in jeopardy. The No. 2 general in Saddam Hussein's air force says they were the WMDs we didn't find in Iraq. King Abdullah of neighboring Jordan warned that a disintegrating Syria on the verge of civil war puts Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons at risk of falling into the hands of al-Qaida. "One of the worst-case scenarios as we are obviously trying to look for a political solution would be if some of those chemical stockpiles were to fall into unfriendly hands," he...