Video posted online purports to show beheading of British aid worker by Islamic State group
BEIRUT (AP) - Islamic State extremists have released a video showing the beheading of British aid worker David Haines, who was abducted in Syria last year, and British Prime Minister David Cameron is condemning his slaying as "an act of pure evil."
Cameron confirmed Haines' death in a statement posted late Saturday on his official Twitter account after the British Foreign Office had said earlier that it was "working urgently to verify the video."
Cameron has returned to his residence at Downing Street and is expected to chair a meeting of the government's emergency response team on Sunday.
Cameron vows to do "everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."
Islamic State militants earlier beheaded two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Kurdish and Lebanese soldiers, and posted video evidence online.
AP Enterprise: US intelligence most worried about al-Qaida cells plotting attacks on US planes
WASHINGTON (AP) - While the Islamic State group is getting the most attention now, another band of extremists in Syria - a mix of hardened jihadis from Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Europe - poses a more direct and imminent threat to the United States, working with Yemeni bomb-makers to target U.S. aviation, American officials say.
At the center is a cell known as the Khorasan group, a cadre of veteran al-Qaida fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan who traveled to Syria to link up with the al-Qaida affiliate there, the Nusra Front.
But the Khorasan militants did not go to Syria principally to fight the government of President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials say. Instead, they were sent by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to recruit Europeans and Americans whose passports allow them to board a U.S.-bound airliner with less scrutiny from security officials.
In addition, according to classified U.S. intelligence assessments, the Khorasan militants have been working with bomb-makers from al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate to test new ways to slip explosives past airport security. The fear is that the Khorasan militants will provide these sophisticated explosives to their Western recruits who could sneak them onto U.S.-bound flights.
The Obama administration has said that the Islamic State group, the target of more than 150 U.S. airstrikes in recent weeks, does not pose an imminent threat to the continental U.S. The Khorasan group, which has not been subject to American military action, is considered the more immediate threat.
During Kerry visit, Egypt pushes for broader alliance against extremists in Libya
CAIRO (AP) - As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sought Egyptian support on Saturday for an international coalition to combat jihadi groups, Egypt pressed for broader international efforts to fight militants in its troubled neighbor, Libya.
The Egyptian position adds another layer to the complexities facing the United States as it seeks support among allies in the Middle East to battle militants who have overtaken a third of Iraq and Syria and threaten to upend the region.
Cairo's call also risks further aggravating regional rivalries that could undermine U.S. efforts to build a durable coalition. Qatar and Turkey back Islamist-allied militias in Libya, while Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia support their opponents.
Military officials said that in exchange for Egypt's support for the coalition to combat the so-called Islamic State group, it seeks assurances that sorting out Libya will be at the top of the U.S. agenda. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
In meetings with Kerry, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi used language that for the Egyptians clearly referred to Libya, according to a statement by the presidential spokesman.
Renewed fighting flares up in Ukraine despite truce, government repels rebel attack on airport
LUHANSK, Ukraine (AP) - A convoy of more than 200 white trucks crossed the Russian border to deliver humanitarian aid to a battered Ukrainian city on Saturday, a move made without Kiev's consent yet met with silence by Ukraine's top leaders.
"Early in the morning, we entered Ukraine to bring aid to Luhansk," said Yury Stepanov, a Russian who was overseeing the convoy. "We came in around 215 vehicles," he added, as workers unloaded boxes into a local warehouse.
The much-needed aid arrived as fighting flared again between pro-Russian rebels and government forces, further imperiling an already fragile cease-fire in the region.
On Saturday, Ukraine's military operation in the east said it had repelled a rebel attack on the government-held airport of Donetsk, which came under artillery fire from rebel positions late on Friday. Ukrainian authorities also admitted for the first time since the cease-fire started last week that they have inflicted casualties on the rebel side.
Continuous rocket fire could be heard overnight in Donetsk. A statement on the city council website said that shells hit residential buildings near the airport, although no casualties were reported. A column of three Grad rocket launchers - all its rockets still in place - was seen moving freely through the rebel-held city on Saturday morning.
From hunter to hunted: The rise and fall of famed treasure sleuth Tommy Thompson
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - One of the last times anyone ever saw Tommy Thompson, he was walking on the pool deck of a Florida mansion wearing nothing but eye glasses, leather shoes, socks and underwear, his brown hair growing wild.
It was a far cry from the conquering hero who, almost two decades before, docked a ship in Norfolk, Virginia, loaded with what's been described as the greatest lost treasure in American history - thousands of pounds of gold that sat in the ocean for 131 years after the ship carrying it sank during a hurricane.
On that day in 1989, Thompson couldn't contain a grin as hundreds cheered his achievement. But his victory was short-lived.
For the past two years, the U.S. Marshals Service has hunted Thompson as a fugitive - wanted for skipping a court date to explain to investors what happened to the riches. The rise and fall of the intrepid explorer is the stuff of storybooks, a tale receiving renewed attention amid a new expedition begun this year to the sunken ship.
"I think he had calculated it, whatever you want to call it, an escape plan," Marshals agent Brad Fleming said. "I think he's had that for a long time."
Where's the tape? America gets outraged when there is video evidence
We only respond if there's video.
That's one lesson that can be drawn from the belated reaction to football player Ray Rice knocking out his fiancee in an elevator. Rice was arrested back in February, and in July was suspended for two games. But once video of the actual punch surfaced this week, he was banned indefinitely.
Time and again, we are informed of outrages - Rice's domestic violence; beheadings and rape by the fanatics calling themselves the Islamic State; Donald Sterling's racism; abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib - but only grow outraged and force action when video or audio or images emerge.
How many injustices get short shrift because nobody's recorder was rolling?
"It's frustrating," said Valenda Campbell, who is in charge of creating video and photo images for CARE, one of the world's largest humanitarian organizations.
Will Apple Pay be the tipping point to make people switch their wallets for their phones?
NEW YORK (AP) - Apple wants the plastic credit card to become as rare as the paper check.
On Tuesday, the company announced Apple Pay, a digital payment system that lets people pay for retail store purchases using their phones rather than cash or credit cards. The service, which will work both with iPhones and Apple's new Watch, is backed by a host of big retailers, along with most major banks and credit card issuers, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
So-called contactless payment isn't new. Starbucks, McDonald's, PayPal, Google and Square offer their own services, but only a small portion of customers use them. Some experts believe Apple Pay -with its presence on millions of iPhones and its advanced security features- could be the service that leads to widespread adoption of the digital wallet.
Citi Investment Research analyst Mark May believes the sum total of mobile payments could grow from $1 billion in 2013 to $58.4 billion by 2017.
Payment digitization paints an enticing vision of shopping's future: simply tap your device against a checkout screen and walk away with your new shoes.
Pennsylvania State Police identify troopers shot in ambush; 1 dead, 1 wounded
BLOOMING GROVE, Pa. (AP) - A late-night ambush outside a state police barracks in Pennsylvania's rural northeastern corner left one trooper dead and another critically wounded, and authorities scoured the densely wooded countryside and beyond on Saturday looking for the shooter or shooters.
State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said a "very dangerous, armed criminal" eluded quick capture.
"This attack was an ambush. Our troopers were ... shot without warning and really had no chance to defend themselves," Noonan told reporters Saturday afternoon. "It's a cowardly attack. It's an attack upon all of us in society."
The dead lawman was identified as Cpl. Bryon Dickson of Dunmore, a seven-year veteran who had transferred to the region from the Philadelphia barracks several months ago. Trooper Alex Douglass underwent surgery and was in critical but stable condition, Noonan said.
He provided few details on the shooting but said the attack was directed at state police. Law enforcement installations throughout eastern Pennsylvania were put on high alert.
Rampant fear of Ebola takes toll on Africa tourism as some stay away, operators say
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - Ebola is thousands of miles away from Kenya's pristine Indian Ocean beaches, but the deadly disease appears to be discouraging tourism there and elsewhere in this vast continent.
Harald Kampa, a hotelier near Mombasa, says the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is hurting his business.
For two weeks in August he had no international arrivals at his Diani Sea Resort, leading him to suspect that Ebola had frightened away his clients. He noticed an improvement only after Kenya Airways canceled flights to the Ebola-hit West African nations of Sierra Leone and Liberia, action that the local tourism fraternity said was necessary to assure tourists of Kenya's determination to keep Ebola out.
Kampa is not alone. Tour operators across Africa say they face difficulties as the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 2,200 people in four countries, continues to defy international efforts to control it. Tourism, a major source of revenue for many African countries - especially Kenya and South Africa - is increasingly being hurt as some potential visitors hesitate over visiting the continent which is home to the disease.
In Nigeria, where there have been very few Ebola cases, occupancy rates in five-star hotels in the commercial capital Lagos have fallen drastically, with many conferences postponed until further notice, said Nigerian economist Bismarck Rewane of the Financial Derivatives Company. Occupancy rates now generally hover around 30 percent instead of 65 percent at this time of year, and the drop is even higher for bar and restaurant traffic in Lagos, he said.
Child abuse accusations against Vikings star create new crisis for NFL
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson's booking on a child abuse charge Saturday has created another crisis for the embattled NFL, already derided for not responding strongly enough to acts of domestic violence by its players.
It also has touched off a national debate about the role of corporal punishment in parenting.
In the eyes of a Texas grand jury, Peterson crossed the line when he repeatedly struck his son with a tree branch, or switch, in May. Peterson's attorney has said he has never run from what happened - and that Peterson was inflicting the same discipline he endured as a child.
"Obviously, parents are entitled to discipline their children as they see fit, except when that discipline exceeds what the community would say is reasonable," Montgomery County Prosecutor Phil Grant said about 12 hours after Peterson was booked and released from jail on $15,000 bond. He is charged with causing injury to a child age 14 or younger.
Peterson, one of the NFL's most popular players and widely considered one of the best running backs to ever play, flew from Minnesota to Houston in the early morning hours after authorities indicted him on Friday evening. He has a home in both locations.
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