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U.S. Air Force makes five flights into Mali
As of Wednesday morning, U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo jets have made five flights to Mali, delivering about 80 French troops and more than 124 tons of supplies to help in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the country, a Pentagon spokesman said.
The U.S. airlift began Monday and was expected to continue for several days, U.S. Africa Command spokesman Chuck Prichard told CNN.
"We continue to consult with the French on further steps that we may take as U.S. government to support their efforts in Mali," Pentagon press secretary George Little said Wednesday, according to a report from American Forces Press Service.
FULL STORYReport: 12 hostages killed in Algeria rescue operation
- A hostage situation at a gas plant deep in the Algerian desert enters its third day.
- Confusion surrounds the fate of potentially dozens of foreign hostages held by Islamist militants.
- It remains unclear how many hostages have been killed or injured, and how many are still held.
- Below are the latest updates as we get them. Also, you can read our full story.
[Updated at 5:33 p.m. ET] Algerian forces are looking to negotiate the release of remaining foreign captives, Algerian state media reports, but are holding out the threat of further action.
"The special forces of the (Algerian army) are still seeking a peaceful settlement before neutralizing the terrorist group currently entrenched in the refinery, and free a group of hostages who are still detained," according to a report by Algerian state news agency APS.
[Updated at 3:58 p.m. ET] One Frenchman was killed and three others were saved in an operation to free hostages in Algeria, the press office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris says.
[Updated at 1:55 p.m. ET] Twelve hostages have been killed since Algerian Special Forces launched a ground operation on Thursday to free captives held by militants at a gas field complex, APS, the official Algerian news agency, reported, citing a security source.
[Updated at 1:19 p.m. ET] A U.S. State Department spokeswoman says the U.S. will not negotiate a prisoner exchange with terrorists holding captives in Algeria. It was unclear how many, if any, Americans were being held hostage.
Flu getting worse across U.S., government reports
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has just released its weekly update on influenza in the U.S. and an early look at the data shows the problem is spreading.
Thirty states now report high levels of influenza-like illness, the CDC says. That's six more than reported high levels last week. California joins the list of states reporting widespread flu activity, meaning 48 states now report widespread flu.
Hospitalizations of elderly people are rising, according to the report.
We'll bring you more details from the report as soon as we get them.
Your top 10 flu questions answered
FULL STORY
Navy ship evacuated after running aground
The U.S. Navy has evacuated all 79 crew members from a minesweeper that ran aground Thursday on a reef in the Philippines, the Navy's Seventh Fleet said in a statement Friday. Initial efforts to free the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship at high tide were unsuccessful, and the crew was transferred by small boats to other support ships, the Navy said.
The 224-foot-long,1,312-ton ship is stuck on the Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea, the Navy said.
FULL STORYLivestrong board member: Devastated but hopeful
A member of the board of Livestrong, the cancer foundation founded by Lance Armstrong, said Tuesday he felt betrayed by the doping controversy that has engulfed the cycling star but hopeful that Armstrong can emerge from it and do more good for cancer sufferers.
"It's been devastating,"Â Livestrong board member Mark McKinnon said on CNN's "Early Start."
"But I'm glad Lance is coming forward," he told CNN's John Berman, referring to Armstrong's interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which he's said to have acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs.
McKinnon said an admission would be a good starting point for Armstrong to continue helping the foundation.
“I think he’s got a lot of apologies, I think he’s got to crawl over a lot of broken glass … but the one thing they can’t take away from him is his cancer survivorship," McKinnon said.
"That story gives great hope to millions of people," said McKinnon. "There’s a lot of good work he can continue to do there if he’s willing to sacrifice and make clear that he’s sacrificing for the cause, that he’s willing to serve a cause greater than himself."
Public takes its shots at Armstrong
Boys make the right move with loaded gun in theater
With the horrific news involving guns from Newtown, Connecticut, in the past week, here’s a story with a happy ending and one that illustrates how kids can be more responsible than adults when it comes to weapons.
3 arrested in massive maple syrup heist
Much of a huge cache of maple syrup snatched from a Quebec storage facility has been recovered, police say.
Three people have been arrested and five others are being sought in connection with the theft from a warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec Provincial Police said in a statement Tuesday. The theft occurred between August 2011 and July 2012, police said.
FULL STORY4 dead in Colorado shooting
Four people have been found dead today in a Colorado house in an apparent murder-suicide, a Weld County sheriff's spokesman has told CNN's Christine Sever.
The dead are two men and two females and all are believed to be related, the spokesman, Tim Schwartz, said.
FULL STORYConnecticut governor backs stricter gun control
- First funerals for two of 20 children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School are Monday
- Six adults and the shooter are also dead after shootings on Friday morning
- Police: Nancy Lanza, mother of gunman, died from multiple gunshot wounds
- Gunman Adam Lanza had assault rifle magazines that held 30 bullets each, police said
- Victims' names released Saturday; all of the slain children were either 6 or 7 years old
[Update 5:45 p.m. ET] Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed an executive order Monday allowing Newtown to send its schoolchildren to Chalk Middle School in the town of Monroe so the children won't have to return to the scene of Friday's massacre of students and teachers.
[Update 4:01 p.m. ET] Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy supports stricter federal gun control, Malloy said during a press conference Monday in Hartford.
World's oldest person dies at 115
Just days after becoming the world's oldest person, 115-year-old Dina Manfredini has died at a retirement home in Iowa.
Manfredini's youngest granddaughter, Lori Logli, told CNN she understood her that her grandmother died in her sleep during the night.
Guinness World Records had declared Manfredini the world's oldest person just days ago.
On December 4, Besse Cooper, age 116, died at a Georgia assisted-living center.
24 killed in Iraq attacks
At least 24 people have been killed in a series of attacks across Iraq today. The violence included a bomb at a car auction in Baghdad that killed 11, a car bombing in the capital that killed one person, and attacks in northern villages that killed another dozen people.
FULL STORYPhilippine legislators pass birth-control bill
Legislators in the Philippines have passed a birth-control bill that will open the door for free contraceptives and government-funded sex education.
Voting for the legislation was carried live on CNN affiliate ABS-CNN in the Philippines.
The bill was strongly opposed by the Catholic Church. It awaits the signature of President Benigno Aquino III to become law.
FULL STORY
New investigation into Amy Winehouse death announced
There will be a new investigation into what caused the death of singer Amy Winehouse, government officials in Britain are saying today.
London's Camden Council says the coroner who performed the original investigation into Winehouse's death did not have proper credentials and has been suspended.
There had been speculation that the case would be reopened after the coroner who conducted the investigation resigned in February.
A new investigation into the death will begin on January 8, reports CNN's Richard Allen Greene from London.
Winehouse died in July 2011. She was 27 years old.
FULL STORY
2 deaths reported as Cyclone Evan rips through Samoan islands
Tropical Cyclone Evan is battering Samoa and American Samoa in the South Pacific with wind gusts up to 130 mph, heavy rain and pounding surf.
The National Weather Service in Pago Pago issued hurricane and high surf warnings for the islands as well as a flash flood watch.
There were reports of two deaths from the storm in Samoa, an independent country with a population of 183,000. American Samoa is a U.S. territory with a population of about 55,000.
‘I knew I had to help,’ cop says of charity act gone viral
New York police Officer Larry DePrimo's gift of boots to a barefoot homeless man on a cold November night warmed the hearts of America when a candid photo of the act spread on the Internet.
DePrimo says it was an easy decision - the man's feet had blisters the size of his palm - and the kind of thing that fellow officers often do without fanfare.
"It was extremely cold out, and ... you could see the blisters from like 10, 15 feet away," DePrimo told CNN on Friday morning. "He was a gentleman when I had spoken to him, and I knew I had to help him."
DePrimo, 25, was the unwitting star of a photo that a tourist captured near Times Square on November 14, showing him kneeling by the man and presenting him boots and socks that he had just bought for him.
New York cop's act of kindness goes viral
[Updated at 8:45 a.m. ET Friday] Here's how a simple act of kindness can become a worldwide inspiration and a public relations bonanza for the New York Police Department.
In a case of being in the right place at the right time, a tourist from Arizona, who happens to work in law enforcement herself, was visiting New York City earlier this month when she noticed a man without shoes asking for change near Times Square.
2nd lawsuit claims Clash had sex with a minor
A second lawsuit has been filed accusing Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who provided the voice of Elmo on "Sesame Street," of engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York, a Florida man referred to as John Doe says Clash lured him into a sexual relationship in 2000, when the then-16-year-old came to the New York area from Florida to pursue modeling opportunities.
Clash's lawyer said the federal cases against his client are without merit.
FULL STORY
Presidential race all tied up on election eve
On the eve of the 2012 presidential election, polls can't tell us who'll be president come January 20, Inauguration Day.
Major polls, including the CNN/ORC International poll, show the race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney all even.
It's too early for Christmas music, Canadian drugstore chain says
It’s a question most of us seem to have pondered at some point: When should stores start on the Christmas season?
For one Canadian drugstore chain, the first week in November is too soon, at least for the sounds of the season.
Magnitude-2.0 quake shakes New Jersey
As if they haven't had enough headaches in New Jersey in the past week, this morning they can add earthquake to the list.
The magnitude-2.0 temblor struck at 1:19 a.m. and was centered two miles south-southeast of Ringwood, New Jersey, not far from the border with New York. The depth was 3.1 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
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