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Lion kills woman at California sanctuary
A 26-year-old female intern was killed Wednesday afternoon by an African lion inside a cage at an exotic cat sanctuary in California, authorities said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this critical time," said Dale Anderson, founder of Project Survival Cat Haven in Dunlap.
The lion, a 5-year-old, 350-pound cat named Cous Cous, was shot and killed, officials said.
FULL STORYFrench soldier killed in Mali
A French soldier was killed during a clash with Islamist fighters early Wednesday in northern Mali, the French Defense Ministry said. Four French soldiers have been killed in Mali since the beginning of France's military intervention there in January.
FULL STORYThieves grab $50 million in diamonds
Eight masked thieves in two vehicles stole $50 million worth of diamonds Monday at Brussels Airport, the Antwerp Diamond Centre told CNN Tuesday, citing police.
Fugitive ex-cop in murder probe eludes massive manhunt
The massive search for a renegade ex-cop bent on carrying out "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" stretched through the night, but to no avail, authorities said.
Christopher Jordan Dorner is accused of killing one police officer and wounding two others, as well as killing the daughter of his police union representative and her fiance.
The violent spree, authorities say, is part of Dorner's campaign of vigilante justice for what he believes was his unfair termination.
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Tornado causes injuries, damage in Mississippi
A tornado has caused at least three injuries and damaged structures in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, officials there say.
At 5:28 p.m. CT, Terry Steed from the Emergency Management District in Hattiesburg confirmed that a tornado was on the ground in Hattiesburg and that there was damage. Brett Carr with the Mississippi Emergency
Management Agency in Marion County said at least three people were injured.
Third large quake in a week hits Solomon Islands
[Updated at 11:43 a.m. ET] A magnitude-7.0 earthquake occurred at 10:26 a.m. ET in the vicinity of the Santa Cruz Islands in the Pacific Ocean, at a depth of 27 kilometers (16.8 miles), 25 kilometers (15 miles) south-southeast of Lata, Solomon Islands. No tsunami warning has been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
[Posted at 8:31 a.m. ET] A 7.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the Solomon Islands on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. There were no immediate reports of a tsunami.
The quake comes two days after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck the same region, triggering a tsunami that killed five people but didn't threaten the wider region.
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Taliban attack victim Malala released from hospital
Pakistani teen Malala Yousufzai, shot by the Taliban in October, has been released from the hospital following operations to repair her skull and restore her hearing, according to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England.
Former cop sought in California shootings
A former Los Angeles police officer who has violently threatened his former colleagues shot at multiple officers early Thursday, police said, sparking a huge manhunt in Southern California.
Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, is also accused of a double slaying Sunday in Irvine, California.
The California Highway Patrol issued an alert Thursday morning urging officers in several Southern California counties to be on the lookout for Dorner after a series of overnight shootings involving police.
FULL STORYPakistan: 3 killed in suspected U.S. drone strike
A suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at what is thought to be a militant hideout in northwest Pakistan's North Waziristan region, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.
Three people died in the attack in Ghulam Khan Tehsil, near the border with Afghanistan, the officials said Thursday.
FULL STORYObama to release document on targeted killings to Congress
The Senate Intelligence Committee will receive a classified document Thursday that seeks to justify the administration's policy of targeting Americans overseas via drone attacks, chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said.
The announcement came shortly after an administration official said President Barack Obama had yielded to demands that he turn over to Congress the classified Justice Department legal advice that seeks to justify the policy.
The president, the official said, was turning over the information because he believes the scrutiny and debate is healthy.
FULL STORYCongressman says 'Lincoln' depicts Connecticut vote erroneously
Watching the movie "Lincoln" on Saturday, Rep. Joe Courtney was perplexed during the climactic scene.
Two of his predecessors from nearly 150 years ago - lawmakers representing the state of Connecticut in 1865 - are seen voting against the Constitutional amendment to end slavery.
Courtney asked the Congressional Research Service for the records, and sure enough, all four Representatives from Connecticut voted "yes" on the 13th Amendment.
But in the film, we see the fictional lawmakers Augustus Benjamin and Arthur Bentleigh of Connecticut each vote "Nay."
"I could not believe my own eyes and ears," Courtney said. In a letter of protest to director Steven Spielberg, he said that although he thinks overall the film is tremendous and compelling, "placing the state of Connecticut on the wrong side of the historic and divisive fight over slavery is a distortion of easily verifiable facts."
He suggested the movie be changed before it is released on DVD on February 26.
FULL STORYOfficials: Rescued 5-year-old is 'laughing, joking, playing, eating'
A 5-year-old boy held hostage nearly a week is safe and the Alabama man who held him hostage is dead, law enforcement officials say.
[Update 10:30 p.m. ET] President Barack Obama called FBI Director Robert Mueller to compliment him for the role federal law enforcement officers played in resolving the hostage situation in Alabama today, a White House official told CNN. "The president praised the exceptional coordination between state, local, and federal partners, and thanked all the law enforcement officials involved during the nearly week-long ordeal for their roles in the successful rescue of the child."
[Update 10:17 p.m. ET] Law enforcement officials in Alabama expressed gratitude and relief at the successful conclusion of the week-long hostage ordeal in Midland City.
At a 9 p.m. news conference, Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said getting the 5-year-old hostage out alive was the goal of everyone on the scene.
"This is a very special child," Olson said. "He's been through a lot, (and) by the grace of God he's OK. ...
"I'm a father, a lot of these men and women that's been sacrificing tireless hours, they're parents as well. It's a relief to be able to reunite mother and child."
The boy, whose name is Ethan, is with his mother at a local hospital, said Steve Richardson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Mobile regional office.
"Ethan is laughing, joking, playing, eating - the things you would expect a normal 5-year-old child to do," Richardson said.
The officials refused to divulge any details of the rescue operation, saying they expect to need to employ the same tactics in another situation someday in the future.
Olson said officials believed Ethan was in danger.
"That's why we went in - to save the child," he said.
[Update 5:46 p.m. ET]
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley issued the following statement:
"Shortly after 3 p.m., I spoke with Col. Hugh McCall of the Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Director Spencer Collier. They informed me that law enforcement had breached the bunker, the child was safe and the abductor was killed.
"I want to thank the law enforcement, first responders and all additional personnel who worked tireless hours to bring this situation to a resolution. They performed heroic efforts, and they should be praised for how they handled themselves in a professional manner.
"I am thankful that the child who was abducted is now safe. I am so happy this little boy can now be reunited with his family and friends. We will all continue to pray for the little boy and his family as they recover from the trauma of the last several days.
"At the same time, we also want to remember the family and friends of the bus driver - Charles Poland, Jr. This man was a true hero who was willing to give up his life so others might live. We are all inspired by his courage and bravery.
"I ask everyone across the state - and the nation - to continue to lift up these families and the entire Midland City community in your prayers."
[Earlier updates] Steve Richardson, the FBI's special agent in charge of the local office, said at a brief news conference that negotiations with Jimmy Lee Dykes had "deteriorated" during the past 24 hours, and that Dykes had been observed holding a gun.
At 3:12 p.m. CT, FBI agents entered the bunker and safely recovered the young hostage, Richardson said.
He said Dykes was dead and the child appeared to be physically unharmed. He did not say how Dykes died.
Richardson and other law enforcement officials declined to answer any questions.
The abducted boy, whose name is Ethan, has been taken to a hospital about eight miles from the place where he had been held hostage, Alabama Rep. Steve Clouse told CNN.
"Finally, this nightmare has come to an end," he said.
A neighbor of Dykes' said Monday he heard it end.
"I heard a big boom and then I heard, I believe I heard, rifle shots," Byron Martin told CNN. "Literally made me jump off the ground."
FULL STORYAt least 14 dead, 80 injured after blast rocks oil company office
[Update 8:14 p.m.] At least 14 people were killed and 80 were injured in an explosion at the offices of Mexico's state-run oil company Thursday, the country's interior minister said.
[Update 6:50 p.m. ET] Citing the Mexico City district governor, Mexican CNN affiliate FOROtv is reporting five dead, 75 injured, 30 trapped after an explosion at the Pemex oil company offices in Mexico City.
[Original post] Injuries were reported after an explosion at the administrative offices of Mexico's state-run Pemex oil company in Mexico City on Thursday, the company said in a Twitter post.
The blast injured workers and prompted an evacuation of personnel, a company spokesman told Mexico's state-run Notimex news agency.
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Student shot at Atlanta school; fellow student in custody
[Update 4:54 p.m. ET] Families are having joyful reunions as students pour out of four buses that have delivered them from Price Middle School in Atlanta, where a student was shot and wounded Thursday afternoon.
[Update 4:45 p.m. ET] Students are being loaded onto buses for transport home or to a nearby church where parents have assembled to wait for their children.
Police detectives are interviewing the victim in the hospital, his mother told CNN affiliate WSB-TV. He knows the assailant, who the mother said was "talking smack" to her son before pulling out a gun and firing, the station said.
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Beyoncé: I lip-synced during inauguration performance
Responding to the controversy about whether she sang live or lip-synced during her performance at the presidential inauguration earlier this month, Beyoncé Knowles said Thursday that she "decided to sing along with the prerecorded track."
"I did not feel comfortable taking a risk," she said.
FULL STORYL.A. Times subscribers burglarized after requesting vacation holds
They were about to leave their homes for vacation, and the burglars knew it.
What started as a simple request to stop newspaper delivery turned into an invitation for a troupe of burglars, who ransacked at least 25 Los Angeles-area homes to the tune of $1 million over a period of three years, authorities said.
Armed with stolen lists of vacationing subscribers, the team stole computers, jewelry, musical instruments and even collectible swords, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
FULL STORYWorld leaders seek $1.5 billion in aid for afflicted Syrians
The United Nations and world leaders are trying to tackle the humanitarian crisis in war-torn Syria at a fundraising event in Kuwait on Wednesday.
The pledging conference will address major shortfalls in a $1.5 billion goal to help Syrian refugees and those afflicted inside the country, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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Venezuela's Chavez getting better, official says
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was gradually recovering and handling more presidential duties, a government official said Tuesday.
"He's constantly thinking, making decisions, in meetings he's been giving out orders," the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Jorge Arreaza, said on Venezuela state TV.
Chavez, 58, has not made a public appearance since undergoing a fourth cancer surgery in Havana more than a month ago.
FULL STORYSouth Korea to make new attempt to put satellite in orbit
South Korea says it plans to make a new attempt on Wednesday at launching a rocket intended to put a satellite in orbit, a feat it has failed to achieve on previous occasions.
The pressure on the South Korean rocket scientists has increased since the country's hostile neighbor, North Korea, carried out its own successful launch last month in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
FULL STORYIraqi men living in Kentucky go to prison for plot to help al Qaeda
Two Iraqi men, who were living in Kentucky, were slapped with long prison sentences this week after being convicted of a series of charges involving a plot to help al Qaeda.
"These two former Iraqi insurgents participated in terrorist activities overseas and attempted to continue providing material support to terrorists while they lived here in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco. "Both men are being held accountable."
Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan were arrested last August in Bowling Green, Kentucky in a terror-related sting operation.
After arriving in the United States, the men were monitored by federal authorities. The men told an FBI undercover agent they wanted to provide weapons and explosives to al Qaeda in Iraq, court documents said.
In 2010 and early 2011, Hammadi and Alwan provided sniper rifles, C4 plastic explosives, and two Stinger missiles to a truck they believed would be shipped to al Qaeda in Iraq. Authorities say none of the weapons were ever shipped, and remained under control of the FBI.
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