GOP 2016-OBAMA
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — President Barack Obama unleashes a blistering and belittling rebuke of Republican White House hopefuls, calling their attack on his landmark nuclear deal with Iran "ridiculous if it weren't so sad."
PRESIDENTIAL RACE-CLINTON
DES MOINES, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton calls climate change one of the "most urgent threats of our time" and lays out elements of a sweeping plan that would see every U.S. home powered by renewable energy by 2027. However, she declines to take a position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada that is opposed by environmental activists.
PRESIDENTIAL RACE-TRUMP-THIRD PARTY
WASHINGTON — The prospect that Donald Trump might eventually leave the Republican primaries and run for president as an independent candidate has started to cast a shadow on the race.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
BANGKOK — Thai authorities are upset about being blacklisted by the U.S. for the second year for failing to do enough to combat modern-day slavery. A State Department report cites the kind of abuses documented in a series of stories by The Associated Press.
EL NINO
WASHINGTON — In California, they're counting on it to end an historic drought; in Peru, they've already declared a pre-emptive emergency to prepare for devastating flooding. This year's strengthening El Nino is both an economic stimulus and a recession-maker.
IRAN DEAL-CONGRESS
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's vigorous effort to sell the Iran nuclear deal to Congress continues — this time in the House, where three Cabinet secretaries are facing tough questions.
BOY SCOUTS-GAYS
NEW YORK — The Boy Scouts of America ends its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.
NSA SURVEILLANCE
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided that the National Security Agency will soon stop examining — and will ultimately destroy — millions of American calling records it collected under a controversial program leaked by former agency contractor Edward Snowden.