PRESIDENTIAL RACE-DEBATE

DURHAM, New Hampshire (AP) — Fireworks flying in their first one-on-one debate, Hillary Clinton accused Bernie Sanders on Thursday of subjecting her to an "artful smear" while Sanders suggested the former secretary of state was a captive of the political establishment. 

ISLAMIC STATE-LIBYA

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is struggling to find the right mix of military and diplomatic moves to stop the Islamic State in Libya, where the extremist group has taken advantage of the political chaos in the country to gain a foothold with worrying implications for the U.S. and Europe — particularly Italy. 

ZIKA-VIRUS

RIO DE JANEIRO — Two people in southeastern Brazil contracted the Zika virus through blood transfusions, a municipal health official says, presenting a fresh challenge to efforts to contain the virus on top of the disclosure of a case of sexual transmission in the United States. 

UNITED STATES-AFGHANISTAN

WASHINGTON — The ability to train and advise the still green Afghan security forces will be constrained if the U.S. troop level is cut to 5,500 as President Barack Obama has proposed, the senior American commander in Afghanistan says. 

OBAMA-COLOMBIA

WASHINGTON — Nudging Colombia toward a peace deal that's finally within reach, President Barack Obama commits the United States to helping the battle-scarred nation rebuild after half a century of guerrilla conflict.