Ferguson officer placed on unpaid leave after calling Brown memorial 'trash'

Ferguson officer placed on unpaid leave after calling Brown memorial 'trash'
Plane carrying 162 people goes missing between Indonesia and Singapore
1 dead, hundreds stranded in Greek ferry disaster
Photos: AirAsia Flight QZ8501 disappears
Fire at San Antonio high-rise for seniors kills five
Arizona officer killed during domestic violence investigation
Police boss: Turning backs on mayor inappropriate
Syria 'ready to participate' in Moscow peace talks
Yes-We-Can president faces twilight of maybes
School bans 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts at tournament

Posted: 28 Dec 2014 07:48 AM PST

The spokesman for the Ferguson, Mo., police department has been placed on unpaid leave after calling the makeshift memorial to slain teenager Michael Brown a "pile of trash in the middle of the street."

Plane carrying 162 people goes missing between Indonesia and Singapore

Posted: 28 Dec 2014 05:46 AM PST

Search operations are suspended as darkness falls but will resume at 6 a.m. local time.

1 dead, hundreds stranded in Greek ferry disaster

Posted: 28 Dec 2014 10:25 AM PST

An Italian Coast Guard official says one person died while attempting to escape from a blazing ferry stranded in the Adriatic Sea, and another was injured.

Photos: AirAsia Flight QZ8501 disappears

Posted: 27 Dec 2014 10:35 PM PST

A relative of AirAsia flight QZ8501 passengers weeps as she waits for the latest news on the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

Fire at San Antonio high-rise for seniors kills five

Posted: 28 Dec 2014 10:37 AM PST

By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A fire in a high-rise apartment building for senior citizens left five people dead in suburban San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, fire officials said. Firefighters used ladders to pluck some elderly residents from the upper floors of the 12-story building. Three patients were transported by ambulance to area hospitals, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said. "After looking at the floors, it is amazing that we did not have more loss of life," he said. The fire broke out about 6:30 a.m. ...

Arizona officer killed during domestic violence investigation

Posted: 28 Dec 2014 08:08 AM PST

(Reuters) - An Arizona police officer investigating a domestic violence incident was shot dead by a suspect who then killed himself, police said. Flagstaff police officer Tyler Stewart, 24, was trying to contact suspect Robert Smith, 28, on Saturday when Smith fired several shots at Stewart before turning the gun on himself, a police statement said. "This is an enormous tragedy for our department and the family of our officer," Chief Kevin Treadway said. "We are a very close knit organization, and know that all members of the Flagstaff Police Department are grieving at this time. ...

Police boss: Turning backs on mayor inappropriate

Posted: 28 Dec 2014 08:37 AM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's police commissioner says it was "very inappropriate" for officers to turn their backs on the mayor in a sign of disrespect as he spoke at an officer's funeral.

Syria 'ready to participate' in Moscow peace talks

Posted: 27 Dec 2014 09:21 AM PST

DAMASCUS (AP) — Syrian state-run TV said Saturday that the government is prepared to take part in peace talks hosted by Russia next month, but the unnamed foreign ministry official it cited suggested the scope of the negotiations would be limited to "preliminary" talks meant to pave the way for a conference in Syria itself.

Yes-We-Can president faces twilight of maybes

Posted: 27 Dec 2014 01:24 PM PST

It was supposed to be a joke. "Are you still president?" comedian Stephen Colbert asked Barack Obama earlier this month.

School bans 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts at tournament

Posted: 27 Dec 2014 06:11 PM PST

A high school basketball tournament on the Northern California coast has become the latest flashpoint in the ongoing protests over police killings of unarmed black men after a school was disinvited because of concerns its players would wear T-shirts printed with the words "I Can't Breathe" during warmups.