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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama huddled in the Oval Office for over an hour with House and Senate leaders to discuss options for responding to the crumbling security situation in Iraq. Afterward, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters the president believes he does not need authorization from Congress for any steps he might take to quell the al-Qaida-inspired insurgency sweeping through Iraq.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces and Sunni militants are battling fiercely for control of the nation's largest oil refinery as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went on a diplomatic offensive. Al-Maliki reached out in a televised address to try to regain support from the nation's disaffected Sunnis and Kurds. Meanwhile, the government says it has retaken partial control of a strategic city near the border with Syria.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Officials say three people were killed aboard a plane that veered from an Alabama airport runway and caught fire. A Huntsville International Airport spokeswoman says authorities are unsure of the plane's intended destination. The passenger's identities haven't been released.
WASHINGTON (AP) — E-cigarettes with fruity flavors like "cherry crush" are coming under intense Senate scrutiny over concern that manufacturers are trying to appeal to youngsters. The presidents of two companies that make electronic cigarettes were challenged for more than two hours during a hearing about industry marketing practices. Both insisted they aren't trying to glamorize smoking and don't target young people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Recently retired "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno is being awarded the nation's top humor prize. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington says Leno will be honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in a performance by his fellow comedians Oct. 19. The show will be broadcast nationally Nov. 23 on PBS stations.
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