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CASSANO ALL'JONIO, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis has traveled to the heart of Italy's biggest crime syndicate and declared that all mobsters are automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church. At an outdoor Mass in Calabria, Francis denounced the syndicate for what he called its "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good." The pope also visited the imprisoned father of a 3-year-old boy who was killed in the region's drug war.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is expressing support for Ukraine's unilateral cease-fire in its battle against pro-Russian separatists and appealing to both sides to halt all military operations. But he also says the Ukrainian president's blueprint for peace won't be viable without action to start peace negotiations. It's the latest in a series of contradictory Russian statements on the matter.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A NATO air base in Afghanistan where U.S. forces are stationed has come under fire. NATO says two rockets struck the base on the outskirts of the eastern city of Jalalabad but did no damage to equipment or buildings. NATO says there were no fatalities and the base was later secured.
MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) — Rescuers are spending a third day searching Washington's Mount Rainier for outdoors writer Karen Sykes, who hasn't been seen since she separated from her hiking partner on Wednesday. The National Park Service says six ground crews, including two dog teams, are combing an expanded search area on the mountain's east side. Rescuers are also searching by air.
MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. (AP) — The winners of this year's Run to the Clouds race on New Hampshire's Mount Washington hail from Colorado. Thirty-year-old Joe Gray captured the men's race after finishing second last year. Twenty-eight-year-old Shannon Payne took the women's field in her inaugural run up the Northeast's highest peak. More than 1,000 runners challenged the 7.6-mile ascent to the summit at 6,288 feet.
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