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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is expected to nominate a seasoned business executive as the next secretary of Veterans Affairs. An administration official says the president will announce on Monday that he's selected former Procter and Gamble CEO Robert McDonald, a West Point graduate and a retired Army captain. McDonald must be confirmed by the Senate.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says there could be a threat to the homeland from battle-hardened militants who've spent time in Syria and Iraq. He tells ABC they pose a danger because they would be able to enter the country without visas on European passports. As a result, Obama says the U.S. must improve surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.
BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi government is deploying ground troops backed by tanks and helicopters in a major effort to retake the city of Tikrit from militants. The operation is entering its third day. Security officials say the army is coordinating its campaign with the United States. So far, the insurgents appear to have repelled the military's initial push and remain in control of the city.
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Officials say a 62-year-old Ohio man died Sunday as he hiked out of the Grand Canyon after a commercial river trip. The death comes amid the search for a 68-year-old Arizona man who reportedly fell from a ledge Friday into the Colorado River during a rafting trip in the park.
CHILHOWIE, Va. (AP) — An investigation is underway into the deaths of a man and a girl who were hit by a train Sunday while fishing from a railroad bridge in rural southwestern Virginia. An 8-year-old boy who was with them survived by dropping through the rails which are some 30 feet above the river. The railroad says the man and the 7-year-old girl tried to stand off to the side, but were still hit.
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