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ROZSYPNE, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine is accusing pro-Russian separatists of shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane that went down in Ukraine Thursday, killing all 298 aboard. The rebels deny it. Russian President Vladimir Putin blames Ukraine for the downing, saying it's responsible for the unrest in its Russian-speaking eastern regions. U.S. intelligence officials say a surface-to-air missile brought the plane down, but they're not sure who fired it.
UNDATED (AP) — Many aviation experts are questioning Malaysian Airlines' decision to fly near the fighting in Ukraine. Some airlines have been circumventing the country for weeks. But Malaysia's prime minister said Flight 17's route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur had been declared safe by international aviation authorities. Robert Francis, a former vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, says, "I find it pretty remarkable that a civil airline company — if this aircraft was on the flight plan — that they are flight-planning over an area like that."
JERUSALEM (AP) — Nearly 20 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have been killed since the start of the Israeli ground operation in Gaza late last night. Israeli troops are focusing on destroying tunnels and rocket launchers in an effort to stop the unrelenting rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. In 11 days of fighting, some 260 Palestinians have been killed.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The small town of Pateros, Washington state is being emptied out ahead of a wind-whipped wildfire that has burned at least 35 homes in Okanogan County. Also getting the evacuation notice is a hospital in nearby Brewster. Sheriff Frank Rogers says "there's nobody in Pateros" except a few "stragglers," and he says the fire is burning in the town.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. soldier convicted of leaking secrets will begin treatments to change gender. The former Bradley Manning, who now calls herself Chelsea Manning, will get her initial treatment from the military. The Bureau of Prisons had rejected the Army's request to accept Manning's transfer from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to a civilian facility. Defense officials say the Army does not have the medical expertise needed to give Manning the best treatment.
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