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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two pilots in a helium-filled balloon have landed safely off the coast of Mexico after a nearly 7,000-mile long trip across the Pacific Ocean that shattered two long-standing records for ballooning. Troy Bradley of Albuquerque and Leonid Tiukhtyaev (tookh-TY'-yev) of Russia beat what's considered the "holy grail" of ballooning achievements, the 137-hour duration record in the first balloon flight across the Atlantic. They also easily exceeded the distance record of 5,209 miles set during the first trans-Pacific flight in 1981.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A NASA satellite has lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a three-year mission to track the amount of water locked in soil. Its findings could help residents in low-lying regions brace for floods or farmers prepare for drought conditions. It'll take some time before project managers know if the satellite successfully separated from the rocket and unfurled its solar panels to start generating power.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Two Kurdish security officers say a senior Kurdish commander has been killed in clashes with Islamic State militants in northern Iraq. The officers say Brig. Gen. Hussein Mansour was killed last night by a sniper shot near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk during clashes between Islamic State fighters and Kurdish security forces. He had just replaced another general who was killed earlier in the day when militants attacked Kurdish fighters' positions near Kirkuk.
BEIRUT (AP) — Members of the Islamic State group have acknowledged for the first time that they lost the battle for the Syrian town of Kobani. And they say airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition were the main reason they were forced to withdraw. Two fighters made the comments in a video released by a pro-Islamic State news agency (Aamaq). The Islamic State group once held nearly half the town.
ROME (AP) — Italian lawmakers have elected a new president on the third day of voting. Sergio Mattarella is a Constitutional Court justice with center-left political roots who's widely considered to be above the political fray. The 73-year-old former minister is also known as a man of few words, and he cemented that reputation today with his first remarks to the nation. He said: "My thoughts go, above all, to the difficulties and hopes of our fellow citizens. That's enough."
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