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LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is the first Republican to officially declare himself a 2016 presidential candidate. He tweeted his decision just after midnight and his official announcement at Liberty University today is seen as an attempt to stake his claim to the conservative base. Cruz may not be alone long. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and two Senate colleagues, Kentucky's Rand Paul and Florida's Marco Rubio, are eyeing announcements soon.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — While U.S. drone attacks are looked at with disfavor by Islamabad, Pakistan now has a drone of its own. The country's first locally manufactured armed drone aircraft was introduced to the public today as part of Pakistan's Republic Day parade, with officials hailing it as a key element in the ongoing battle against Islamic militant groups.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A state-run news channel quotes a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator as calling on world powers to hammer out a "balanced" final nuclear deal with Tehran that focuses on a "common position." The talks last week, which had been characterized as making progress, are on hold as the negotiators hold consultations. Talks resume Wednesday as a March 31 deadline looms.
TOKYO (AP) — The governor of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa is citing damage to coral as his reason for ordering a Defense Ministry branch to suspend all work at the site where a key U.S. military air base is to be relocated. Gov. Takeshi Onaga says the coral was damaged by a concrete block thrown into the sea for a drilling survey. Many people on Okinawa want the base removed from the island. A ministry cabinet secretary says the survey should proceed.
GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) — The sentencing phase begins today in the trial of an Alabama grandmother convicted of running her 9-year-old granddaughter to death. The jury will decide whether or not to recommend the death sentence for 49-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard. The judge has the final word. Prosecutors say Garrard brutally made the girl run for hours as punishment for a lie until she collapsed.
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