Last Top Stories: Mali's president declares state of emergency after deadly hotel attack

• Mali's president declares state of emergency after deadly hotel attack

  

  BAMAKO, Mali —Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has ordered a 10-day state of emergency and three days of national mourning in the wake of an attack on a luxury hotel that left at least 20 people dead.At least two men entered the Radison Blu on Friday morning, shouting “Allahu Akbar” and beginning a shooting rampage that killed at least one American and many other businessmen and politicians from around the world — a huge blow to a country that has waged one of Africa’s largest campaigns aga..

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• Vladimir Putin's massive, triple-decker war room revealed

  

  Russian President Vladimir Putin, fifth from right, with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, sixth from right, and armed forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, fourth from right, attend a meeting on Russian air force activity in Syria at the national defense control center in Moscow on Nov. 17. (Alexei Nikolskyi/SPUTNIK/Kremlin via Reuters)MOSCOW — "Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the war room!"It could have been a scene straight out of "Dr. Strangelove" when President Vladimir V. Putin..

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• Brussels on highest alert as Belgian officials warn of 'serious and...

  

  BRUSSELS —The government abruptly shut down the city’s subway system, canceled sporting events and warned residents to avoid crowded places as Belgium placed the capital on maximum alert early Saturday, citing a “serious and imminent” threat of attack.Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Saturday morning that officials had identified shopping centers, public transportation and major events as targets of a possible attack, involving multiple assailants at multiple locations, similar to the ..

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• Is Stephen Colbert too liberal for his own (ratings') good?

  

  Stephen Colbert is host of the 'The Late Show' on CBS. (Invision/AP)The expectation was laid out, plain as can be, in the first reports of Stephen Colbert’s hiring by CBS to succeed David Letterman as host of “The Late Show.”From theNew York Timeson April 11, 2014:The news of Mr. Colbert’s appointment inflamed conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh, who said CBS had “declared war on the heartland of America.” But CBS executives made it clear that they expected Mr. Colbert to broaden his ap..

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• Obama visits refugee center, says U.S. must welcome evacuees

  

  Visiting refugee children at a shelter in Malaysia, President Obama said Saturday that America’s leaders shouldn’t fear young Syrians and others from war-torn nations seeking to emigrate to the U.S.“American leadership is us caring about people who have been forgotten, or who have been discriminated against, or who have been tortured,” Mr. Obama told reporters at the refugee center in Kuala Lumpur. “That’s American leadership. That’s when we’re the shining light on the hill. Not when we respond ..

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• Washington vs

  

  Washington is coming off an impressive win over the Saints, but seems to be no match for the unbeaten Panthers.If Washington is going to overtake theNew York Giantsin the NFC East, it would be prudent for them to win Sunday. But unfortunately for Jay Gruden's team, they're taking onCam Newtonand the undefeatedCarolina Panthers. It has been a week littered with faux controversy for Newton, who came under scrutiny for unveiling an elaborate dance after he scored a touchdown in the fourth quart..

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• Oregon and Washington delay crab season because of toxin - US News

  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon and Washington have joined California in delaying the start of their commercial crab seasons after dangerous toxin levels were found in the crabs.Officials say elevated levels of domoic acid were found in crabs in all three states. The toxin is naturally produced by microscopic algae in the Pacific Ocean, but the massive bloom of algae caused by warming ocean conditions this year has led to more toxins produced and consumed by shellfish.California had already delayed..

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• There's a booming black market for fake Syrian passports

  

  Serbian magazine Blic, displaying a Syrian passport found by police at the scene of one of the Paris attacks. (Andrej Isakovic/AFP/Getty Images)The terrorist who blew himself up outside the Stade de Francehad fingerprints matching that of a manwho arrived on European shores Oct. 3 alongside desperate migrants who had crossed over from Turkey, according to French and Greek officials.But the Syrian passport found near his body, which quickly sparked a political debate in Europe and the United Stat..

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• Model for an Ivory Sales Ban: Take it to the People

  

  Voters in Washington state sent a strong message to the world on November 3 when they passed the country’s first ever comprehensive state ban on commerce in endangered animal species.TheWashington Animal Trafficking Initiative 1401(I-1401) prohibits the purchase, sale, and distribution of ten endangered species groups and their parts. It includes not only elephant ivory but also rhino horn, pangolin scales, the bones, skins and other parts of tigers, lions, leopards, and cheetahs, sea turtle egg..

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• As search for Jacob Marberger continues, some Washington College alumni unite to support him - The Washington Post

  

  Jacob Marberger, a student at Washington College, is missing and is believed to have a gun taken from his family home in Pennsylvania. (Courtesy of Washington College)As the search for the missing sophomore whose disappearance shut down a college continued, a group of Washington College alumni worked to raise money to support him.Jacob Marberger’s parents called the college Monday morning to report that their son had come home distraught about things at school, taken a rifle case, and wasn’t ans..

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