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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama plans this afternoon to announce his pick to head the troubled Veterans Affairs department. His choice is former Procter & Gamble executive Robert McDonald, a West Point graduate and former captain in the Army. The VA has been plagued with problems, such as reports of treatment delays possibly resulting in the deaths of veterans.
VERNON, Ariz. (AP) — Crews in Arizona's eastern mountains say they're making progress battling a wildfire that grew from around 8 to nearly 9 square miles yesterday. Fire officials say the blaze is now 5 percent contained. But people staying in some three dozen summer homes still have to stay away until given the all-clear to return.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will decide today whether to extend his forces' unilateral cease-fire in the conflict with pro-Russian rebels in the country's east. A national security spokesman says the decision will come before the cease-fire's expiration at 10 p.m. local time. Poroshenko has already extended it once. He's pressing for the fulfillment of conditions to move forward with a peace plan to end the conflict that has killed more than 400 people.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian state media say mortar shells have hit government-held areas of the northern city of Idlib today, killing 14 people and wounding at least 50. The city has been under the control of President Bashar Assad's troops since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in March of 2011. Rebels trying to overthrow Assad's government control the areas around the city.
VIERA, Fla. (AP) — A central Florida judge accused of punching an assistant public defender outside the courtroom says he's sorry. The newspaper Florida Today says Brevard County Judge John Murphy wrote a letter of apology to the county's residents yesterday, saying his actions on June 2 may have "tarnished the reputation of the entire judiciary." Following the fight, Murphy took a paid leave of absence and got anger management counseling. He's returning to work today. A court spokeswoman says Murphy will now handle civil cases.
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