Afghanistan probes Mansour’s fate after deadly US drone attack

Afghan authorities scrambled Sunday to confirm the fate of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour after US officials said he was likely killed in drone strikes -- a potential blow to the resurgent militant movement. The Taliban have so far not commented on the unprecedented American bombardment on Saturday, authorised by President Barack Obama, in Pakistan's remote southwestern province of Balochistan.

Diplomatic outreach: Barack Obama to be first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan decried the totalitarian repression of the Soviet Union by calling it the “focus of evil in the modern world.” Yet in 1988 while visiting with Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia, Mr. Reagan felt the need to soft-pedal his rhetoric when asked by a reporter if he still considered the Soviet Union to be an “evil empire.” The president said he was referring to a “different era” when he used that term. Our elected leaders must sometimes walk diplomatic tightropes while traveling around the world.

Pentagon: US airstrike targets Taliban leader Mullah Mansour

The U.S. conducted an airstrike Saturday against Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, the Pentagon said, and a U.S. official said Mansour was believed to have been killed. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the attack occurred in a remote region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Obama departs on trip to Vietnam, Japan

File picture of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama walking to their limousine at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on March 25, 2016, upon their return from a four-day trip to Cuba and Argentina. AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM Andrews Air Force Base, United States: Barack Obama departed Saturday on a trip to Vietnam and Japan that will include the first visit to Hiroshima, site of the world's first nuclear attack, by a sitting US president.

Obama is off to Asia to boost trade, cooperation

In this Friday May 20, 2016 photo released by the Catholic Archdiocese of Hue, Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, right, prays as he is welcomed back by Archbishop Tadeo to his parish in Hue, Ha Nam province, Vietnam. Vietnam granted early release from prison to Ly who is one of its most prominent dissidents, a move widely seen as a goodwill gesture before U.S. President Barack Obama arrives on an official visit late Sunday night.

Obama leaves for Asia to boost trade, cooperation

President Barack Obama is leaving on a weeklong, 16,000-mile trip to Asia as part of his effort to pay more attention to the region and boost economic and security cooperation. He'll spend three days in Vietnam, with stops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, for meetings with top leaders, a speech on US-Vietnam relations, visits to cultural treasures and sessions with civic leaders and entrepreneurs.

Trump, Clinton’s unpopularity paves way for VP that matters

Polling shows that the likely general election matchup between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will feature unprecedented negative favorability ratings: 49% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Clinton, while 57% viewed Trump unfavorably, according to a recent CNN/ORC poll. A CBS/NYT poll released Thursday offered more insight: 64% of registered voters felt that Trump and Clinton were not "honest and trustworthy;" 66% said Trump doesn't "share their values," compared to 60% for Clinton; and 70% said Trump does not have the right temperament to be president.

Group that helped sell Iran nuke deal also funded media

In this Feb. 16, 2016 file photo Deputy National Security Adviser For Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes speaks in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. An advocacy group recently identified by the White House as part of its "echo chamber" gave National Public Radio $100,000 to help it report on the Iran nuclear program and related issues.

Japan defence minister lodges complaint in Okinawa over US arrest

"I deliver a strong message of regret and at the same time make a protest," Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told US military commander Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson Tokyo: Japan's defence minister travelled to Okinawa to lodge a formal protest with the commander of the US military base there on Saturday after the arrest of a base employee linked to the suspicious death of a local woman.

Cynthia Tucker: Sanders increasingly appears petulant and shortsighted

When some of his supporters threw chairs at a convention of the Nevada State Democratic Party and threatened the life of Roberta Lange, the state party chairwoman, Sanders' response was to paint the Democratic establishment - the leaders of the party with which he has had a marriage of convenience for decades - as corrupt. He sounded more petulant than apologetic, more angry at his Democratic rival than alarmed at the actions of his supporters.

Superintendent: No need to obey transgender student policy

Georgia's top education official said Friday that state school districts don't have to comply with the Obama administration's recent guidance that transgender students at public schools be allowed to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.