Your Labor Day News Update

UNITED STATES-SYRIA

Setting the stage for Syria vote in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — The stage is being set for the biggest foreign policy vote in Congress since the Iraq war.

Obama administration officials met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill yesterday, and President Barack Obama is inviting former foe, Sen. John McCain to the White House today to discuss the U.S. taking military action against Syria.

The administration says an attack last month near Damascus included the release of sarin gas on civilians, killing more than 1,400 civilians.

RUSSIA-SYRIA

Russia not convinced by US evidence on Syria

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's foreign minister says the information the U.S. has showed Moscow in trying to prove that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons on its civilians is "absolutely unconvincing."

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Washington did not show Russia detailed evidence, such as geographic coordinates or names.

Lavrov says U.S. officials said they couldn't provide more detailed evidence of a chemical attack because the information is classified.

AFGHANISTAN

Attack near US base in Pakistan

MOHMANDARA DISTRICT, Afghanistan (AP) — Officials say at least three insurgents were killed today when they attacked a U.S. base in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan.

Officials say the militants set off bombs, torched vehicles and shut down a key road used by NATO supply trucks.

The Taliban is claiming responsibility.

BRAZIL-NSA-LEADERS

Journalist says US spied on Mexican, Brazilian presidents

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The journalist who obtained secret U.S. documents from former government contractor Edward Snowden is accusing the National Security Agency's spy program of reading emails sent to or from Mexico and Brazil's presidents.

Glenn Greenwald tells a Brazilian news program (Globo's 'Fantastico') that documents show Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's emails were being read and the emails of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff were being intercepted.

OIL PRICES

NEW: Oil falls below $107 as Syria tension eases

BANGKOK (AP) — The price of oil dropped today as the likelihood of an imminent U.S. attack against Syria diminished.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was down $1.03 to $106.62 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract fell $1.15 to close at $107.65 on Friday.

WORLD MARKETS

NEW: Chinese growth signs support stocks

LONDON (AP) — Evidence that China's economic slowdown is leveling off has helped global stock markets rise today.

Markets in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia closed up.

Benchmarks in South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines fell. Markets in Germany, France and Britain are advancing.

EGYPT

Egypt's Morsi to be tried for inciting violence

CAIRO (AP) — Ousted Islamist Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will go on trial for allegedly inciting the killing of opponents protesting outside his palace while he was in office.

Fourteen other members of the Muslim Brotherhood will be tried with Morsi, including top aides and leading members of his political party.

The military ousted Morsi on July 3 after millions took to the streets demanding that he step down.

SOUTH AFRICA-MANDELA

Mandela spending first full day at home

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela is still in critical condition, and sometimes his condition is unstable, but he's spending his first full day at his Johannesburg home since leaving the hospital.

The 95-year-old Mandela underwent nearly three months of treatment for a recurring lung infection, and the office of President Jacob Zuma says Mandela will receive the same intensive care at home that he did in the hospital.

JAPAN-NUCLEAR

More tank leaks found at Japan nuke plant

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's top nuclear regulator is raising safety concerns about hastily built storage tanks and their foundations after reports of new leaks of radiation-contaminated water.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka says a small leak and signs of other possible leaks have been spotted at several other storage tanks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.

Officials say some contaminated water has escaped into the sea. The plant was damaged in Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

WESTERN WILDFIRES-YOSEMITE

Making progress in Yosemite fire

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters battling a huge fire in and around Yosemite National Park in California are getting help from the weather.

Clouds and higher humidity are helping slow down the blaze, which has burned some 351 square miles.

As of Sunday, it was 45 percent contained.

CHILD SHOT IN HEAD

No arrests in shooting of 1-year-old boy in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — Police in New York have not made any arrests in the shooting death of a 1-year-old boy.

Police say Antiq Hennis was being pushed in a stroller by his parents Sunday night in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn when shots were fired and the child was struck in the head.

A local bishop who drove the parents to the hospital says, "I grew up in this neighborhood and I've seen a lot — but this is the worst."

PAKISTAN-POLIO

Polio breaks out amid militant threats in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — World health officials fear that outbreaks of Polio in the North Waziristan part of Pakistan could worsen and spread to other parts of the country.

Islamic militants have banned the vaccine from the remote area.

Militants have claimed the vaccine is meant to sterilize Muslim children and they accuse health workers of being U.S. spies.

There have been 27 confirmed polio cases in Pakistan so far this year — the third highest total in the world.

CUBA-SWIMMING TO FLORIDA

Diana Nyad getting closer in Cuba-Florida swim

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad's representatives say she's getting closer in her latest attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida.

This morning, her team tweeted that she's less than 10 miles away from Florida. Overall, the swim is expected to be about 100 miles if she's able to complete it.

The 64-year-old is trying to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. It's her fourth attempt in the last three years.