LONDON (AP) - Britain scrambled fighter jets Friday to intercept a commercial airliner carrying more than 300 people from Pakistan, diverting it to an isolated runway at an airport on the outskirts of London and arresting two passengers on suspicion of endangering the aircraft. A British security official said the situation involving the Pakistan International Airlines flight did not appear terror-related, though police were still investigating, but the incident further rattled Britain just days after a soldier was killed on a London street in a suspected terror attack.
LONDON (AP) - Britain is bracing for clashes with right-wing activists and possible copycat terror attacks by Islamic extremists after the savage slaying of a young soldier, whose grieving family spoke Friday of their loss. London police said more than 1,000 officers will be sent to potential trouble spots with armed response units. Most British police officers don't carry weapons.
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) - A truck hauling an oversized load of drilling equipment hit an overhead bridge girder on the major interstate between Seattle and Canada, sending a section of the span into a river below as the driver watched the structure collapse beneath him. Two other vehicles plunged into the Skagit River, but all three occupants escaped with only minor injuries.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - With a growing sexual assault epidemic staining the military, President Barack Obama urged U.S. Naval Academy graduates Friday to remember their honor depends on what they do when nobody is looking and said the crime has "no place in the greatest military on earth." The commander in chief congratulated the 1,047 midshipmen graduating at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, telling the 841 men and 206 women that they have proven themselves morally by meeting rigorous standards at the academy. But their commencement celebration came in the midst of reports of widespread sexual assault throughout the military, and Obama ended his 20-minute address by recognizing "how the misconduct of some can have effects that ripple far and wide."
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service official who led the unit that targeted tea party groups and publicly disclosed the activity has been replaced, making her the third top IRS official moved aside since the episode was revealed two weeks ago. Lois Lerner was put on administrative leave on Thursday, said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and two congressional aides.
18 hurt in shuttle bus crash near Atlanta airport COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) - Eighteen people were taken to the hospital Friday, at least two in serious condition, after they were hurt in a crash between a hotel shuttle bus and a tractor-trailer near Atlanta's airport, officials said. Atlanta Fire Rescue Department spokeswoman Janet Ward said the accident happened around 10:30 a.m. and that it's not immediately clear what caused the accident.
BEIRUT (AP) - The Syrian government has agreed to attend a conference proposed by Russia and the United States on ending the country's civil war, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday, the first sign that President Bashar Assad's regime would be willing to take part in the talks with the opposition. Assad's government has not issued a definitive statement of its own on the proposed talks, but a Syrian legislator in Damascus also said the government intends to attend.
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) - After lengthy and wrenching debate, local leaders of the Boy Scouts of America have voted to open their ranks to openly gay boys for the first time, but heated reactions from the left and right made clear that the BSA's controversies are far from over. The Scouts' longstanding ban on gay adults remains in force, and many liberal Scout leaders - as well as gay-rights groups - plan to continue pressing for an end to that exclusion even though the BSA's top officials aren't ready for that step.
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey rolled out some of its big guns Friday to proclaim that the shore is back following Superstorm Sandy, using Gov. Chris Christie and the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore" to tell a national audience the state is ready for summer fun. In fact, they even hired fun. - the rock band whose anthem "We Are Young" captures the spirit of this blue-collar oceanfront playground that was devastated by the Oct. 29 storm and has been furiously rebuilding ever since. The band played a free concert on the beach.
NEW YORK (AP) - Kid Rock is a scalper. The 42-year-old Grammy winner, who is launching a summer tour where most tickets are priced at $20, said he's scalping about 1,000 tickets from each show to make up for the cheaper regular price.
