ISTANBUL – Turkey’s defense minister says Turkish forces shot down a Syrian helicopter after it crossed into Turkish airspace. Syrian state-run television is denying the report, saying that a small drone was shot down. Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz told state-run Anadolu Agency that the helicopter was brought down Saturday …

ISTANBUL – Turkish media say a man is in custody after a young female talent show singer was shot in the head in southeast Turkey — the latest high-profile attack upon a woman in Turkey. Mutlu Kaya, a 19-year-old Kurd, gained national notice in Turkey in a popular song contest …

SEATTLE – Seattle is delaying its plan to equip police with body cameras until privacy issues can be considered, and public comment heard. The Seattle Times reports (http://is.gd/xSZzSb ) the city’s Community Police Commission issued a statement saying the new technology may have unintended consequences. The 12-member commission has struggled …

Three people were killed and a Georgia county sheriff and one of his deputies were wounded late Sunday after a domestic dispute turned deadly. Deputies responded to a 911 call in Clarksville, Ga., about 85 miles northeast of Atlanta, at around 7:30 p.m. local time and found a woman dead …

FALL RIVER, Mass. – After six days of deliberating, jurors went home Tuesday without reaching a verdict in the murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, who is accused of killing the man dating his fiancee’s sister. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in the killing of Odin …

Imagine being reduced to a rounding error. Imagine your whole life. Your parents’ lives. Their parents’ lives, reduced to a flash, an instant, an afterthought. Imagine space. At the risk of sounding a little too deep for a Friday, imagine this NASA spacecraft set to launch Monday. Its mission: to …

Al Qaeda and the 2008 presidential race, that is the subject of this evening’s “Talking Points” Memo. Presidential Homeland Security adviser Frances Townsend answered press questions today about a national intelligence report that says Al Qaeda is getting stronger. According to the Bush administration, the chaos in Pakistan is a …

TEHRAN, Iran – In his soccer-playing youth, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was renowned for two valuable skills: speed, and his ability to fake out an opponent with fancy footwork. Of course, he mostly played indoor, or salon soccer, on a smaller-than-normal field. Today, the fleet-footed footballer-turned-president of Iran is using the same …

Before two-time Olympic figure skater Randy Gardner could nail the throw triple salchow with his partner, Tai Babilonia, he had to see the complicated jump and landing in his mind. “It worked almost instantaneously,” the world pair champion, U.S. National pair champion and Los Angeles-based coach and choreographer tells WebMD. …

When singer J.D. Fortune won last year’s “Rock Star” competition to become the lead singer of INXS, his claim to fame was a tune he wrote called “Pretty Vegas.” Today, that catchy tune can be heard on top 40 and adult alternative rotations on both terrestrial and satellite radio several …