8 | EXPRESS | 08.15.2014 | WEEKEND
nation+world Raising the stakes in Ukraine’s conflict, a Russian aid convoy of more than 200 trucks pushed up to the border on Thursday but then stopped, provocatively poised to cross into rebelheld territory. The Ukrainian government threatened to use all means available to block the convoy if the Red Cross was not allowed to inspect the cargo. (AP) AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam to change ‘Black Pete’ appearance Amsterdam’s mayor and the organizers of a large children’s winter festival have unveiled plans to overhaul the image of “Black Pete” — the sidekick to the Dutch Santa Claus — after protests that the character exhibited racist elements. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said Thursday that Pete’s appearance will be changed over several years from his current blackface to make him look like he has been merely covered with soot from going down chimneys to deliver presents. (AP) LOS ANGELES
Man’s sexual orientation listed as ‘chronic condition’
POLITICS
Lassie takes side job as GOP lapdog It’s a jungle out there in political television advertising, what with parrots, chicks, dogs and pigs taking turns in commercials that bite and scratch in a way no nonpartisan pet ever would. The goal of using animals in commercials is to gain as wide and attentive a viewership as possible. “Animals can be a great way to get the viewer to stop skipping through the commercials on their DVR,” said Ali Lapp, executive director of the House Majority PAC, a group that backs Democrats in House campaigns. (AP)
Matthew Moore, a 46-year-old Los Angeles man, is suing his doctor and health-care network for intentional infliction of emotional distress and libel after his doctor wrote that he suffered from “homosexual behavior” and listed it as a “chronic condition” on his medical records. (THE WASHINGTON POST)
CORSICANA, TEXAS
Teen lives at Wal-Mart for two days unnoticed A teenager lived undetected for two days at a 24-hour Wal-Mart in Texas after running away from his aunt’s home, police said Wednesday. A store employe eventually discovered the 14-yearold boy when he was spotted stepping out from behind some boxes in the baby apparel aisle. The teen has a history of running away, police said. (AP)
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
KAMENSK-SHAKHTINSKY, RUSSIA
Ukraine, Russia locked in standoff over aid convoy
Some Yazidi refugees have taken shelter in Syria after escaping a siege on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq.
Iraq leader steps down; some Yazidis still stuck BAGHDAD Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister for the past eight years, relinquished the post to his nominated replacement late Thursday, ending a political deadlock that has plunged the country into uncertainty as it fights a Sunni militant insurgency. Standing alongside fellow Dawa Party member, Haideral-Abadi, al-Maliki said he was stepping aside in favor of his “brother,” in order to “facilitate the political process and government formation.” Al-Maliki said the decision to back al-Abadi reflected his desire to “safeguard the high
interests of the country,” adding that he would not be the cause of any bloodshed. “My post is your confidence in me,” he declared in a televised address. Maliki had previously provoked a political crisis by refusing to give up his position and ordering security forces into the streets of Baghdad. He had argued that the appointment of al-Abadi on Monday to form a government was unconstitutional and had launched a legal case against the president over the perceived breach. Maliki, a Shiite, was widely accused of alienating Sunnis, prompting some of them to
support the al-Qaeda-inspired group Islamic State. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said Thursday the humanitarian crisis atop a barren hill in northern Iraq is over, eliminating the need for a risky U.S. rescue mission. However, Kurdish officials and Yazidi refugees said that thousands of desperate Yazidis remain trapped. They said those still stranded on the slopes of Mount Sinjar are mostly the elderly, sick and very young, who were too weak to continue the trek to safety in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region. (AP/THE WASHINGTON)
verbatim
“Many years ago I tried to grow a beard and couldn’t. This is a contest I can’t win and I only get into contests I can win.” SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID, D-Nev., explaining why he turned down a challenge from Nevada’s other senator,
2 Amish girls abducted Wednesday in N.Y.
Republican Dean Heller, to grow out his facial hair to celebrate the state’s 150th anniversary.
Calif. school board votes to return sex-ed textbook to publisher
Chuck Todd to replace David Gregory on NBC’s “Meet the Press”