VIDEO: Syrian Jihad Group Pledges Allegiance to Al Qaeda, Denies Merger

Al-Nusra Front denies merger with al Qaeda but pledges alliegance to Ayman al-Zawahiri

2013-04-10

By Saad Abedine and Jason Hanna CNN

A Syrian jihadist group appears to have pledged allegiance to al Qaeda's leader -- but also stressed it can achieve a Syrian Islamic state only by working with other rebels, including secularists. Read the complete article

VIDEO: Democrat Robin Kelly Wins Election to Replace Jesse Jackson Jr.

Kelly says she will push for gun control and an end to gun violence

2013-04-10

By Paul Steinhauser CNN Political Editor

Democratic nominee Robin Kelly won a special election Tuesday to fill the congressional seat left vacant by disgraced former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., CNN projected. Read the complete article

VIDEO: Gun Deal Would Expand Background Checks To Gun Shows, Internet

Sens. Pat Toomey and John Manchin announce bipartisan agreement

2013-04-10

GOP plan for filibuster expected to fail

A deal announced by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, sets up the likelihood of a major Senate debate on gun legislation starting as soon as Thursday, when the chamber is expected to overcome a GOP filibuster attempt to block the proposals Read the complete article

VIDEO: North Koreas Neighbors Anxious as Intelligence Sources Predict Multiple Weapons Launch

2013-04-10

By Jethro Mullen CNN

Countries in northeast Asia remained on edge Wednesday amid warnings from U.S. and South Korean officials that North Korea could carry out a missile test at any point Read the complete article

UK Lawmakers Pay Tribute to Former PM Margaret Thatcher

Cameron says Thatcher was “an extraordinary leader and an extraordinary woman”

2013-04-10

By Laura Smith-Spark CNN

British lawmakers have been called back early from recess for the special parliamentary session to honor Margaret Thatcher's memory. Thatcher led the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990 and was prime minister for 11 years. Read the complete article

Amnesty International Report: China, U.S. In Top 5 For Executions Worldwide

Global trend is toward abolishing death penalty

2013-04-10

By Laura Smith-Spark CNN

China, the United States and three Middle Eastern nations carried out the most executions last year, rights group Amnesty International said Wednesday, but a global trend toward ending the death penalty persisted Read the complete article

Banks Used Small Business Funds to Pay Off Bailout

Small business fund disbursed only $4 billion of the $30 billion it had originally carved out

2013-04-09

Jose Pagliery CNN Money

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- An Obama administration program is under fire, with federal investigators finding that community banks used the government's funds to pay back recession-era bailouts -- instead of lending the money to small businesses as originally intended. Read the complete article

Police: Army Recruiter Shoots Teenage Recruit, Then Self

Recruiters are prohibited from having relationships with anyone applying for military service

2013-04-09

Michael Martinez and Shannon Travis CNN

(CNN) -- Police continued their investigation Tuesday into the shooting deaths of an Army recruiter and a 17-year-old girl in Maryland that appear to be "a murder-suicide," Montgomery County police said. Read the complete article

14 Injured in Texas College Stabbing Incident, Police Say

Authorities have detained one suspect -- so far the only suspect at this point

2013-04-09

Chandler Friedman CNN

(CNN) -- Fourteen people were injured in a stabbing incident Tuesday at Lone Star College's CyFair campus in Cypress, Texas, a Harris County sheriff's spokesman said -- an incident prompting officials to urge students to take shelter. Read the complete article

National Spelling Bee Adds Vocabulary Challenge

Vocabulary evaluation will count for 50 percent of a speller's overall score

2013-04-09

CNN Staff

(CNN) -- It's not enough to be a fantastic speller anymore. A student who wants to win the National Spelling Bee must now be a whiz at vocabulary. Read the complete article