Jessica Chasmar

South Korea stages its largest military parade in a decade

South Korea staged its largest military parade in a decade on Tuesday at an air base south of Seoul as President Park Geun-Hye warned of the "grave" nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

October 2, 2013

Syrian Islamists raid Aramaic-speaking Christian town of Sednaya: report

Weeks after al-Qaeda-linked rebels seized the Christian town of Maaloula in northwest Syria, they now have captured Sednaya, an Aramaic-speaking village to the north of Damascus.

October 2, 2013

Palestinian Authority legalizes Sharia-compliant online dating

The Palestinian Authority's Supreme Fatwa Council ruled Tuesday that men and women can now date online for the purpose of marriage, The Jerusalem Post reported.

October 2, 2013

Piers Morgan’s silver lining: Fewer gun permits issued amid shutdown

CNN host Piers Morgan found a silver lining amid the government shutdown this week, saying it's "excellent" that fewer gun permits will be issued as a result.

October 2, 2013

Closed WWII memorial funded ‘almost entirely by private contributions’

Busloads of World War II veterans broke through the barricades at the National World War II Memorial in Washington on Tuesday after the National Park Service closed all of its national parks and memorials because of the federal government shutdown.

October 2, 2013

New York police search for parachutists who landed near Ground Zero

New York police are searching for two men who reportedly parachuted onto a lower Manhattan street near Ground Zero early Monday morning and then fled.

October 1, 2013

Man wielding scissors stabs 5, including toddler, in Manhattan park

A man wielding scissors went on a rampage in a popular Manhattan park Tuesday morning, slashing a 2-year-old boy, his father and three other people in a series of random attacks in less than 10 minutes, a local NBC affiliate reported.

October 1, 2013

9 North Korean defectors may have been executed upon return: report

Nine young North Korean defectors may have been executed upon their return from Laos, according to several media reports.

October 1, 2013

Vice President Biden accidentally shows press the cover of codeword-classified document

Vice President Joseph R. Biden appeared Monday to have absent-mindedly stood in front of reporters revealing the cover of a codeword-classified document.

October 1, 2013

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews: ‘I think Ted Cruz is brilliant’

After once comparing Sen. Ted Cruz to a Nazi sympathizer and a terrorist, MSNBC host Chris Matthews said Tuesday that "the President's met his match" with the "brilliant" Republican.

October 1, 2013

Georgia school district considers assault-style rifles

A northeast Georgia school district is considering a plan that would allow schools to store Colt 6920 M4 carbine rifles in safes to help defend against a potential attack.

October 1, 2013

Nashville fencing coach foils robbery with sword

A fencing coach foiled a robbery Tuesday after he chased down a couple of thieves with his sword in Nashville, Tenn., a local television station reported.

October 1, 2013

‘Truckers Ride For The Constitution’ aims to shut down D.C. further

As thousands of federal employees wonder where their next paycheck is coming from amid a government shutdown, around 3,000 truckers plan to descend on Washington, D.C., in an effort to shut it down further by not hauling freight for a whole weekend.

October 1, 2013

Sen. John McCain: ‘Obamacare is falling apart before our eyes’

Sen. John McCain on Tuesday blasted Obamacare as "disastrous for the American people" but said infighting between Republicans is what has dominated the news.

October 1, 2013

Donald Trump: ‘Obamacare will shut down this country’

Donald Trump said Monday that while the threat of a governmental shutdown may not be as "catastrophic" as congressional members are making it, Obamacare runs the real threat of shutting down the entire nation.

September 30, 2013

CEO, son believed to be in ‘unsurvivable’ Calif. plane crash

A business jet suffered an "unsurvivable crash" at the Santa Monica Airport on Sunday, and the vice president of the company believes the CEO and his son may have been on board.

September 30, 2013

Video shows al Qaeda hoisting flag atop Syrian Catholic church

Video footage released by a news outlet in Dubai shows militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an umbrella organization of Iraqi insurgent groups operating in Syria, raising the al Qaeda flag above the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of the Lady of the Annunciation in the northern Syrian city of al-Raqqa.

September 30, 2013

NYC’s obesity rate up 25 percent since Michael Bloomberg became mayor

New York City's obesity rate among adults has skyrocketed 25 percent since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office in 2002, city Health Department figures show.

September 30, 2013

Sandy Hook memorial bell stolen from New York park

Police are asking for any information that could lead them to the person responsible for stealing a bell dedicated to those who died in Connecticut's Sandy Hook school massacre from a newly built playground in Nassau County, New York.

September 30, 2013

Man promoting prostitution website ruins marathoner Kipsang’s big moment

Just as Kenyan Wilson Kipsang was about to plow through the marathon world record to the Berlin title on Sunday, a spectator promoting a prostitution website snuck onto the course and crossed the finish line first.

September 30, 2013