12 Killed and 62 Wounded in Blast at Sunni Mosque

Twelve people were killed and sixty-two wounded when an explosion tore through a Sunni mosque.

Twenty-five of the wounded are in critical condition.

Friday's attack occurred during midday prayers at the Abu Bakr al-Sideeq mosque, in Wajihiyah, Iraq.

Officials have not released what kind of bombing the attack was. 

Nor has anyone claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The Diyala province, has long been one of the most restive areas of Iraq.

Tensions have grown increasingly strained as the Syrian civil war pushes on divisions between Shiites and Sunnis.

Interstate 70 Closing for Bridge Replacement

Motorists driving through Denver will have to be wary as a stretch of Interstate 70 will be closed, over the weekend.

From Friday evening until early Monday morning a stretch from Interstate 25 to Federal Boulevard will be shut down.

Crews will be demolish the bridge at Pecos Street and moving the new bridge into place and assembling it.

The demolition and assembly should only take about seventeen total hours, however clean up and safety check will take longer.

Detours will be set up, but drivers should expect significant delays, in the area.

Colorado Recall Elections Set for September 10

Morse, left, Giron, right

Governor Hickenlooper set September 10 as the date for recall elections in Colorado.

Senate President John Morse, of Colorado Springs, and Senator Angela Giron, of Pueblo, are facing recall challenges.

Both were big supporters and key in the passage of restrictive gun laws, that many Coloradans feel are unConstitutional.

Morse and Giron are continuing to fight the validity of the recalls, but on Thursday Denver District Court Robert Hyatt refused to stop the recall elections.

Recall petitions are underway for several other state senators, but only the two have received enough signatures and been validated.

6,000 Flee From Mountain Fire

Six thousand people have been evacuated from the San Jacinto Mountains, in Southern California.

Residents of several towns, resorts, and camp grounds have been ordered out due to the Mountain Fire.

At least twenty-seven structures, including homes, have been burnt by the fire, which is raging out of control.

Over twenty-three thousand acres have been burned by the fire, which began on Monday.

Nearly three thousand firefighters are being aided by seventeen helicopters and ten tankers in battling the blaze.

Worries are that if it continues it's spread north, the town of Palm Springs will have to be evacuated.

The southern edge of town now lies less than two miles from the flames.

Detroit Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

The city of Detroit has officially filed for bankruptcy protection with the federal government.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced the move citing mismanagement by city officials, over the last several decades.

Snyder said that all other options had been exhausted and that bankruptcy was the only way for the city to move forward.
Detroit is not the first US city to file for bankruptcy, but is by far the largest to do so.

It also has the largest amount of debt, of any city that has filed, with debt nearing twenty billion dollars.

Person May Have Gone Over Niagara Falls

Canadian officials believe that a person was swept over Niagara Falls, early Thursday morning.

According to witnesses someone was seen in the river shortly after midnight.

The US Coast Guard joined in the search, but no person was found.

A thermal imaging device was unable to find a body under the waters.

Officials are asking for any witnesses that may have seen more to come forward.

Searching was expected to last into Friday.

Coelho Survives No Confidence Vote

Portugal's prime minister survived a no confidence vote, on Thursday.

With a vote of one hundred thirty-one over eighty-seven, Pedro Coelho kept his spot.

He is trying to keep an early election from occurring, and has til Sunday to make a deal with other major parties.

Coelho's popularity is at an all time low, with many upset over his government's austerity measures.

The measures have been necessary to continue receiving loans from the IMF and EU, and to keep Portugal out of bankruptcy.

Kashmir Violence Leaves 4 Dead, 44 Injured

Protests began on Thursday morning, in Ramban district of Kashmir, India, after a local imam was reportedly pushed around by security forces, on Wednesday night.

The protesters attacked an outpost of the security forces, in Gool.

Security forces responded by firing live rounds into the mob, killing four and wounding forty-four.

News of the deaths caused protests to spread throughout the region.

Local leaders are planning protests to continue for at least the next three days.
The government has responded by cutting the region off from the rest of the world and ordering a curfew.

US Army: Staff Sergeant Sonny C. Zimmerman

Staff Sergeant Sonny C. Zimmerman, twenty-five of Waynesfield, Ohio, died on July 16.

He was killed when a rocket propelled grenade struck his vehicle, in Mushaka, Afghanistan.

Zimmerman was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

His decorations include: Purple Heart, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, two Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, three Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, three Overseas Ribbons, NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Air Assault Badge.

Greek Parliament Passes More Austerity Measures

Thousands of Greeks to the streets of Athens to protests parliament's passage of the latest austerity measures.

Under the latest measures, twenty-five thousand government workers will be laid off, in eight months.

Most of those laid off will be teachers and city police.

Greece needed to pass the bill in order to receive bailout money from the EU.

To try and ease tensions, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced that one of Greece's taxes will be lowered from twenty-three down thirteen percent.

However, Samaras warned that if tax evasion continues, he will raise the tax back up.