Taliban Attacks US Consulate in Herat

Nine people were killed when Taliban forces attacked the US consulate in Herat, Afghanistan.

Friday's attack began in the morning when two suicide car bombers blew up both their vehicles, outside the consulate.

The explosions were followed by gunmen attacking the compound.

US security forces were able to keep them from entering the consulate's grounds, without loss to themselves.

An Afghan police officer and security guard were among the victims, of the attack, with the other seven being the attackers themselves.

At least a dozen more were injured by either the explosion or the following gun fight.

In a separate incident, four police officers and three Afghan army personnel were injured when a suicide car bomber approached their checkpoint, in Paktika province.

They were suspicious of the vehicle and opened fire when the driver refused to stop.

The driver then detonated his explosive laden vehicle before reaching the checkpoint.

3 Dead, Thousands Evacuated or Cut Off by Colorado Floods

Severe flooding has struck after heavy rains have pummeled Colorado for days. Several areas saw more than an inch of rain per hour, throughout Thursday. The rain is expected to continue through at least Friday, bringing several more inches.

Three people have died, one is missing, and hundreds have been evacuated. The three deaths occurred in Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Jamestown; while the missing person is from Boulder County. Emergency personnel were kept busy, on Thursday, performing water rescues.

Entire towns, including Boulder, Estes Park, and Lyons have been cut off. The National Guard is sending in raised vehicles to rescue the residents of Lyons. Low visibility has made helicopter flights impossible, limiting rescue efforts to the ground. However highways and city roads have been destroyed by the waters or covered by standing water and mudslides. Road closures continue to expand as they become impassable. For their own safety, law enforcement is asking the public to avoid being on the roads.

Authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of the Irondale neighborhood, in Commerce City, as the dam at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge was threatening to break. More than one hundred houses are part of that evacuation. Residents near the Olympus Dam, near Estes Park, were also forced to evacuate, due to concerns about their safety. Jefferson County ordered the evacuation of Leyden, due to overflow from the Leyden Dam. The Meadow Lake Dam, in Larimer County, burst but did not directly touch a populated area. Dams in several other locations are over flowing.

Multiple buildings in Jamestown and Boulder collapsed, including some on the CU campus. At least a quarter of the campus's buildings were damaged by the waters. The campus was closed on Thursday and will remain so, on Friday. Aurora, Boulder Valley, Cherry Creek, St. Vrain, and Thompson School Districts will all be closed on Friday. Other districts are considering closing. The United States Postal Service has also declared several areas will not be receiving mail on Friday, most of those areas did not get any on Thursday, either.

Power is out for thousands of Coloradans. In some areas cell towers have been knocked down. Estes Park was completely cut off as their land lines were taken out by the waters, as well. This left short wave radio the only way to communicate to the outside world. Concerns are high that drinking water might become contaminated, due to flooding. For now, only the town of Lyons has reported contamination and advising residents to boil water before drinking it.

California's Clover Fire Kills 1, Burns 68 Homes

Sixty-eight homes and one hundred and twenty-eight other buildings have been burned down by the Clover Fire, in northern California.

A body of a man was found in one of the burnt out homes.

Another three hundred houses are still threatened and remain evacuated.

The eight thousand acre fire is now sixty-five percent contained.

Six tankers, seven bulldozers, and eleven hundred firefighters are battling the blaze.

New Jersey's Boardwalk Burns

A stretch of New Jersey's boardwalk caught fire on Thursday afternoon.

Despite six alarms being called out, the fire is still burning Thursday night.

Four blocks worth of buildings have caught fire and it continues to spread as winds push it down the coast.

The flames were beginning to spread into parts of the boardwalk being reconstructed, after they were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Bulldozers have been brought in to knock down a part of the boardwalk in hopes of creating a fire line.

Massachusetts Schools Closed After 22 Slip and Fall

Amherst Regional Schools, in Massachusetts, were closed on Thursday, due to twenty-two accidents, on Wednesday.

Over the summer the schools had their floors waxed, then Wednesday's hot weather caused the wax to begin melting.

This caused the floors to be extremely slippery and twenty-two people fell due to them.

No one was seriously injured, but the district wanted to be safe on Thursday.

There was no word on whether they'll be open on Friday, at this time.

Mount Graylock Regional Schools closed early, on Wednesday, due to the same issue, but were open on Thursday.

Thousands in Cuba Protest Imprisonment of Spies by the US

Thousands of Cubans gathered in Havana to protest the continued imprisonment of five Cubans, in the US.

They waved yellow balloons, wore yellow clothes, and tied yellow ribbons to the their homes and trees.

The five, initially six, were arrested on September 12, 1998 and were convicted of spying on US military facilities and exile groups.

Cuba has always denied that they were spies, but acknowledged they were keeping an eyes on exiles.

One of the six spies was released and deported to Cuba, in 2011, after he renounced his US citizenship.

Another is set for release in February, however the other four have no set release date, at this time.

Police in Colombia Arrest Woman 'Pregnant with Cocaine'

Colombian police arrested a Canadian woman who was trying to smuggle out sixty thousand dollars worth of cocaine.

The woman had hid the cocaine inside a latex belly and was pretending to be pregnant.

She was caught at Bogota's airport, when a police woman asked her how far along she was and she became irate.

The officer then felt her belly and realized it was a fake.

Officials say the woman will face up to eight years in jail for drug trafficking.

Egypt Extends State of Emergency

Thursday saw Egypt's government announce the extension of the state of emergency.

The state of emergency was declared on August 14 and was set for one month.

However, due to continued security issues in the Sinai and the Muslim Brotherhood still stirring up trouble in the cities the government felt the extension necessary.

It will now go though November 12.

Part of the state of emergency includes a curfew.

CIA and US State Department Arming Rebels in Syria

For the past two weeks Syrian rebel forces have been receiving a new source of supply.

In an effort to help the rebels win their fight, the CIA has been delivering weapons to them.

The US State Department is also helping them by giving them equipment, including vehicles.

These government agencies are doing this despite the known fact that Al Qaeda members make up a large part of the rebel forces.

According to the CIA, none of the weapons have been American made.

However, rebel forces say that most of them say made in the USA.

The weapons include rifles, machine guns, and anti tank weapons, as well as ammunition.

Philippines Send More Troops to Rebel Standoff

The standoff between Filipino troops and rebels carried through it's fourth day.

Around one hundred and eighty members of the Moro National Liberation Front are holding at least one hundred and sixty hostages, in Zamboanga City.

They infiltrated the city on Monday, demanding greater autonomy for the region.

Military forces moved in and surrounded the five parts of the city that the MNLF was able to barricade themselves into.

The government continues to send more troops, to the area.

Nine people have been killed in the confrontation.