• Obama Says Transgender Bathroom Directive Based on His 'Best Interpretation of U.S. Law'

  President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the decision to direct public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice was based on the law and the best interests of the children.

  

• Six Automakers to Recall Nearly 2.5 million U.S. Vehicles Over Takata Airbags

  Six automakers said Thursday they are recalling nearly 2.5 million U.S. vehicles with defective Takata air bag inflators, documents posted with government regulators show.

  

• North Korea Says Trump is a Wise Choice for President, Slams 'Thick-Headed Hillary'

  North Korea has backed presumptive U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as "a prescient presidential candidate" who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North.

  

• Iraq Stalls ISIS-Held Fallujah Assault to Protect 'Trapped' Civilians, Including 20,000 Children

  Iraq has delayed its assault on the city of Falluja because of fears for the safety of civilians, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday, as his forces halted at the city's edge in the face of ferocious resistance from Islamic State fighters.

  

• Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Mali Raid that Killed China Peacemaker

  Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on two U.N. sites in northern Mali where a peacekeeper from China and three civilians were killed and over a dozen others wounded.