U.S. seeks new Syrian rebel leadership
By Jamie Crawford
An umbrella group that fashions itself the head of Syria's political opposition should no longer be considered the "visible leader" of efforts to form a government to replace Bashar al-Assad, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday.
Clinton said the Syrian National Council, which is made up mostly of Syrian expatriates cannot alone shape the future of Syria apart from those fighting and dying inside the country amid a civil war that has claimed more than 30,000 lives.
"This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes, but have in many instances not been in Syria for 20, 30 or 40 years," Clinton said during a joint news conference with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic in Zagreb. "There has to be a representation of those who are on the front lines fighting and dying today."
Her remarks come as preparations are underway for Arab League-sponsored meetings next week in Doha, Qatar, that will focus on the composition of a post-Assad political leadership in Syria.
Military helps pump water, restore power
By Jennifer Rizzo
The U.S. military is continuing to provide support in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, focusing particularly on pumping water out of flooded areas and restoring power.
In New York, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to deploy 100 high-volume water pumps, supplementing 100 units provided by the Defense Department.
More than 200 power generators have been set up in New York and New Jersey. They will be deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as needed.
According to the Pentagon, approximately 10,000 National Guard forces have been activated to support these states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.
Navy moving helicopter carriers to New York and New Jersey coasts
By Senior Producer Mike Mount
The U.S. Navy moved three ships toward New York and New Jersey in case the storm-struck states ask for help, officials said on Wednesday
Navy spokesman Lt. Commander Chris Servello said there has been no official request for assistance from the amphibious landing ships that can launch helicopters, make fresh water and haul critical supplies and other aid.
Disasters were declared for New Jersey and New York following Superstorm Sandy. The New Jersey shore area and New York City, especially, dealt with severe flooding and power outages. Fallen trees and power lines blocked roads and ravaged homes and other buildings. Transit systems were idle.
On the front lines of history: USS Enterprise on its last deployment
By Larry Shaughnessy
The U.S. Navy has had eight ships named the Enterprise. The first was commandeered from the British in the early stages of the Revolutionary War by Benedict Arnold, before the America even had a navy and before he became America's most notorious traitor.
The seventh Enterprise was an aircraft carrier and a mainstay of the Navy's war in the Pacific during World War II. Three times the Japanese Navy said it had sunk "The Grey Ghost," but the Enterprise survived and is regarded as the most decorated warship in U.S. history.
But when the eighth USS Enterprise put to sea in 1962, it already had a place in American military history.
The ship's design replaced conventional boilers that had powered warships for decades with eight reactors, making it the world's first nuclear-powered carrier. It was longer, taller and faster than any warship the United States had ever launched.
A young fighter pilot named John McCain knew something about Naval history. Both his father and grandfather had been four-star admirals. He had previously served aboard the World War II-era carrier USS Interpid before ordered to the Navy's state of the art warship.
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'Heroic' Iran, 'resistive' Syria behind Sandy, pro-Assad group claims
By Saad Abedine
When it comes to natural disasters, the divide between assumption and reality can be stark. Or downright absurd.
Hours after Superstorm Sandy howled its way through the East Coast this week, unleashing a fatal trail of destruction, global reactions included outpouring of sympathy and support.
But not in Syria, where some pro-government supporters welcomed the superstorm when it hit Monday, claiming the natural disaster is the result of high-tech secret engineering.
The superstorm killed dozens across the U.S. East Coast as it ravaged the region with heavy rains, snow and flooding. Millions remain without power as it swirls north.
"Sources confirmed to us that Hurricane Sandy that is slamming the U.S. was set off by highly advanced technologies developed by the heroic Iranian regime that supports the resistance, with coordination of our resistive Syrian regime," pro-government group News Network of the Syrian Armed Forces said in a Facebook posting.
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