The Brief

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Ahmed Gomaa—Xinhua Press/Corbi

Noise on Jet Crash Recording

A noise was heard in the last second of the cockpit voice recording from the Russian plane that crashed last week, the head of the joint investigation team said, but he cautioned it was still too early to draw conclusions on what downed the flight

A woman shows her inked finger after casting her ballot during general elections in Yangon

Burma Votes in Historic Elections

Millions of Burmese snaked into polling booths Sunday to cast their vote in what are shaping up to be the Southeast Asian nation's freest elections for 25 years. But many wonder whether the ballot will be clean enough to past international muster

Massive Sexting Ring Stuns Colorado High School

Parents in a small town in Colorado are stunned after authorities revealed a sexting ring involving hundreds of nude photographs of least 100 students believed to attend the town's high school and middle school

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to guests at a campaign event on November 3, 2015 in Coralville, Iowa.

Hillary Clinton Threads the Needle at Democratic Forum

Hillary Clinton tried at a Democratic forum in South Carolina Friday to soften her rhetoric on subjects such as the death penalty and foreign policy while avoiding giving any answers that would alienate a general electorate.

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Sierra Leone Declared Free of Ebola Transmissions

The World Health Organization declared Sierra Leone free from Ebola transmissions as West Africa battles to stamp out the deadly virus that is holding on in neighboring Guinea. Nearly 4,000 people have died in Sierra Leone of Ebola since the outbreak began

Adnan Syed

Serial's Adnan Syed Will Have Case Re-Evaluated

A judge granted the subject of the Serial podcast, who is jailed for murder, post-conviction proceedings that will add evidence and testimony that could provide an alibi and change the timeline presented at trial

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Leaders of China and Taiwan Meet for the First Time

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou met in a meticulously choreographed event in Singapore, the first ever meeting of leaders between the states since the end of a civil war in 1949

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Catalonia Independence Vote Could Threaten E.U. Unity

A separatist movement in Spain could inspire others, threatening European integration that has already been weakened in recent years over the economic crisis, fiscal problems in Greece, and the looming possibility that Britain might leave the E.U

A small group of activists gather to celebrate the Obama administration's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, outside the White House in Washington

Environmentalists Prep for Next Fight After Keystone Win

President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline marks the end of seven years of activism by environmentalists across the country. But, between celebrations, activists painted the decision as just the beginning of a new era of advocacy

GOP Presidential Candidate Ben Carson Campaigns In Colorado Day After Party's Third Debate

Ben Carson Lashes Out at West Point Coverage

Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson is lashing out at reporters for questioning his biography and complaining about what he sees as uneven media coverage, arguing that President Obama did not face a similar vetting

Activists Demonstrate Against Police Brutality

Quentin Tarantino Tells Cops to Stop Shielding Their Own

As police unions around the country continue to call out Quentin Tarantino, the director himself is hitting back. “If they were saying what I said and they had a problem with that, well then now we’re actually talking about the problem,” he said