Iraq violence

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Prominent Shiite leaders pushed Thursday for the removal of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as parliament prepared to start work next week on putting together a new government, under intense U.S. pressure to rapidly form a united front against an unrelenting Sunni insurgent onslaught.

Initial concern over Iraq's oil supply, in light of the ongoing fighting there, has subsided somewhat.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. teams of special forces going into Iraq after a three-year gap will face an aggressive insurgency, a splintering military and a precarious political situation as they help Iraqi security forces improve their ability to battle Sunni militants.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's crumbling so quickly: Just 2 1/2 years after American troops came home, Iraq is back in crisis.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- "Allah, please make our army victorious," rang out the despairing voice of a worshipper making his way through a crowd to reach the ornate enclosure of the Baghdad tomb of a revered Shiite imam. Others in the crystal and marble mosque somberly read from the Quran or tearfully recited supplications.

Violence in Iraq is pushing U.S. gasoline prices higher, depriving drivers of the usual price break between Memorial Day and July Fourth.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Police said Tuesday that pro-government Shiite militiamen killed nearly four dozen Sunni detainees after insurgents tried to storm a jail and free them northeast of Baghdad. The Iraqi military, however, insisted the inmates were killed when the attackers shelled the facility.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United State is deploying up to 275 military troops to Iraq to protect the U.S. Embassy and other American interests and is considering sending a contingent of special forces soldiers as Iraq struggles to repel a rampant insurgency, officials said Monday. The White House insisted anew the U.S. would not be sending combat troops and thrusting America into a new Iraq war. Read

He insists no decision has been made about running for President in 2016, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is traveling all over the country these days, meeting with GOP movers and shakers while fundraising for the Republican Governor's Association.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With Baghdad threatened by the advance of an al-Qaida-inspired insurgency, the State Department is reinforcing security at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq's capital - and sending some personnel out of town.