Comment on Obama boosts Islamic State fight, asks Europe to do the same

Jon Cooper goes so far back with Sean Payton, he remembers when the Broncos coach was the second-smartest guy in the room. “I watched him play football in high school (in Chicago), that’s how far back I go with Sean,” Cooper, associate general manager and senior draft analyst with the Ourlads scouting service, chuckled over the phone.

Dakota Hudson got no help from his friends on Monday in Minnesota. In the series opener against the Twins, the right-hander was solid, throwing 6 2/3 innings while allowing only two runs. One of those was unearned as Hudson recorded a season-high 11 ground ball outs. But Colorado’s offense no-showed again, getting shutout in a 5-0 loss at Target Field.

By David Tanis, The New York Times Summer cooking should be a breeze, more pleasure than chore. So keep it simple. Have a simple salad, something for the grill, a homey fruit dessert. If you can find someone to help with the preparation, so much the better. This menu, relying on fresh summer produce, is easy to accomplish and yields a refreshingly light, flavorful meal. For an utterly summery first course, consider a shaved zucchini salad.

By HYUNG-JIN KIM (Associated Press) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops briefly violated the tense border earlier this week, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, as the rivals are embroiled in Cold War-style campaigns like balloon launches and propaganda broadcasts. Bloodshed and violent confrontations have occasionally occurred at the Koreas’ heavily fortified border, called the Demilitarized Zone.

Prosecutors on Friday dropped all charges against a former Monarch Casino Resort and Spa employee who took $500,000 in cash from the casino, conceding that the woman was scammed by likely international thieves. During a court hearing Friday, prosecutors with the First Judicial District Attorney’s office said an extensive investigation into the theft revealed the casino employee fell victim to a likely international conspiracy to scam casino employees into removing money from the casino and delivering that money to thieves, and that similar schemes were perpetrated across the U.

NEW YORK — Donald Trump completed his mandatory presentencing interview Monday after less than 30 minutes of routine, uneventful questions and answers, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. The former president was quizzed by a New York City probation officer for a report, required by law, that trial judge Juan M.