Bloomberg The US Defense Department is urging Turkey and Kurdish forces in Syria to quit firing at each other as reports of fresh violence between the two parties threaten their efforts to counter IS. “We are concerned about the situation north of Aleppo and are working to de-escalate tensions on all sides,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “We have …

Greenville / AP Republican White House hopefuls called for President Barack Obama to step aside and allow his successor to nominate the next Supreme Court justice, in a debate jolted by the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. Only Jeb Bush said Obama had “every right” to nominate a justice during his final year in office. The former Florida governor …

JIM GOMEZ / AP With the symbolic handshakes and unity photo-op, President Barack Obama’s high-profile summit with Southeast Asian leaders in California this week aims to step up pressure against China’s increasingly worrisome behavior in disputed waters. Forging a common front and encouraging bolder rhetoric against Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, however, will be a challenge among the …