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Kerry Edges out Clinton in U.S. Diplo-Miles Race

Hillary Clinton often boasts of her record globetrotting mileage as U.S. secretary of state, but she has been bested by an even more frequent flier: her successor John Kerry, officials said Monday.

According to a State Department tally, Kerry has now traveled 957,744 miles (1.541 million kilometers) since taking office in February 2013.

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U.S. Supreme Court Gives Nod to Assault Weapons Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared on Monday to back lawmakers who want to restrict the type of guns such as semi-automatic assault weapons used in recent mass shootings.

In a 7-2 vote, the high court's justices refused to take up a challenge to a Chicago suburb's ban on the sale or possession of semi-automatic weapons or high-capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

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Trump's Latest Tirade: Bar Muslims from Entering U.S.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump called Monday for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States, unleashing some of the most provocative and divisive remarks of his controversial presidential campaign.

The stunning statement followed last week's mass shooting in California by a Muslim couple believed to have been radicalized by extremists, and landed with a thunderclap just as fellow presidential candidates were contemplating ways to improve national security.

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U.S. Deploys P-8 Poseidon Spy Plane in Singapore amid South China Sea Row

The United States has deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane in Singapore for the first time ever, both countries said, amid simmering regional tensions over Beijing's island-building in the disputed South China Sea.

China is locked in a territorial dispute with four Southeast Asian countries -- including Washington allies Vietnam and the Philippines -- and the U.S. in October sent a warship near the disputed Spratly Islands chain, arguing for its right to freedom of navigation.  

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Three Injured in Blast at Moscow Bus Stop

Three people were injured on Monday night when an improvised explosive device detonated at a Moscow bus stop, TASS state news agency said.

Police in the Russian capital confirmed to AFP that "an explosion took place at a bus stop on Pokrovka Road," in the city center.

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FBI Says Both California Shooters 'Radicalized for Quite Some Time'

The husband and wife who killed 14 people in last week's shooting rampage in California were both radicalized and "for quite some time," the FBI official in charge of the investigation said Monday.

David Bowdich, the FBI's assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles field office, said investigators were still trying to determine how and by whom Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik were radicalized before the December 2 shooting.

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Kerry Says Venezuelan Voters Showed 'Overwhelming Desire for Change'

A clear victory for Venezuela's opposition in weekend elections showed that voters had an "overwhelming desire for a change," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, calling for dialogue in the oil-rich, cash-poor country.

"The United States congratulates the people of Venezuela for making their voices heard in a peaceful and democratic way on election day," Kerry said in a statement.

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German Court Sentences Two Returning IS Jihadists to Jail

Two former Islamic State jihadists, including a would-be suicide bomber, were sentenced to jail by a German court Monday on charges of involvement in a terrorist group.

Ayoub B., 27, was given four years and three months, while Ebrahim H. B., 26, was handed a conviction of three years.

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'9/11 Five' Head Back to Court, though Trial Still Distant

The five men accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks -- including the alleged mastermind -- are this week due back in U.S. military court, though their prospects for an actual trial remain elusive.

More than 14 years after al-Qaida hijackers seized four passenger jets and killed about 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, the "9/11 Five" who allegedly helped hatch the plot remain holed up in the U.S. military's prison at Guantanamo Bay in southeastern Cuba.

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Work Starts on Austria-Slovenia Border Fence

Work began in Austria on Monday on a fence at a crossing point used by migrants on the border with Slovenia, a first in Europe's Schengen zone, an AFP photographer said.

Workers were driving metal posts into the ground at Spielfeld in southern Austria ready to be connected by wire fencing, rolls of which were ready on the ground.

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