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BERLIN - German parties' newly elected parliamentary groups are holding their first meetings after an election that left Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc weakened but still on top. It now faces a complicated task of forming a coalition government and the prospect of robust opposition from both the right and left. Source

JERUSALEM - Israeli police and medical services say an attacker has opened fire at the entrance to a town outside Jerusalem, killing three Israelis and critically wounding a fourth, in one of the deadliest attacks in a two-year spate of violence. Source

CAIRO - The Iraqi Kurds' independence referendum could mean further instability in the Middle East, where formal borders have remained in place for decades but recent conflicts have resulted in several de facto partitions. The vote is not binding, and opposition from the international community, as well as Iraq and its neighbours, makes any formal separation unlikely. Source

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican government officials are still tallying up the economic losses of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that caused widespread damage in the capital, but for the manager of a downtown restaurant it is already all too clear. Source

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio man convicted of killing three down-and-out men lured by fake Craigslist job offers is questioning the strength of the evidence against him. Lawyers for Richard Beasley say it doesn't make sense that someone would go to such lengths to rob destitute men with little or no money. Source

Most children and teens shouldn't consume sports and energy drinks, and the products should no longer be marketed to them, the Canadian Paediatric Society says. In a new position statement released Tuesday, the society said sports drinks are high in sugar, which contributes to the obesity epidemic as well as dental cavities. Source

WASHINGTON - Longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone says there is "not one shred of evidence" that he was involved with Russian interference in the 2016 election. Stone is defending himself in a lengthy statement released ahead of a closed-door appearance before the House intelligence committee Tuesday. Source

LAS VEGAS — The sister of a murder victim was hit by a car Monday on a sidewalk outside the Las Vegas courthouse where the man charged in the killing is standing trial and she is on a list of potential witnesses, authorities said. Source

SALT LAKE CITY - Two officers under investigation in the rough arrest of a nurse have been unfairly made into pariahs after body-camera footage got widespread attention online, a Utah police union said Monday. The Salt Lake Police Association said in a letter to the mayor and police chief that it is "extremely concerned and dismayed" about handling that has "corrupted" the high-profile investigation, The Deseret News reported. Source

FRESNO, Calif. — Smoke filled the cabin of an Allegiant Air jet after it landed at a California airport on Monday, forcing coughing passengers to cover their faces with shirts and firefighters to board the plane, authorities said. Source