Q: Obama’s Drone Revamp Gives Military Bigger Responsibility, Keeps CIA Role

WASHINGTON—A long- promised plan by President Barack Obama to shift control of drone campaigns around the world gives the U.S. military more responsibility but retains a Central Intelligence Agency role in the targeted-killing program, according to officials briefed on the arrangement.

Mr. Obama’s plan settles a three-year turf battle among the CIA, the Pentagon and a divided Congress over whether the time has come to scale back the...

A: A long promised plan by President Barack Obama to shift control of U.S. drone campaigns around the world gives the U.S. military an expanded responsibility, but retains a Central Intelligence Agency role, according to officials briefed on the secret arrangement.


Q: Seven dead, dozens injured in fiery New York train crash

Seven people have been killed and a carriage has been gutted by fire after a packed commuter train New York collided with a car at a rail crossing, sparking a massive blaze.

The fatalities include six passengers and the driver of a Jeep Cherokee, who became trapped between the boom gates on either side of the crossing at Valhalla.

Authorities say the female driver of the Jeep had stopped on the tracks to inspect the back of her vehicle, possibly after it was struck by one of the gates; when she got back into the car, she was unable to get out of the way in time.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo described the incident as "truly an ugly, brutal sight," when he arrived on the scene around 11pm local time.

Seven are dead after a train crashed into a car in New York. (bizzz23, Instagram)

"She was stopped on the tracks with the gates down," he said.

"The third rail of the track came up from the explosion and went right through the car, so it is truly a devastatingly ugly situation to see," he said.

"You have seven people who started out today to go about their business and aren’t going to be making it home tonight."

The governor refused to speculate on witness claims that the gates had been malfunctioning earlier.

An additional 12 people were injured in the crash, which occurred on the Harlem line around 6:30pm.

Hundreds of commuters were evacuated as authorities launched a massive emergency response.

Finance company manager David Rothenberg was riding in the second car; he peered down the train corridor after feeling a "slight bump."

“There was a big explosion and a big fireball, the train car was in flames,” he told the New York Daily News.

“It was a scary moment. I saw the fireball and smelled gasoline. I was just fearful.”

Another witness recounted his terror to ABC News.

"I was trapped. You know there was people in front of me and behind me and I was trapped in the middle of a car and it was getting very hot," he said.

"All the air was turned off so there was no circulation so it was definitely scary, especially when people are walking by on the outside and they said, 'the train's on fire, there's a fire'."

Dozens of evacuees were taken to a nearby rock climbing gym where they were given shelter; others simply walked home, with some taken to hospital from there, NBC reports.

Transit authorities have told commuters in the area to expect delays in the coming days.

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A: At least one carriage of a packed commuter train has been destroyed by fire in New York after it hit at least one vehicle on the tracks in Valhalla just after 8am.


Q: Eric Dinallo Wins Straw Poll for Attorney General

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Eric R. Dinallo romped to victory in a straw poll of rural Democratic leaders on Saturday, defeating some more experienced campaigners in the first major battle leading up to the Democratic primary for attorney general.

The current attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, who is widely expected to run for governor but has not formally declared his candidacy, did not enter the straw poll for governor, held here at the annual meeting of the Democratic Rural Conference. He had already left the conference when the results were announced, yet he was nominated anyway, by acclamation.

The vote capped months of aggressive campaigning by Mr. Dinallo, a Brooklyn native and former state insurance superintendent, who was favored to win the poll. Mr. Dinallo, who had been endorsed by more than 20 upstate county leaders, won 166 votes, nearly as many as all the other contenders combined.

The second-place finisher was Kathleen M. Rice, the Nassau County district attorney, who received 79 votes. Sean Coffey, a Manhattan trial lawyer and first-time candidate, came in third, with 52. He was followed by Eric T. Schneiderman, a state senator from Manhattan, with 33 votes, and Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky of Westchester County, with 22.

“I’m very, very happy,” Mr. Dinallo said. “As a first-time candidate, I can’t imagine a better outcome, a better momentum for the campaign.”

Thomas J. Poelker, chairman of the Greene County Democratic Committee, took to the podium to nominate Mr. Cuomo. “Republicans want him to announce and jump into the political fray,” he said. “I say, let them fight amongst themselves.”

Through a spokesman, Mr. Cuomo issued a statement saying he was gratified by the Democratic group’s “show of faith and deeply appreciates its continued support.”

Though he was not in the room during the straw poll, Mr. Cuomo’s presence was keenly felt as talk swirled at the conference that he favored Ms. Rice, a woman from a suburban county, as the Democratic nominee.

“Andrew Cuomo is neutral right now but has said he’s going to openly back someone at some point,” said Josh Vlasto, a Cuomo spokesman. “When he does, it will be obvious to all.”

The rural conference is made up of Democratic officials from 47 low-population counties that have historically been Republican bastions. For New York Democrats, the straw poll is one part New Hampshire primary, one part Iowa caucuses. Although most votes in the Sept. 14 primary will be cast downstate, this poll, like New Hampshire and Iowa in the presidential contests, is an election year’s first real test of political strength. And it has rules confusing enough that several candidates brought lawyers to help decipher them.

In recent years, the contest has also been the scene of notable surprises: Eliot Spitzer won the poll as an underdog during his successful 1998 bid for attorney general, and Mr. Cuomo scored an upset during his unsuccessful 2002 campaign for governor. In 2006, he won the straw poll for attorney general and went on to win the primary and the general election.

A:
Eric R. Dinallo, a former state insurance superintendent, defeated four rivals in a vote by members of the Democratic Rural Conference.