A Saudi defendant in the U.S.S. Cole bombing case has signed a plea offer to avoid facing a death-penalty trial, attorney Allison F. Miller announced amid uncertain conditions in her office related to expected staff and budget cuts.

Ahmed al-Shara, a former rebel commander known for his radical past, has become the new president of Syria after ousting Bashar al-Assad. He is now trying to position himself as a reformer aiming for democracy.