BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Slovakia is under fire for its preference to grant asylum to migrants who are Christians. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland says in a Thursday statement on Twitter: “Refusing refugees on the grounds of their religion is blatant discrimination,” adding “Slovakia should reverse its position.” Slovakia, …

EUFAULA, Ala. – Authorities say an alligator pulled from a lake in southeast Alabama weighs an estimated 920 pounds. AL.com (http://bit.ly/1Js66AM ) reports that the 13-foot, 6-inch gator was captured in Lake Eufaula on Aug. 14. Authorities say the alligator was caught by Scott Evans of Center Point, Alabama, and …

BANGKOK – Bangkok city hall has rejected criticism from the national police chief, who said the probe into last week’s deadly bombing has been hindered by broken security cameras. The police chief said Monday that 15 out of 20 security cameras along the main suspect’s getaway path were broken, leaving …

NEW YORK – Two women have been arrested after police say they attacked each other as their flight arrived at New York’s Kennedy Airport from Jamaica. Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo says it happened at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. He says the dispute started after a 61-year-old passenger at a window …

Armed with a handful of warmed-over sermons and big dreams to grow a small church, the newly ordained Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., in May of 1954. According to biographer Richard Lischer, King came to Dexter with a 39-point plan …

VIENNA – Authorities say a small plane has crashed at an air show in southern Austria, fatally injuring the pilot. The accident happened near the town of Freisach in the southern province of Carinthia on Sunday. Police spokesman Markus Dexl told the Austria Press Agency that the pilot lost control …

BRUSSELS – Desperate to halt the flow of migrants fleeing conflict or poverty, some European countries have begun erecting fences and tightening border controls. But the crackdown, as people leave Greece and Italy to move deeper into the European Union, has raised questions about whether Europe’s passport-free area is viable. …

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Opening statements are near in the trial of an Alabama police officer accused of manhandling an Indian grandfather earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala told 50 potential jurors to return to court Wednesday morning in Huntsville for final jury selection. Opening statements could begin soon …

Political junkies are focused on Donald Trump, but Hillary Clinton’s weakness remains a huge story. Her support among Iowa’s likely Democratic caucusgoers has dropped to 37%, down 20 points since May, according to an Aug. 26 Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll. Meanwhile, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is up 16 points …

HYDERABAD, India – Lightning has killed 22 people, mostly farm laborers working in fields, across the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The state’s chief minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, says the fatalities occurred Sunday evening when thunderstorms and rain lashed eight districts in Andhra Pradesh. A district cricket official says …