Exam delay sought amid protests over killings by police

Boston

Exam delay sought amid protests over killings by police

Minority students at three prestigious law schools say they want to delay final exams because they've been busy protesting grand jury decisions in the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers in New York City and Ferguson, Mo., and haven't had time to study. Student groups at Harvard Law School, Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia Law School say demonstrations and rallies over the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases have prevented many students from adequately preparing for exams. Cities across the country have seen large-scale demonstrations since grand juries in both cases recently decided not to indict the police officers. Officials at Harvard, Georgetown and Columbia have said students can petition to have their exams rescheduled and the requests will be considered individually, a process their policies already provided. The officials did not specify how many students have sought or been granted the exam exceptions.

France

Militants free French hostage after 3 years

A Frenchman held for more than three years by al-Qaida's North African branch was freed in Niger on Tuesday, days after two of the men implicated in his abduction were reportedly released from a prison in Mali. Negotiations among the governments of Niger, Mali and France led to freedom for Serge Lazarevic, 51, who was described by the French president as in "relatively good health" despite his long captivity. The release, greeted with joy among many in France, stands in contrast to the attempted rescue in Yemen last weekend that ended in the deaths of two hostages —an American and South African — held by al-Qaida. Lazarevic was en route to Niamey, the capital of Niger, French President Francois Hollande said as he thanked Niger's president for helping to free the Frenchman.

Washington

Dead teen's kin say ban caffeine powder

The parents of an Ohio teen who died from an overdose of caffeine powder are urging federal regulators to ban sales of the stimulant. Dennis and Katie Stiner of LaGrange, Ohio, were in Washington on Tuesday on behalf of their 18-year-old son, Logan, who died in May after ingesting about 23 times the amount of caffeine found in a typical coffee or soda drink. "Before May 27, 2014, we had never heard of 'caffeine powder.' Now we think about it every day," the Stiners said in a meeting with lawmakers. Pure powdered caffeine is largely unregulated.

Elsewhere

New York: A man with a history of mental illness entered a Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn in the middle of the night and stabbed an Israeli student in the head before being killed by police, authorities said Tuesday.

Switzerland: After a social media campaign brought in a significant cash infusion, the U.N. food agency said Tuesday in Geneva it has reinstated a food aid program that helps feed more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees.

Iraq: The Iraqi government appealed Tuesday to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for more air power and heavy weapons to battle Islamic State militants.

Times wires