by Jacob Solis

INTERNATIONAL

22 dead after Doctors Without Borders hospital bombed in Afghanistan

Twenty-two were left dead and 37 were wounded after a bomb struck a hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz on Saturday, Oct. 3. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, better known in the U.S. as Doctors Without Borders, 12 of the dead were staff and 10 were patients.

Christopher Stokes, the general director for MSF, condemned the attack in a statement released Sunday, further calling the bombing a violation of humanitarian law.

“Under the clear presumption that a war crime has been committed, MSF demands that a full and transparent investigation into the event be conducted by an independent international body,” Stokes said. “Relying only on an internal investigation by a party to the conflict would be wholly insufficient.”

NATO, which has been in charge of the U.S.-led airstrikes against Taliban forces in the region, has said little on the incident outside of acknowledging that the raid happened. On Monday, Afghan security forces have said they were the ones who requested the strike, not U.S. Forces, as originally thought. The Afghans were allegedly engaged with Taliban forces who had entrenched themselves in firing positions within the MSF compound and asked for U.S. air support.

Both NATO and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said that an investigation is already underway and the U.S. embassy in Kabul later issued condolences to those affected by the incident.

NATIONAL

Planned Parenthood head testifies before Congress

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, defended her organization before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last Tuesday, Sept. 29. House Republicans have accused the organization of illegally selling fetal tissue after a video purportedly showed just that.

The issue has energized Republicans across the country and prompted strong remarks from leading presidential candidates. Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson and Sen. Rand Paul have all latched on to the issue and some House Republicans used the issue to threaten a government shutdown, though they later reneged following the resignation of Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

For more than five hours, Richards faced a string of questions from lawmakers who were often combative, according to NPR. Even so, the hearing later evolved into a partisan debate between legislators as Democrats and Republicans clashed over the purpose of the hearing and the treatment of Richards as a witness. As such, the hearing did little to clear up the controversy still clouding Planned Parenthood.

LOCAL

Fire restrictions lifted across Nevada

State and federal agencies lifted fire restrictions on most public lands Saturday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The changes come with the change in seasons as cooler temperatures and some rain prevail.

While most restrictions in the northwest of the state are lifted, the RJ has reported that some parts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, notably the Carson and Bridgeport ranger districts, still require permits for campfires.

Jacob Solis can be reached at jsolis@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @TheSagebrush.