Pope Francis urged the Group of 20 leaders on Thursday to abandon the “futile pursuit” of a military solution in Syria as the Vatican laid out its case for a negotiated settlement that guarantees rights for all Syrians, including minority Christians.

In a letter to the G-20 host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Francis lamented that “one-sided interests” had prevailed in Syria, preventing a diplomatic end to the conflict and allowing the continued “senseless massacre” of innocents.

“To the leaders present, to each and every one, I make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution,” Francis wrote as the G-20 meeting got under way in St. Petersburg.

Francis has ratcheted up his call for peace in Syria amid threatened U.S.-led military strikes following an Aug. 21 chemical…

There exist over 200,000 cold cases in America.

In TNT’s new reality series, “Cold Justice,” two women are setting out to put a dent in that number.

Starring two veterans with over two decades of experience each, former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and crime scene investigator Yolanda McClary have successfully tried 68 murder cases and assisted over 7,000 investigations in their prolific careers. Now, they’re using their expert instincts to sort through the existing evidence on new cases each week, interviewing suspects and chasing down leads in order to close cases that have gone cold.

Some cases, however, seem destined to stay frozen. In honor of the show’s premiere, we’re taking a look at some of the coldest conundrums in history — the crimes that continue to haunt us not only because of their heinous nature, but the ensuing obsession that exists long after for…

This is actually St. Augistine in St Johns FL. There is no St. John’s County in AZ. near Mesa. The city of St. Johns is over 200 miles away. I wish we could claim that it was from here.

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Kalise says:

A mystery diner is being hailed this week after leaving an encouraging note for a family who was out to dinner with their 8-year-old son with special needs, according to WBTV. A picture of the note, which was written on a receipt, is now going viral.

The England family was out to dinner at Stag ‘n Doe Pizza House in China Grove, N.C., on Friday night when Riley, who has special needs, began causing somewhat of a commotion. Riley’s mother Ashley England told WBTV her son was likely aggravating some customers.

But then something happened that eased the family’s concerns. A waitress came over and told them another customer had paid for their bill and left them a note that read “God only gives special children to special people,” according to WBTV.

Paleontologists have uncovered a fossil field in Australia that fills a large gap in the continent’s environmental history, and contains several previously unknown ancient species of marsupials and bats.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales discovered the site near the Riversleigh fossil field, an UNESCO World Heritage site, in northwest Queensland last year, and have since collected nearly 4,000 lbs. (1,800 kilograms) of rock for analysis, according to a statement from the university.

Preliminary analyses suggest that the fossils formed about 13 million to 5 million years ago — a period marking Australia’s transition from a warm, tropical climate to the arid climate that persists today and an epoch largely missing from the known fossil record.

“This was a critical time during which the widespread, lush, ancient rainforests of Australia rapidly gave way to increasingly drier conditions,” paleontologist Mike Archer, a leader…