The United States and Iran held the first high-profile, face-to-face talks in nearly three decades today, adhering to an agenda that focused strictly on Iraq.
The Iraq war, which for years has drawn militants from around the world, is beginning to export fighters and tactics to neighboring countries and beyond.
Susan Sumner, 43, wanted to "do something really hard." So, this spring, she went on vacation. With a group of like-minded women, Sumner biked some 35 miles a day for a week through Sonoma Valley wine country. "It was absolute joy," says Sumner, who runs a medical records transcription business and lives in Santa Fe, N.M. Her next goal: a rafting trip with her husband through the Grand Canyon.
Where:Phoenix
Duration: 3 days
Distance: 28.2 miles
Cost: $750
Operator: Just Roughin' It Adventure Co. (www.justroughinit.com; 877-399-2477)
Difficulty: Challenging
Where: San Francisco
Duration:6 days
Distance: 272 miles
Cost: $2,098 to $2,298
Operator: Backroads (www.backroads.com; 800-462-2848)
Difficulty: Challenging
AP - The United States and Iran broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze Monday with a four-hour meeting about Iraqi security. The American envoy said there was broad policy agreement, but that Iran must stop arming and financing militants who are attacking U.S. and Iraqi forces.
AP - Veterans and active soldiers unfurled a 90-by-100-foot U.S. flag as the nation's top commander in the Middle East spoke to a Memorial Day crowd gathered in Central Park on Monday.
AP - A suicide car bomber struck a busy Baghdad commercial district Monday, killing at least 21 people, setting vehicles on fire and damaging a nearby Sunni shrine, police and hospital officials said.
The United States told Iran its support for militias fighting in Iraq needs to cease, said Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Crocker spoke at a news conference today after a meeting with Iranian diplomats in Baghdad -- the first public and formal meeting between U.S. and Iranian representatives since the United States cut off diplomatic relations 27 years ago.