• Pope Francis expressed his thoughts about violence aimed at members of religious minorities in Iraq, where fleeing children have died of thirst, calling on the world "to stop these crimes" during his traditional Sunday blessing in Vatican City.
• Parnell McNamara, the sheriff of McLennan County, Texas, posted on Facebook about forming an all-volunteer community "posse" to help his deputies, which was shared almost 60 times, drew more than 400 "likes" and received almost 90 comments within 24 hours.
• Christopher Murray, 48, a Philadelphia man, was charged with the murder of his wife, Constance, a jogger who was found strangled in a park, days after police warned female runners to take extra precautions until the killer was caught.
• President Barack Obama welcomed athletes, coaches, families and spectators from around the world to Ohio and the United States in a surprise video message shown at the opening ceremonies of the international Gay Games in Cleveland.
• Nigel Richards, 47, an Australian and resident of Malaysia who has won the past four National Scrabble Championships, was one of 525 players who headed to Buffalo, N.Y., to compete for the $10,000 top prize at the 25th national tournament.
• Scott DesJarlais, the U.S. representative for Tennessee, and his challenger, state Sen. Jim Tracy, are both seeking legal advice about DesJarlais' 35-vote lead over Tracy in the Republican primary, their campaigns said.
• David Farnell and his wife, Wendy, an Australian couple accused of abandoning their son born with Down syndrome, said in an interview that the boy's surrogate mother, Pattaramon Chanbua, insisted she be allowed to keep the boy and that she threatened to also keep his twin sister.
• Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, met with Armenian President Serge Sarkisian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi, with the sides committing to continuing talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
• Mary DeNadai, an architect who specializes in historic restoration, said the 34-acre Lynnewood Hall estate in Philadelphia, on the market for $20 million, would take about $50 million to restore.
• Mahamat Kamoun, 53, a Muslim politician, was named the new prime minister of Central African Republic, where most of the Muslims living in the capital, Bangui, fled for their lives earlier this year.
A Section on 08/11/2014