• Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., during a trip to Kabul, Afghanistan, said the Taliban offensive demands a reassessment of the Obama administration's plan to draw down U.S. troops in that country by the end of 2016, noting that the Afghan national forces are suffering heavy losses.
• Veronica Gordon, 39, was arrested and held in lieu of a $5,000 bond in Santa Rosa County, Fla., after a witness called the sheriff's office to report that a woman was throwing kittens out of her car window, one of which was found and taken to a veterinarian in poor condition.
• Gail Halvorsen, 94, who is known as the "Candy Bomber" and delivered candy to children in Berlin at the end of World War II, dropped 1,000 chocolate bars attached to tiny parachutes from a fixed-wing bomber at Scera Park in Orem, Utah, as part of a Fourth of July celebration.
• Jay Jernigan, a Republican candidate for Lamar County, Miss., circuit clerk, said he has withdrawn from the race because he would not be comfortable issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, which is part of the clerk's duties.
• Kevin Webster, a detective with the Bristow, Okla., Police Department, said lawmen are searching for a man who walked off with more than $75,000 after tricking Wal-Mart employees into thinking he was an armored-truck driver.
• Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, congratulated President Barack Obama on Independence Day in a telegram and said Russia and the U.S. can work together to solve international problems.
• Kelvin Dennison, 23, of New York City, was arrested and charged with robbery two days after authorities say he rolled his wheelchair into a Santander Bank branch in Queens, told the teller he had a gun and made off with $1,212.
• Richard Rocha, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs, said health care professionals are monitoring about 250 illegal alien children who were mistakenly given adult doses of a hepatitis-A vaccine at a Texas detention facility where they are being held with their mothers, although no adverse reactions were expected.
• Frederick "Moses" Taylor, 70, of Johnson City, Tenn., was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after police say he hit a 52-year-old woman in the head with his cane during an argument at her apartment, requiring that she be taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released.
A Section on 07/05/2015