Nation, world briefs 10/15/2015

U.S. sending 90 troops to Cameroon

WASHINGTON -- About 90 U.S. troops are headed to Cameroon to help the Central African nation stop the spread of Boko Haram and other violent extremist groups. The troops will be armed for their protection and security but will not engage in combat, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday. They are being sent under an arrangement with the Cameroon government to conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations in the region and will stay until they are no longer needed. President Barack Obama notified House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in accordance with legal requirements he notify lawmakers within 48 hours of a deployment. The service members began setting out on their mission Monday. A total of up to about 300 troops could be sent.

Hastert may be close to plea deal

CHICAGO -- A deadline for Dennis Hastert's legal team to file pretrial paperwork passed with nothing new submitted to the court, suggesting the former House speaker could be close to a plea deal that would avert a trial and keep potentially embarrassing details secret, legal experts said Wednesday. Prosecutors and attorneys for the Illinois Republican disclosed at a hearing last month they are negotiating a possible deal. The presiding judge in Chicago has said he expected an update on those talks by the next hearing, which is scheduled for today. A May indictment alleges the 73-year-old agreed to pay $3.5 million to an "Individual A" to hide unspecified past wrongdoing. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported the payments were meant to conceal claims of sexual misconduct decades ago.

Israel uses troops as attacks continue

JERUSALEM -- Hundreds of soldiers fanned out in cities across Israel on Wednesday, and authorities erected concrete barriers outside some Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem in an effort to counter a monthlong wave of Palestinian violence that has seen near-daily attacks. Despite escalated security, two assaults were reported Wednesday -- the stabbing of a 70-year-old Israeli woman outside a Jerusalem bus station and the attempted knifing of police officers outside the Old City. The enhanced measures came as Israel struggles to contain spiraling violence and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from hard-liners in his governing coalition to stamp out the attacks.

-- From wire reports