Nation, world briefs 9/24/2015

Trump boycotts Fox News over coverage

NEW YORK -- Donald Trump says he's done appearing on Fox News shows for the "foreseeable future" because he doesn't like the network's coverage of his presidential campaign. The billionaire businessman and leading Republican candidate tweets Fox News has been treating him "very unfairly," and he's going to stop appearing on its shows. Trump has feuded with the network since first GOP primary debate, when he objected to the moderators' questions. There was a brief detente. But the feud escalated this week, with Trump tweeting and retweeting complaints about the network and hosts, including Megyn Kelly. Trump has become a constant presence on cable news shows and often phones in to share his thoughts. A Fox spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

Children in foster care rises sharply

For the first time in a decade, there was a notable increase last year in the number of U.S. children in foster care, according to new federal figures released Wednesday. The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services tallied 415,129 children in the foster care system as of Sept. 30, 2014, up from about 401,000 a year earlier. The peak was 524,000 children in foster care in 2002, and the number had dropped steadily since 2005 before rising slightly in 2013. The long-term drop resulted primarily from shifts in the policies and practices of state and county child welfare agencies. Many shortened stays in foster care, expedited adoptions and expanded preventive support for troubled families so more children avoided being removed from home in the first place. HHS offered no explanation of why the numbers had risen.

Egypt pardons two Al-Jazeera reporters

CAIRO -- President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi pardoned and released two Al-Jazeera English journalists Wednesday, ending a case condemned by human-rights groups and had raised questions about Egypt's commitment to democracy and free speech. The move to free Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian national Baher Mohammed came days before el-Sissi's appearance at the U.N. General Assembly, as well as on the eve of a major holiday in Islam, Eid al-Adha. Also receiving presidential pardons were 100 people, including dozens of human-rights activists. Most of them were convicted and imprisoned for breaking a disputed law enacted in 2013 that prohibits unapproved demonstrations. The measure has almost ended street activism in Egypt. Fahmy and Mohammed were arrested in December 2013 and sentenced to three years in prison in a retrial last month for airing what a court described as "false news" and coverage biased in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.

-- From wire reports