Romney Forced into Primary For Utah Senate Seat

West Valley City, Utah — Mitt Romney was forced on Saturday into a Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat in Utah as he looks to restart his political career by replacing long-serving Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Romney remains the heavy favorite overall to win the Senate seat in November. But if he had won the votes of a majority of the far-right leaning party delegates at the state GOP convention on Saturday, he would have bypassed a primary altogether.

Instead, he was edged out by state lawmaker Mike Kennedy, who got 51 percent of the vote to Romney’s 49 percent.

Voters will decide between the two in a June 26 primary. Romney previously secured his spot on the ballot by gathering signatures.

Romney went up against 11 other candidates at the convention, mostly political newcomers who questioned Romney’s criticism of President Donald Trump and the depth of his ties to Utah.

Kennedy, a doctor and lawyer, got big applause from the crowd as he railed against the national debt, Common Core education standards and former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Syrian Military Pummels IS-Held Districts in Damascus

Beirut — Syrian government forces used warplanes, helicopters and artillery on Sunday to pound districts of the capital held by the Islamic State group in a bid to enforce an evacuation deal reached with the militants earlier in the week.

Two Palestinian refugees, a father and a son, were killed during the fighting at the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, according to the United Nation’s Palestinian refugee agency, which added that thousands of homes have been destroyed in four days of fighting.

Hundreds of IS militants hold parts of the Yarmouk camp and nearby area of Hajar al-Aswad in southern Damascus. They agreed to give up their last pocket there on Friday but have yet to begin surrendering to government forces and relocating to IS-held areas elsewhere in the country.

State-run al-Ikhbariya TV showed thick gray smoke billowing from the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood on Sunday, and government warplanes streaking overhead amid heavy bombardment of the area.

Residents of Damascus reported hearing loud booms throughout the night and on Sunday morning.

A Woman Bringsan Apple Through Customs, And It Costs Her $500

An apple one day did not keep customs away, a Denver woman has learned.

Crystal Tadlock was given an apple sealed in a wrapper on her Delta flight from Paris on Wednesday. She was not hungry at the time and figured it would be a good snack for her second leg back to Denver, she told FOX 31 in Denver.

Tadlock likely passed by numerous signs and alerts warning items Customs says must be declared at the port of entry in Minneapolis. That would include fresh fruit, Customs and Border Patrol says.

A random search brought Tadlock in contact with a Customs agent who found the contraband apple.

“He had asked me if my trip to France was expensive and I said, ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t really get why he was asking that question, and then he said, ‘It’s about to get a lot more expensive after I charge you $500,’” Tadlock told the station. She was then issued a $500 citation and a revocation of her global entry status, she said.

— Wire reports