The US passport, once No. 1, no longer among 10 most useful

The United States passport no longer ranks among the top 10 most useful passports after once topping the list. In 2014, it was the passport that gave U.S. citizens access to more countries than any others without having to be accompanied by a visa.

The Henley Passport Index now ranks it the 12th most powerful passport in a tie with the Malaysian passport. Both travel documents give their holders access to 180 countries.

Singapore’s passport, which is recognized by 193 nations, leads a list that also includes South Korea, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada in its top 10. Afghanistan is at the bottom of this list, with a passport that only provides access to 24 nations if unaccompanied by a visa.

The Henley Report, which launched 20 years ago, says its newly published findings mark the first time the U.S. passport didn’t rank among the top 10 in its index. The chain of events contributing to the nation’s passport falling in influence includes U.S. citizens losing visa-free access to Brazil in April and Americans being excluded from China’s visa-free list.

—New York Daily News

Burned, beaten, forced into fight clubs: Former cadets accuse National Guard camp of brutality

BALTIMORE — One still has burn scars on his palms, earned during hours of push-ups on burning hot pavement. One said he was attacked, beaten with a homemade blackjack while he slept. One said he developed post-traumatic stress disorder.

These teens who enrolled at the Maryland National Guard Freestate ChalleNGe Academy in previous years have a lot to say about their experience as cadets in the program — not much of it good.

A boot camp for at-risk youth, the program promises teens and their families a strict structure, housing and food for 22 weeks, along with the opportunity to study and take the GED — a potentially life-changing offer for many of these youth.

But three cadets interviewed by The Baltimore Sun say they were forced to exercise without water breaks until they passed out or vomited, and that it wasn’t unusual for teens to be airlifted from the camp at the Aberdeen Proving Ground by helicopter. Sergeants on staff, they say, made them exercise in dangerous conditions, including doing push-ups on burning hot pavement until their palms burned and scarred.

—The Baltimore Sun

Should conversion therapy be banned? What poll found amid Supreme Court case

A majority of Americans support outlawing conversion therapy for minors, according to a new YouGov/Economist survey. At the same time, most doubt the effectiveness of the controversial practice, saying it cannot change a person’s sexual orientation from gay to straight.

The poll comes as a case is currently before the Supreme Court challenging Colorado’s law prohibiting conversion therapy for minors.

The case was brought by Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian counselor who argues that the state’s ban violates the First Amendment, unlawfully restricting her ability to provide services aligned with her religious beliefs.

Colorado officials, meanwhile, defended the statute as a “reasonable regulation,” telling the justices that therapists have a duty to shield their patients from substandard care. During oral arguments on Oct. 7, the court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical of the Centennial State’s ban, with Justice Samuel Alito saying the prohibition “looks like blatant viewpoint discrimination.”

—Miami Herald

Pakistan, Afghanistan say dozens dead as clashes escalate

Pakistan and Afghanistan claimed killing dozens of each other’s soldiers in clashes overnight along their shared border, renewing deadly skirmishes that began over the weekend that caught President Donald Trump’s attention.

Pakistan killed as many as 50 Afghan soldiers, while repulsing their attacks in different locations of Spin Boldak and Kurram areas of the country’s northwest Balochistan and KP provinces, according to a statement by the military on Wednesday.

Afghanistan killed many Pakistani “invading” soldiers, while seizing weapons and tanks and capturing their posts, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban regime, said in an X post earlier.

Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their shared border over the weekend amid rising tensions after Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out air strikes inside Afghan territory — an allegation Pakistan has yet to officially address. Afghanistan had said its forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers during overnight border operations, while Pakistan claimed it killed more than 200 Afghan soldiers while 23 of its soldiers were dead.

—Bloomberg News