Support for women in draft:

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is announcing its support for requiring women to register for the military draft. The administration has been deliberating for roughly a year about whether to back such a change to the Selective Service. White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price says that because previous barriers to military service are being removed, it makes logical sense for women to be required to register for the draft.

Officer dies, hostages rescued:

SEATTLE — A Washington state police officer responding to a domestic violence call was fatally shot and his fellow officers were still “taking fire” as they removed him from a home, beginning an 11-hour standoff during which authorities say the gunman used two young children as human shields. The fallen officer, Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez, had served with the department since 1999 and was highly respected and experienced, Tacoma Police Chief Donald Ramsdell told reporters Thursday. Early Thursday, authorities say a deputy got “a clear shot” and killed the suspect as officers rescued an 8-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy. Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the gunman had refused to surrender. His name was not released.

Mountain lion gets reprieve:

MALIBU, Calif. — A Malibu rancher who got a permit to shoot a mountain lion believed to have killed her 10 pet alpacas said Thursday she never planned on having the cougar killed and hopes that it is relocated instead. Victoria Vaughn-Perling made the declaration after a storm of protest erupted over the possibility that the male lion named P-45 would be killed. Vaughn-Perling said on Monday she had obtained a 10-day permit to shoot the mountain lion. A small number of the big cats live in the mountain range despite many threats to their survival — and hundreds of people inundated wildlife officials with complaints after learning P-45 might be killed.

Unmanned ship breaks up:

MOSCOW — An unmanned Russian cargo spaceship heading to the International Space Station broke up in the atmosphere over Siberia on Thursday due to an unspecified malfunction, the Russian space agency said. The Progress MS-04 cargo craft broke up at an altitude of 118 miles over the remote Russian Tuva region in Siberia that borders Mongolia, Roscosmos said in a statement. It said most of space ship’s debris burned up as it entered the atmosphere but some fell to Earth over what it called an uninhabited area. The Progress cargo ship had lifted off as scheduled from Russia’s space launch complex in Kazakhstan, to deliver 2.5 metric tons of fuel, water, food and other supplies. It was set to dock with the space station on Saturday. Roscosmos said the craft was operating normally before it stopped transmitting data 383 seconds after the launch. The Russian space agency would not immediately describe the malfunction, saying its experts were looking into it.

Senate renews sanctions:

WASHINGTON — The Senate moved decisively Thursday to renew a decades-old sanctions law that lawmakers said gives the United States the clout to punish Iran should it fail to live up to the terms of the landmark nuclear deal. Senators passed the bill unanimously, 99-0, two weeks after the House also approved the legislation by an overwhelming margin of 419-1. The bill to grant a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act will be sent to President Barack Obama, who planned to sign it. The White House deemed the bill unnecessary but said it didn’t violate the international accord meant to slow Iran’s ability to make nuclear arms. Seeking to address Iran’s concerns, White House officials emphasized that the administration can and will waive all the nuclear-related sanctions included in the renewal.

Hollande rules out 2017 run:

PARIS — France’s President Francois Hollande announced in a surprise televised address Thursday that he would not seek a second term in next year’s presidential election, acknowledging that his personal unpopularity might cost his Socialist party the Elysee.The 62-year-old president — the country’s least popular leader since World War II — said he was “conscious of the risks” his lack of support posed to a successful candidacy. “What’s at stake is not a person, it’s the country’s future,” he said.