WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the State Department to force the release of email correspondence and government documents from Hillary Rodham Clinton's tenure as secretary of state.

The legal action comes after repeated requests filed under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act have gone unfulfilled. They include one request AP made five years ago and others pending since the summer of 2013.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, comes a day after Clinton broke her silence about her use of a private email account while secretary of state. The FOIA requests and lawsuit seek materials related to her public and private calendars, correspondence involving longtime aides likely to play key roles in her expected campaign for president, and Clinton-related emails about the Osama bin Laden raid and National Security Agency surveillance practices.

"After careful deliberation and exhausting our other options, The Associated Press is taking the necessary legal steps to gain access to these important documents, which will shed light on actions by the State Department and former Secretary Clinton, a presumptive 2016 presidential candidate, during some of the most significant issues of our time," said Karen Kaiser, AP's general counsel.

Said AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll, "The Freedom of Information Act exists to give citizens a clear view of what government officials are doing on their behalf. When that view is denied, the next resort is the courts."

State Department spokesman Alec Gerlach declined to comment. He had previously cited the department's heavy annual load of FOIA requests — 19,000 last year — in saying that the department "does its best to meet its FOIA responsibilities." He said the department takes requests "first in, first out," but noted that timing depends on "the complexity of the request."

Carroll said the AP was filing additional requests Wednesday using FOIA and other tools following the disclosure last week that Clinton had used a private email account run on a server on her property outside New York while working at the State Department.

Clinton on Tuesday said she sent and received about 60,000 emails from her personal email address in her four years as President Barack Obama's secretary of state. She said roughly half were work-related, which she turned over to the State Department, while deleting tens of thousands more that were personal in nature.

The department says it will take several months to review the material Clinton turned over last year. Once the review is complete, the department said, the emails will be posted online.

The AP had sought Clinton-related correspondence before her use of a personal email account was publicly known, although Wednesday's court filing alleges that the State Department is responsible for including emails from that account in any public records request.

"State's failure to ensure that Secretary Clinton's governmental emails were retained and preserved by the agency, and its failure timely to seek out and search those emails in response to AP's requests, indicate at the very least that State has not engaged in the diligent, good-faith search that FOIA requires," says AP's legal filing.

Specifically, AP is seeking copies of Clinton's full schedules and calendars from her four years as secretary of state; documents related to her department's decision to grant a special position to longtime aide Huma Abedin; related correspondence from longtime advisers Philippe Reines and Cheryl Mills, who, like Abedin, are likely to play central roles in a Clinton presidential campaign; documents related to Clinton's and the agency's roles in the Osama bin Laden raid and National Security Agency surveillance practices; and documents related to her role overseeing a major Defense Department contractor.

The AP made most of its requests in the summer of 2013, although one was filed in March 2010. AP is also seeking attorney's fees related to the lawsuit.

Other organizations have also sued the State Department recently after lengthy delays responding to public record requests.

In December, the conservative political advocacy group Citizens United sued the State Department for failing to disclose flight records showing who accompanied Clinton on overseas trips. Last week, the National Security Archive, an organization that gathers declassified government records, filed a lawsuit after waiting more than seven years for the State Department to release of details of former secretary of state Henry Kissinger's telephone conversations.

Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, predicted the State Department would speed up its review facing legal action, particularly given that Clinton has said that her email correspondence doesn't include classified material.

"When the government is under a court deadline, or really wants to review, they can whip through thousands of pages in a matter of weeks, which they should do here," Blanton said.

The State Department generally takes about 450 days to turn over records it considers to be part of complex requests under the Freedom of Information Act. That is seven times longer than the Justice Department and CIA, and 30 times longer than the Treasury Department.

An inspector general's report in 2012 criticized the State Department's practices as "inefficient and ineffective," citing a heavy workload, small staff and interagency problems.

Analysis of Hillary Clinton's email remarks with Yahoo News Anchor Bianna Golodryga. (video)

“It is with profound sadness that I am announcing I am stepping down from my position as chief,” Jackson wrote in a letter to city leaders.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that city officials initially wanted Jackson's departure effective immediately, but the chief said both sides later settled on March 19 so that Jackson could assist with a transition team.

Jackson, commander of the suburban St. Louis force for five years, has been under fire since last August when white Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed.

The incident, which sparked months of protest and national debate about race and police behavior, led to a federal investigation of the Ferguson Police Department.

Jackson is the sixth Ferguson employee to leave in the wake of last week's criticalDepartment of Justice report that accused the city of racist police and court practices.City Manager John Shaw, the chief's boss and a big supporter, resigned on Tuesday.

Both men were prominently named throughout the DOJ's 100-page report. Investigators faulted top officials for encouraging police to aggressively ticket motorists — particularly African-Americans — as a means to generate money.

In one example, the DOJ highlighted Shaw and Jackson's email exchange about increased court revenue for March 2011 being more than $179,000.

“Beat our next biggest month in the last four years by over $17,000,” Jackson wrote.

Ferguson city officials will meet with the Justice Department in the coming weeks to negotiate how to make reforms. The federal government can sue and force reform if the sides can’t agree. Ferguson Mayor James Knowles has said the city wouldn't settle with the DOJ if the negotiations do not lead to “mutual satisfaction.”

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters last week that the federal government would dismantle the Ferguson Police Department if necessary. One option would be for the St. Louis County Police Department to serve Ferguson, a town of 21,000.

Federal and state investigations into Brown's death cleared Wilson. Officials said physical evidence and reliable witness accounts support the officer's version of what happened. Wilson told investigators that Brown attacked him and that he was in fear of his life when he shot the teen multiple times in the middle of the street on Aug. 9. The officer resigned from the department after a St. Louis County grand jury declined to indict him in late November.

Jackson, 56, has worked in law enforcement for more than 30 years.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this great city and to serve with all of you,” Jackson wrote in his resignation letter. “I will continue to assist the city in anyway I can in my capacity as private citizen.”

[This story has been updated since it was originally posted. Please check back for updates.]

Jason Sickles is a reporter for Yahoo. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).

PARIS (AP) — A man and a boy featured in an Islamic State group propaganda video that threatens Jews and shows the killing of a Palestinian have been identified as French citizens, and investigators are looking into whether the man is related to an extremist who attacked a Jewish school in southern France in 2012, an official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The extremist group claimed the Palestinian was an agent for the Mossad and the adult in the video made reference to the targeting of Jews both in Europe and ultimately in Israel. But the man's father told The Associated Press he had simply regretted his decision to join IS and was killed because he wanted to go home.

The White House noted the video comes amid signs of dissent within IS ranks and reports of IS fighters being executed while trying to flee and defect, suggesting the group was flailing under increased pressure.

Meanwhile, Iraqi soldiers and allied Shiite militiamen swept into the IS-held city of Tikrit on Wednesday, launching a two-front offensive to squeeze the extremists out of Saddam Hussein's hometown.

The man in the video, released late Tuesday, speaks with a southern French accent and investigators are probing if he could be a person who has been identified variously as the step-brother or half-brother of Mohammed Merah, who killed seven people in attacks on a Jewish school and paratroopers in the south of France beginning on March 11, 2012 - exactly three years ago.

In photos from Merah's funeral after his death in a shootout with police, the relative is identified as Sabri Essid, whose father was married to Merah's mother. Essid strongly resembles the man in the Islamic State video, notably in the shape of the eyes.

In the video, the man praises attacks on Jews "in your own stronghold in France" as he and the boy stand behind the man about to be killed.

The French official, who has close ties to intelligence services but was not authorized to speak publicly about the inquiry, also said another French fighter whose death was announced this week by Islamic State is a young teenager.

Since the 2012 killings in Toulouse, Jews have been targeted by French extremists twice. Four died in a kosher supermarket during three days of terror in the Paris area this year that left 20 people dead, including the three gunmen, and a French ex-fighter for IS is also charged in a deadly attack on a Jewish museum in Brussels.

But the boy seen in the video Tuesday, who appears to be a young adolescent, and the death announced earlier this week of the French teen appeared to mark a new emphasis on foreign children.

"Here are the young lions of the caliphate," the man says in the video. Soon afterward, the child is shown shooting the man in the head.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the killing an "abhorrent and unjustifiable action," adding that the compelling of a child to kill further demonstrated the Islamic State group's "disregard for all human decency."

"That is an indication that we're continuing to apply pressure to ISIL in a way that is actually succeeding in degrading their ability to wreak havoc in that part of the world," Earnest said, using another acronym for the militant group.

The father of the Palestinian killed said that his son was no Israeli spy but was tricked into joining the militants and then regretted his decision. Said Musalam said IS lured his 19-year-old son Mohamed with promises of women, money and cars.

"They promised a lot of things and then I came here and there is nothing," Musalam recalled his son saying in a phone call to his East Jerusalem home from Syria.

The son said he was in Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the Islamic State group, and had heard his mother was sick and wanted to come back, the father added.

Musalam told the AP that his son left for Syria four months ago without telling his family and later told his brother that he was going to fight with IS. More than a month ago, the family received a call from an unidentified person who said Musalam had fled IS, was caught at a Turkish checkpoint, and was put in IS jail.

"They did not want to let him leave because if he comes back, he might be caught by the Israelis and tell them what he had seen. So they wanted to get rid of him," the father said. "I know my son. I raised him well. I am sure he's not working for the Mossad."

Musalam said he wished his son's fate upon the family of Islamic State group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

"I will leave it to God and what happened to my son Mohamed I hope God will do the same for you, your sons and your family," Musalam said in Arabic, addressing al-Baghdadi. "God knows that one day we'll meet, whether in paradise or in hell, and we'll settle the accounts."

French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll described the video as a "dreadful" killing, but refused to comment Wednesday on the nationalities or identities of the man and boy.

The French official with intelligence ties said the French fighter whose death was announced this week by IS was Abu Bakr al-Firansi — a young teen.

According to Europe 1 radio, the child's entire family left last year from the city of Strasbourg to recover the remains of an older brother in Syria, and a second older brother was also killed in the war zone.

About 1,400 people, including entire families, have left France to join extremists in Syria and Iraq, and many have returned. Security officials fear some will arrive with honed skills as fighters, and with passports that allow free travel. Since the Jan. 7-9 attacks in the Paris region, France has deployed tens of thousands of security forces to protect religious, tourist and travel sites - measures the government said Wednesday would be extended until at least early summer.

"Nearly 90 French citizens have died there, weapons in hand to fight against our values," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told France's iTele on Sunday.

About 3,000 Europeans are part of the fight, Valls said, adding: "There could be 5,000 before the summer and without a doubt 10,000 by the end of the year."

___

Alon Bernstein reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad contributed.

Bloomberg Video
Obama Battles Congress on Islamic State Battle Plan

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A state senator said Wednesday that he has no intention of resigning over a series of offensive Facebook posts, including one that suggests President Barack Obama's family members are part of the Islamic State group.

The Maine Democratic Party has called on Republican Sen. Michael Willette to step down over what they described as a "prolific online history of racist and bigoted remarks."

But Willette, who represents areas in the northernmost county of Maine, told reporters that he doesn't see the need to resign. He apologized to his colleagues for his behavior and promised his "mistake in judgment" won't be repeated.

Willette was criticized this week for sharing a photo of Obama on Facebook that pretended to use the president's words, saying of the Islamic State group, "I'll deal with them at the family reunion."

In posts that were later made public by a liberal blogger, Willette expressed animosity toward Muslims and suggested that members of Obama's administration are part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Democratic Party said Willette's Facebook posts show a clear pattern of inappropriate behavior that cannot be tolerated.

"Senator Willette's extensive history of offensive, bigoted and racist remarks suggests that they represent his core beliefs, which have no place in the State House and damage the integrity of the office he holds," Chairman Phil Bartlett said in a statement.

Just before Democrats asked for his resignation, Willette — a former Democrat — told his fellow senators that he had voted for Obama in 2008 but has become frustrated with his policies and performance over the years, prompting him to make the inappropriate remarks.

"I think many of us can identify with the temptation to not listen to our better angels and instead to lash out publicly against those with whom we disagree," he said. "As a state legislator, I am held to a higher standard — we all are — and we need to show restraint."

Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond said the decision of whether Willette remains in his post should be left up to his constituents. But he said his caucus plans to make it clear that racism and bigotry are not condoned in Maine.

Republicans said they appreciate his apology and believe it it's time to move forward.

"It's sad if we get to the point where we fan this flame just to score political points," Senate President Michael Thibodeau said.

___

Follow Alanna Durkin at http://www.twitter.com/aedurkin

Maine senator under fire for linking Obama to IS

A man walks past human-headed winged bull statues from Khorsabad, at the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily

By Dominic Evans

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants have desecrated another ancient Iraqi capital, the government said on Wednesday, razing parts of the 2,700-year-old city of Khorsabad famed for its colossal statues of human-headed winged bulls.

Officials have said for several days they were checking reports of damage at Khorsabad following attacks on the cities of Nineveh, Nimrud and Hatra by the Islamist radicals who control much of northern Iraq.

On Wednesday the head of Iraq's antiquities board and the country's antiquities minister both confirmed that damage had been inflicted in recent days at Khorsabad, although neither was able to give details.

"The city walls were razed, and some elements of the temples, but we don't know the exact extent (of the damage)," antiquities director Qais Rasheed told Reuters. "Looting took place, and then the razing".

Islamic State rules a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria which contain some of the richest archaeological treasures on earth, where ancient Assyrian empires built their capitals, Graeco-Roman civilization flourished and Muslim and Christian sects co-existed for centuries.

The group, which rejects all but its own narrow interpretation of early Sunni Muslim theology as heresy, has systematically destroyed historic temples, shrines, manuscripts statues and carvings. Officials say it has also looted widely, selling artifacts to help fund its rule.

The United Nations has condemned Islamic State's actions as a war crime and an attack on humanity's common heritage, but the global outrage has not slowed the destruction.

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Visitors look at Assyrian mural sculptures from Khorsabad, at the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad M …

Iraq has asked a U.S.-led coalition which is supporting Baghdad's fightback against Islamic State with air strikes to deploy its aerial power to defend the country's heritage.

U.S. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said in Baghdad on Monday the military priority was focused on populated areas ruled by Islamic State, as opposed to some of the remote antiquities sites.

SEEKING SATELLITE IMAGES

Rasheed said Iraq had asked for, but not received, satellite imagery from Hatra and Khorsabad so it could assess the scale of the damage. "They say they are working on getting pictures. How? Is it hard for the Americans to get satellite photos?"

Huge stone carvings of winged bulls with bearded human faces were shipped from Khorsabad and other Assyrian cities in Iraq to France, Germany, Britain and the United States in the 19th century. But Rasheed said those huge statues, each weighing several tonnes, were just a fraction of the Khorsabad treasures.

"The French and English excavated at Khorsabad and the excavations only got 10 percent of the city - it's a big city, a capital," he said of the three square km site.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with foreign ambassadors and the United Nations to set out the scale of the damaged wreaked by Islamic State and press for a stronger international response.

Rasheed said in the northern province of Nineveh alone there were 1,700 archaeological sites under Islamic State control, as well as Iraq's third largest museum at Mosul, ransacked by the insurgents according to video footage released two weeks ago.

"We ask the whole world, and primarily the international coalition, to activate its capabilities, because every day that passes, we have new losses," Tourism and Antiquities Minister Adel Shirshab, who also addressed the meeting, told Reuters.

Rasheed said Iraq was also seeking help in returning looted items. "There are many stolen artifacts, in auction houses in America and Europe. The diplomatic corps can play a role in helping Iraq return them," he said.

James Ratcliffe of Art Loss Register, which runs a database of lost or stolen works of art, said he had seen little sign of anything of significant value reaching U.S. or British markets.

"I'm sure lower value stuff is getting through but higher value items are not," he said, adding there were likely to be networks in the region working to get materials out.

"In Syria, Turkey and Lebanon there will be groups who are engaging in the trade of antiquities for profit in an organized fashion."

(Additional reporting by Isabel Coles in Arbil; Editing by Gareth Jones)