The United States has tapped Jeffrey DeLaurentis, America's top diplomat in Havana, to become the first official ambassador to Cuba in five decades.

"The appointment of an ambassador is a commonsense step forward toward a more normal and productive relationship between our two countries," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

The suspect held on suspicion of carrying out weekend bomb attacks in New York and New Jersey is in critical but stable condition in a hospital, police said Tuesday.

South Korea and the United States kicked off large-scale military exercises on Monday, triggering condemnation and threats of a pre-emptive nuclear strike from North Korea.

Melania Trump, the ex-model and third wife of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, denied reports Thursday that questioned whether she had worked illegally as an immigrant.

It is the third controversy about her in less than three weeks that the potential first lady or the Trump campaign has been forced to address as her husband inflames the political establishment with his divisive campaign for the White House.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that U.S. State Secretary John Kerry intends to visit this month, in what would be the first trip by a top Western dignitary since a failed putsch.

Kerry's visit, if confirmed, comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Ankara in the wake of the attempted military takeover on July 15.

The United States warned North Korea Tuesday that it faces "real consequences" over its internationally condemned nuclear and missile tests, which have inflamed tensions in East Asia.

The failed coup attempt in Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's firm crackdown on the alleged plotters have aggravated ties between Washington and Ankara, already poisoned by the war in Syria and human rights issues.

Although they are NATO allies and officially partners in the fight against the Islamic State group, the United States and Turkey have seen their relations take an icy turn in recent months.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday said his government had dispatched dossiers to the United States for the extradition of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen over his alleged links to Friday's attempted coup.

Authorities in Louisiana -- already rocked by the deadly police shooting of an African American man -- said Tuesday they have arrested three black youths for stealing guns they planned to use to kill officers.

Police responded around 2:00 am (0700 GMT) on Saturday as the suspects were trying to steal weapons from a pawn shop, and surveillance video showed the trio breaking in through the roof, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department.

A US inmate at a Michigan courthouse shot and killed two court officers and wounded a sheriff's deputy Monday during a struggle to escape before responding officers returned fire and killed him, officials said.

The sheriff's deputy and a civilian, who was shot in the arm at the Berrien County Courthouse, were taken to a hospital where they are in stable condition, Sheriff Paul Bailey said.