Defiant Merkel defends refugee stance after attacks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday rebuffed calls to reverse her welcoming stance toward refugees after a series of brutal attacks in the country. Merkel, who interrupted her summer holiday to face the media in Berlin, said the four assaults within a week were "shocking, oppressive and depressing" but not a sign that authorities had lost control. Merkel repeated her rallying cry from last year when she opened the borders to people fleeing war and persecution, many from Syria, which brou