| Nelson Mandela dies at 95 Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:40 PM PST  The former South African president was a revered statesman and anti-apartheid leader.
|
| Mandela was just a man, and that made what he did extraordinary Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:40 PM PST  John Carlin, the author of the book "Playing the Enemy," on which the film "Invictus" was based, reveals what it was like to know and cover Nelson Mandela.
|
| Obama: Mandela guided by hope Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:33 PM PST  President Barack Obama paid somber tribute to Nelson Mandela Thursday, celebrating the late South African leader's "fierce dignity and unbending will" and unquenchable thirst for justice.
|
| Mandela's 10 memorable moments Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:55 PM PST  Nelson Mandela at the law office he opened with his colleague, Oliver Tambo in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1952. This was the first black legal practice in Johannesburg. Both men were founding members of the African National Congress Youth League. |
| A more 'sensitive' GOP? Boehner hopes it'll attract female votes Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:03 AM PST  U.S. House of Representative Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday he wants his fellow Republicans to be more "sensitive" as they seek to appeal to women voters in next year's congressional elections. "I try to get them to be a little bit more sensitive," Boehner said at his weekly news conference, when asked what advice he was giving his fellow Republicans as they campaign against Democratic women candidates, and try to attract female voters. There are 81 women members of the House, of whom 62 are Democrats, compared with 19 Republicans. In the Senate, 16 of the 20 women are Democrats and four are Republicans.
|
| White House reverses course, says Obama lived with Kenyan uncle Posted: 05 Dec 2013 12:20 PM PST  The White House acknowledged Thursday that President Barack Obama lived with a Kenyan uncle targeted for deportation — after initially saying there was no evidence they had ever met.
|
| 10 memorable Mandela quotes Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:56 PM PST  A group of American and South African students, aged from 11 to 19, met with Nelson Mandela at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, on June 2, 2009. This was part of a series of activities ahead of Mandela Day on 18 July, 2008. |
| Nelson Mandela, South Africa's peacemaker, dies Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:06 PM PST JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela was a master of forgiveness. |
| AP PHOTOS: Art honoring Mandela around the world Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:31 PM PST  An Indian artist wishes Nelson Mandela improved health with a portrait sculpted from sand during his treatment in June for what the South African government has said is a lung infection. Colorful murals of South Africa's first black president adorn walls in the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town. A snow-dusted bronze likeness stands with arms outstretched in London's Parliament Square.
|
| Clashes sweep Central Africa Republic capital Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:11 PM PST  BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Wielding rifles and machetes, armed Christian fighters who support the Central African Republic's exiled president assaulted the capital at dawn on Thursday, leaving nearly 100 people dead. Shrouded bodies were lined up in a mosque as dozens of wounded lay on blood-stained hospital floors.
|
| Jobs report to help show if US economy is for real Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:05 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is growing faster, corporate profits are rising and companies are laying off the fewest workers in six years.
|
| Budget deal? Big obstacles, New Year's deadline Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:16 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — With hopes of a "grand bargain" long gone, congressional negotiators now are seeking a more modest deal before year-end to ease the automatic spending cuts that are squeezing both the Pentagon and domestic federal programs. But the going is getting rougher.
|
| Oil crews endure even when wind chill drops to -40 Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:47 PM PST  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — With the wind chill falling to almost minus 40, Steve Hendershot's mind was elsewhere Thursday as he and his crew of roustabouts worked a well in North Dakota's booming oil patch.
|
| No charges for Heisman hopeful Jameis Winston Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:31 PM PST  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State quarterback and Heisman hopeful Jameis Winston will not face any charges in a sexual assault case, mostly because there were too many gaps in his accuser's story, a prosecutor said Thursday.
|
| 5 key moments in Mandela's life Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:26 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, was regarded as one of the great figures of the past century for his generosity of spirit, sacrifices in the name of equality and his efforts to reconcile the races in South Africa amid the ever-present specter of conflict.
|
| Obama mourns death of icon Nelson Mandela Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:23 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Counting himself among the millions influenced by Nelson Mandela, President Barack Obama on Thursday mourned the death of the anti-apartheid icon with whom he shares the distinction of being his nation's first black president.
|
| Mandela inspired music, movies, poems Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:17 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Heroic in his deeds, graceful in his manner, sainted in his image, Nelson Mandela long served as both cause and muse in the entertainment community.
|
| Al-Qaida-style attack in Yemen's capital kills 52 Posted: 05 Dec 2013 02:28 PM PST  ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Militants stormed the Defense Ministry in the heart of Yemen's capital Thursday, killing 52 people, including at least seven foreigners, in a suicide car bombing and assault by gunmen. The brazen, al-Qaida-style attack follows a rise in U.S. drone strikes in this key American ally in the Middle East.
|
| Disgraced priest to wed pope adviser's daughter Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:16 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Thomas Williams, the onetime public face of the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order who left the priesthood after admitting he fathered a child, is getting married this weekend to the child's mother, The Associated Press has learned. The bride is the daughter of former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glendon, one of Pope Francis' top advisers.
|
| American teacher shot dead in Libya's Benghazi Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:06 PM PST  TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — An American chemistry teacher was shot to death as he was jogging in Benghazi on Thursday, highlighting persistently tenuous security in the eastern Libyan city where the U.S. ambassador was killed last year.
|
| Bloodbath in Central African Republic as UN backs force Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:41 PM PST  Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - France ordered more troops into its former colony of the Central African Republic on Thursday, hours after a sectarian bloodbath left more than 120 people dead in the troubled nation's capital of Bangui. Shortly after the UN Security Council issued a green light for the military intervention, French President Francois Hollande ordered an additional 600 troops to the African country, doubling the force it already has in and around Bangui. The depiction of a chaotic, desperate situation was confirmed by AFP reporters in Bangui, who counted 54 corpses gathered in a mosque in the PK5 area of the capital. The violence appeared to vindicate recent warnings from France, the United States and others that the Central African Republic (CAR) was on the brink of collapse with tensions soaring between its Christian and Muslim communities.
|
| New poison gas attack alleged in Syria Posted: 05 Dec 2013 12:55 PM PST  Opposition activists again accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of using poison gas in Syria's civil war on Thursday, and said victims had been discovered with swollen limbs and foaming at the mouth. The activists told Reuters two shells loaded with gas hit a rebel-held area in the town of Nabak, 68 km (40 miles) northeast of Damascus, on a major highway in the Qalamoun region. Separately, the Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union also accused Assad's forces of using poison gas. "We have documented nine casualties from poison gas used by the regime in neighborhoods of Nabak," it said on its Facebook page.
|
| No responsibility claimed in American teacher's death in Benghazi Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:10 PM PST  Ronnie Smith, 33, of Texas was married, had 2-year-old son.
|
| Baby, it's cold outside: Readers share their cold-snap stories Posted: 05 Dec 2013 09:06 AM PST  Areas further east are bracing for the frigid blast as the storm creeps into the Southern plains, the Tennessee Valley and the Northeast later this week. Yahoo News is collecting anecdotes from residents in the storm's path. Below are lightly edited excerpts from stories they shared with us this week.
|
| Vatican to draft expert panel to fight sex abuse Posted: 05 Dec 2013 05:27 AM PST  Boston Archbishop O'Malley says Pope Francis worried church's approach has been too legalistic.
|
| New NYC mayor's top cop pick was 'stop and frisk' advocate Posted: 05 Dec 2013 09:34 AM PST  In the most highly anticipated pick of his new administration, the incoming New York City mayor picked a veteran law enforcement official as police commissioner.
|
| No charges against FSU's QB Posted:  Jameis Winston's attorney says sex in assault investigation was consensual.
|
| 49 Russian diplomats illegally collected U.S. Medicare benefits: FBI Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:48 PM PST  By Emily Flitter and Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have charged 49 current and former Russian diplomats and their family members with participating in a scheme to get health benefits intended for the poor by lying about their income. The charges come against a backdrop of tense exchanges between Russia and the United States over law enforcement actions in both countries. Russia's deputy foreign minister expressed disappointment Thursday that the U.S. had not tried to discuss the charges with Russia through diplomatic channels, but a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said she did not expect the issue to harm relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, according to the charges, the family members had their housing costs paid for by the Russian government and spent "tens of thousands of dollars" on vacations, jewelry and luxury goods from stores like Swarovski and Jimmy Choo.
|
| 'We can't survive on $7.25!' Posted: 05 Dec 2013 08:18 AM PST  Fast food workers strike for higher pay, which is now $15,000 a year.
|
| Prelude, the world's largest ship, launches Posted: 05 Dec 2013 07:31 AM PST  Shell's 1,601-foot, 600,000-metric-ton, liquified-natural-gas vessel has hit the water in South Korea.
|
| Bill Bratton named next New York police commissioner Posted: 05 Dec 2013 11:22 AM PST  By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill Bratton, a veteran police chief who has led departments across the country, was named on Thursday as New York City's next police commissioner, taking over a force credited with a sharp drop in violent crime but criticized for its tactics. Bratton, 66, who was police commissioner under New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and has run police departments in Los Angeles and Boston, will return to the NYPD on January 1, taking over from Ray Kelly.
|
| U.S. growth speeds to 3.6% rate in Q3 Posted: |
| 'Duck Dynasty' congressman: 'I pray everyday for the president' Posted: 05 Dec 2013 04:25 AM PST  Republican Rep. Vance McAllister says he prays for President Obama daily.
|
| Officials blamed in deaths of 19 Ariz. firefighters Posted: 04 Dec 2013 06:08 PM PST  A report says forestry officials put property protection ahead of safety in the June blaze.
|
