| 400 to 500 reported dead in South Sudan clashes, UN official says Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:45 PM PST  Hundreds of bodies have reportedly been taken to hospitals in South Sudan's capital after clashes between rival army factions.
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| Obama tweaks Putin with U.S. Olympic delegation Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:45 PM PST  President Barack Obama? Nope. Vice President Joe Biden? Nope. Current Cabinet officials? Nope. First lady Michelle Obama? Nope.
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| Blind man, guide dog survive fall to NYC subway tracks Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:36 PM PST  A blind man and his guide dog were hit after falling onto the New York City subway tracks. Fortunatley, thanks to Orlando the black Labrador's quick-thinking, both dog and man escaped with relatively minor injuries.
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| Tech leaders: Aggressive NSA reform is needed Posted: 17 Dec 2013 11:35 AM PST  Silicon Valley execs discuss government surveillance with President Obama.
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| Mega Millions jackpot soars to $636 million, second largest ever Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:31 PM PST  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Mega Millions jackpot has soared to an estimated $636 million for Tuesday night's drawing, making it the second largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
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| Debt ceiling fight looms in 2014 Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:03 PM PST  The Senate's top Republican hints at another showdown with Obama next year.
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| Deportations on track for 6-year low Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:03 PM PST  The Obama administration likely deported the fewest people in six years last fiscal year, according to new Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.
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| Accused Sept. 11 attacker expelled from Gitmo courtroom Posted: 17 Dec 2013 12:53 PM PST  By Tom Ramstack FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - An accused conspirator in the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington was expelled from a courtroom at the Guantanamo Bay war crimes tribunal on Tuesday for being disruptive. During a pre-trial hearing in the death penalty case, Army Colonel Judge James Pohl discussed with the five defendants their right to be present during the courtroom proceedings. Each of the defendants said he understood his rights until the judge asked Ramzi Binalshibh, who is accused of wiring money to September 11 hijackers and passing information to key al Qaeda operatives. Binalshibh initially said he did not understand, but then started to complain about his prison cell conditions.
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| Judge who issued NSA ruling often bucks executive branch Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:42 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Richard Leon, the judge who declared that the National Security Agency's bulk collection of millions of Americans' telephone records is likely unconstitutional, has a long record of taking on executive branch actions.
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| Tech leaders meet with Obama over NSA spying Posted: 17 Dec 2013 11:36 AM PST Bosses from Internet giants including Twitter and Facebook Tuesday pressed President Barack Obama for reforms of US spy agency snooping, adding to rising heat from the courts and American allies. Obama met a group of the country's most iconic Silicon Valley firms and spent two hours discussing the National Security Agency's clandestine electronic data mining operation, known as PRISM, a participant in the meeting said. The Internet company bosses fear that NSA operations have crossed constitutional lines and infringe the privacy of their customers and users in the United States and abroad and could also impact their economic bottom lines. Another participant said the session started with a discussion on attempts to repair the Healthcare.gov website that undermined the rollout of Obama's health care reform package. |
| High school named after KKK 'grand wizard' to be renamed Posted: 17 Dec 2013 08:34 AM PST  A Florida high school named after a founding member of the Ku Klux Klan is getting a new name after a campaign to change it went viral.
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| Arapahoe High felt like 'a war zone' Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:42 AM PST  Student Brett Stewart offers first-person account of shooting chaos.
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| Budget deal clears crucial vote in Senate Posted: 17 Dec 2013 08:27 AM PST  The bill cleared a filibuster by drawing the support of several Republicans.
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| Knox emails Italian court: 'I didn't kill Meredith' Posted: 17 Dec 2013 08:20 AM PST  FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Amanda Knox declared her innocence in her roommate's 2007 murder in a highly unusual email Tuesday to the Italian court hearing the case against her. The former U.S. exchange student also said she was staying away from the trial out of fear of being wrongly convicted.
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| Casualties overwhelm hospitals in Syria's Aleppo Posted: 17 Dec 2013 11:53 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Hospitals in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo are overwhelmed with casualties, an international aid group warned Tuesday, as government warplanes blasted opposition areas of the city as part of a withering three-day air assault that has killed more than 100 people. |
| Obama selects gay athletes for Sochi delegation Posted: 17 Dec 2013 03:47 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama named openly gay athletes to the delegation that will represent the U.S. next year at opening and closing ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, sending a clear signal to Russia about its treatment of gays and lesbians.
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| Year-end agreement: Budget heads to final passage Posted: 17 Dec 2013 03:28 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Year-end legislation to ease Congress' chronic budget brinkmanship and soften across-the-board spending cuts moved to the cusp of final passage Tuesday, a rare display of Senate bipartisanship that masked strong Republican complaints about slicing into military retirement benefits.
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| UN: Poverty pushing Myanmar opium output higher Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:44 PM PST BANGKOK (AP) — A new U.N. report says official efforts to stamp out opium production in Myanmar are falling flat because poor farmers don't have alternatives. |
| NY financial firm announces $135M 9/11 settlement Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:38 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost two-thirds of its employees in the Sept. 11 attacks, revealed a $135 million settlement with American Airlines and insurance carriers on Tuesday to a judge who said it will end the final airplane-focused case resulting from claims of wrongful death and personal injuries. |
| UN: Hundreds estimated killed in South Sudan Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:49 PM PST  JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Fighting in South Sudan has killed up to 500 people, U.N. diplomats said Tuesday, and the United Nations fears the violence in the oil-rich East African country is "largely along ethnic lines."
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| Indian official: Diplomat's arrest in NYC barbaric Posted: 17 Dec 2013 03:14 PM PST  NEW DELHI (AP) — The arrest and strip search of an Indian diplomat in New York City escalated into a major diplomatic furor Tuesday as India's national security adviser called the woman's treatment "despicable and barbaric."
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| Blind man, guide dog safe after subway track fall Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:46 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Gallant guide dog Orlando was just doing his duty.
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| US urges citizens to leave South Sudan amid unrest Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:48 PM PST JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The United States ordered its citizens to leave South Sudan immediately Tuesday due to fighting in the capital after what its president called a coup attempt by soldiers loyal to his former deputy. |
| Banned Somali charcoal still finds ways into Gulf Posted: 17 Dec 2013 08:55 AM PST  KHASAB, Oman (AP) — Charcoal from Somalia is prized in Gulf nations: Made from acacia trees, it's slow burning and gives a sweet aroma to the region's beloved grilled meats and to tobacco burned in waterpipes. It is also banned by the United Nations, because its shipments rake in millions of dollars a year for al-Qaida-linked militants.
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| Putin: Russia to buy $15 billion in Ukraine bonds Posted: 17 Dec 2013 11:33 AM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday opened his wallet in the battle with the European Union over Ukraine's future, saying Moscow will buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian government bonds and sharply cut the price of natural gas for its economically struggling neighbor.
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| NASA orders urgent spacewalk repairs at station Posted: 17 Dec 2013 03:32 PM PST  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has ordered up a series of urgent spacewalks to fix a broken cooling line at the International Space Station, a massive repair job that could stretch to Christmas Day.
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| North Korea enigma: American released, uncle executed ... enter Dennis Rodman? Posted: 16 Dec 2013 03:08 PM PST  North Korea remains as enigmatic as ever, releasing an American Korean War veteran detained at the end of an organized visit to the hermetic country one moment and executing the longtime, behind-the-scenes power and former trusted uncle of leader Kim Jong-un the next. Mr. Rodman, who described himself as Kim's "friend for life" during a high-profile trip to Pyongyang earlier this year, plans to return this week to help train the North Korean basketball team. Also in the works for January is an unprecedented exhibition basketball game that would pit the Rodman-coached North Korean ballers against a roster of former NBA players – although the names of the latter have yet to be released. Rodman says he has high hopes for his "basketball diplomacy," but at the same time he eschews any political dimension to his North Korea travels.
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| Obama meets with tech CEOs amid NSA concerns Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday discussed the troubled federal health care website, government surveillance and other issues with executives from Google, Twitter, Apple and several other leading technology companies. |
| Six U.S. troops killed in Afghan helicopter crash Posted: 17 Dec 2013 11:51 AM PST  Six US troops in Afghanistan were killed and one wounded in a helicopter crash Tuesday, but it was unclear if Taliban fire caused any of the casualties after the chopper went down. Military officials said insurgents did not shoot down the UH-60 Blackhawk, but they were investigating whether any of the US troops were killed by gunfire from Taliban militants after the crash. The Afghan insurgents immediately claimed responsibility for the deaths, using their main Twitter account to report that their fighters had shot down the US chopper in the southern province of Zabul. The incident was the single biggest loss of life for the NATO mission in Afghanistan since seven Georgian soldiers died when a suicide bomber blew up a truck loaded with explosives outside a base in Helmand province in June.
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| Obama, tech execs to discuss costs of NSA spying Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:44 AM PST  Executives from Apple, Twitter, Netflix, Google and Yahoo are due to meet with the president.
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| Six U.S. soldiers killed in helicopter crash in Afghanistan Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:45 AM PST  Six U.S. soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, NATO said, the largest death toll in a single incident to hit the international force in months. U.S. defense officials said the soldiers killed in the crash, which occurred in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province, were American. Zabul's deputy governor, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, said a crash had taken place in the Shah Joy district of Zabul. A Taliban spokesman claimed on Twitter that Taliban militants had shot down a helicopter on Tuesday in the same district.
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| Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel headed to Rock Hall Posted: 17 Dec 2013 02:22 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Nirvana, Kiss and Peter Gabriel will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. |
| Boston Marathon bombing victim engaged to rehab nurse Posted: 17 Dec 2013 04:52 AM PST  James "Bim" Costello popped the question to Krista D'Agostino on Saturday in Lyon, France, during a 10-day trip to Europe with other victims and first responders.
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| Federal government has spent nearly $1 million on romance Posted: 17 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST  We know Congress has terrible approval ratings, but who knew it was this desperate for love?
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| 'No credible evidence' Diana murdered Posted: 17 Dec 2013 05:49 AM PST  British police said Tuesday they found "no credible evidence" that Diana, princess of Wales was murdered by special forces, following a probe into the new claims over her death in 1997. Scotland Yard announced in August it was checking recently received information about the deaths of the princess and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed, including an allegation that she was killed by Britain's elite Special Air Service (SAS). Diana and Fayed were killed in a car crash in a Paris underpass in the early hours of August 31, 1997, along with their French driver Henri Paul. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) conducted a "scoping exercise" to assess its relevance and decide whether it warranted a new criminal investigation.
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| Budget deal splits GOP leaders in House, Senate Posted: 17 Dec 2013 08:16 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leaders are criticizing a bipartisan budget deal, parting ways with their House counterparts who shepherded the measure through that chamber last week.
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| Report: Snowden makes Brazil an offer Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:06 AM PST  In an "open letter," the NSA leaker vows to help Brazil's government if granted asylum.
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