| 9/11 families can finally sue Saudi Arabia Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:21 PM PST  'Christmas has come early,' says father of one 25-year-old victim of terror attack.
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| Judge orders girl will stay on life support after tonsillectomy 'tragedy' Posted: 20 Dec 2013 04:15 PM PST  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A judge on Friday ordered a California hospital to keep a girl declared brain dead on life support following what was supposed to be a routine tonsillectomy.
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| Ready to sleep at the airport? Bad holiday weather blues Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:45 PM PST  Holiday travelers in the Midwest and parts East and South were keeping a leery eye Friday on a band of foul weather stretching across the nation's midsection that was threatening to mar the opening weekend ...
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| Did public debate on NSA snooping move Obama's needle? Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:21 PM PST  President suggested Friday he may be ready to change bulk collection of phone records.
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| 'Maximum carnage' intended at Kansas airport, judge says Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:21 PM PST  WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas airport worker charged with planning a suicide bomb plot at a commercial aircraft terminal poses a public danger and should not be released pending trial, a federal magistrate judge ruled Friday.
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| Fury and frustration over Target data breach Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:03 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Potential victims of credit card fraud tied to Target's security breach said they had trouble contacting the discounter through its website and call centers.
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| Clooney on Protecting South Sudan Posted: 20 Dec 2013 09:58 AM PST  Will the world let its youngest country slip into civil war after suffering so long for independence?
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| Snowden leaks: Israeli PM was targeted by NSA, UK spies Posted: 20 Dec 2013 10:27 AM PST  British and U.S. spies targeted a senior European Union official, German government buildings, and the office of an Israeli prime minister, according to the latest leaked documents from Edward Snowden published on Friday. Snowden has shone a light on widespread surveillance by the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ, the alleged extent of which has upset many U.S. allies and fuelled a heated debate about the balance between privacy and security. He is living in Russia under temporary asylum The newspapers reported that in January 2009 GCHQ and the NSA had targeted an email address listed as belonging to the Israeli prime minister, who at the time was Ehud Olmert.
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| Obama: 2014 'can be a breakthrough year' Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:09 PM PST  In year-end Q&A, president touts economic growth and sees compromise in Congress.
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| U.S. deploys troops to South Sudan to protect embassy, personnel Posted: 20 Dec 2013 07:33 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday the United States has deployed 45 military personnel to volatile South Sudan to protect the embassy and U.S. government employees there. "Although equipped for combat, this force was deployed for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property," Obama said in a letter to Congress. "This force will remain in South Sudan until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed."
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| Obama orders military to review sexual assault Posted: 20 Dec 2013 11:26 AM PST  The president says that his administration has "an urgent obligation" to respond.
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| Economy expands at fastest rate since 2011 Posted: 20 Dec 2013 12:49 PM PST  The U.S. economy grew at a solid 4.1 percent annual rate from July through September.
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| Last-minute Obamacare exemption for those with canceled plans Posted: 19 Dec 2013 08:44 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration made a major last-minute policy shift on Thursday, saying the change would help Americans meet a looming deadline to replace insurance plans canceled because of new standards under Obamacare reforms. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that this group of people - estimated by the administration to be fewer than 500,000 in number - will be allowed to claim a "hardship exemption" from the requirement in the 2010 Affordable Care Act to buy insurance. Armed with the exemption, they then have the option to buy "catastrophic" insurance plans - cheaper insurance with a minimal coverage level that, under the law, is normally available only to people under the age of 30. "This is a common-sense clarification of the law," said Joanne Peters, a spokeswoman for Sebelius.
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| Russian tycoon Khodorkovsky is released Posted: 20 Dec 2013 04:30 AM PST  Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a political enemy of Putin's, was jailed for corruption.
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| Congress passes sweeping defense bill Posted: 20 Dec 2013 12:33 AM PST The $632.8 billion bill changes how the military deals with sexual assault. |
| Jury: Portrait of Fawcett should stay with O'Neal Posted: 19 Dec 2013 10:53 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — For most of the last 33 years, an Andy Warhol portrait of Farrah Fawcett has hung in the home of her longtime lover, Ryan O'Neal, and a jury's verdict Thursday ensures that is where it will stay.
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| In diverse US, Santa Claus has many faces, races Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:11 PM PST  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — In Atlanta, children of many races share their Christmas wish lists with a black Santa Claus.
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| Canadian court strikes down anti-prostitution laws Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:38 PM PST  TORONTO (AP) — Canada's highest court struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws Friday, a victory for sex workers who had argued that a ban on brothels and other measures made their profession more dangerous. The ruling drew criticism from the conservative government and religious leaders.
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| Obama says 1 million signed up for health care Posted: 20 Dec 2013 12:47 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — His health care plan facing a dicey transition, President Barack Obama said Friday that insurance sign-ups are surging now that the government's website is working better for consumers. But it was too soon to say the rollout has turned the corner.
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| Reagan shooter granted more time outside hospital Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:48 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan will get to spend more time outside a mental hospital where he has been confined for most of the past three decades, a judge ruled Friday.
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| Stores open for 100 hours to attract shoppers Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:01 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Some stores are ending the holiday shopping season the same way they began it — with round-the-clock, marathon shopping hours.
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| Tom Cruise, tabloids, settle defamation lawsuit Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:29 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The publisher of two tabloid magazines says it never intended to imply that Tom Cruise had abandoned his daughter after his divorce.
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| AP's Top 10 photos of 2013 Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:02 PM PST  How to sum up an entire year of news in just 10 photos? The very notion is daunting when we consider that the AP's award-winning team of hundreds of staff photographers, freelancers and photo editors sends out some 3,000 photos every 24 hours - over 1 million photos a year - to our subscribers around the globe.
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| Salt Lake mayor marries gay couple after ban ended Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:51 PM PST  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Cheers erupted as the mayor of Salt Lake City officiated the first gay marriage ceremony in the state in an office building about three miles from the headquarters of the Mormon church.
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| Treatment of arrested diplomat was typical in US Posted: 20 Dec 2013 12:37 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — It has sparked protests outside the American embassy in New Delhi. Burnings of President Barack Obama's photo. And angry speeches by Indian officials.
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| Utah AG requests judge to stop same-sex marriages Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:43 PM PST SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah attorney general's office is requesting an emergency stay to stop same-sex marriages in the state. |
| Judge strikes down Utah's same-sex marriage ban Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:23 PM PST SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal judge struck down Utah's same-sex marriage ban Friday in a decision that brings a growing shift toward allowing gay marriage to a conservative state where the Mormon church has long been against it. |
| Spy panel wants duplicate oversight board replaced Posted: 20 Dec 2013 09:11 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, two review panels given nearly identical assignments by President Barack Obama have been studying how the White House should change or limit the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. They have functioned separately — with different experts and private and public hearings — but with almost the same mandate.
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