| Report: Secret Service needs more, better-trained agents Posted: 18 Dec 2014 02:05 PM PST  After a prostitution scandal and consternation over how a fence-jumper at the White House got deep into the presidential mansion before he was stopped, the Secret Service needs to make sweeping changes like building a taller fence, hiring many more agents and stepping up their training, an independent commission says.
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| How much will cyberattack cost Sony? Posted: 18 Dec 2014 01:05 PM PST  It may be the most damaging hack ever inflicted on an American business.
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| Accused Boston marathon bomber makes first appearance since 2013 Posted: 18 Dec 2014 02:25 PM PST  The scene that unfolded in a federal courtroom in Boston on Thursday was Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's first public appearance in 17 months. The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, said just five words in the final hearing before his trial begins in January on charges that he, along with his older brother, set off two deadly bombs near the marathon finish line in April 2013.
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| Obama to set up panel to boost trust between police and communities Posted: 18 Dec 2014 01:49 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday will set up a task force to draw up recommendations to strengthen trust between law enforcement and local communities, following protests over several instances of police killings of unarmed people this year. "There is a sense of urgency," White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett told reporters before Obama was to sign an executive order setting up the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. She said the order directs the 11-member panel to submit recommendations to the president by March 2. Obama had said on Dec. ...
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| Uber's fight of California data-sharing rule highlights its bumpy road Posted: 18 Dec 2014 04:33 PM PST  By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber argued Thursday that it should not have to turn over ride data in a California regulatory standoff that shows how the transportation service is falling afoul of officials who could threaten its expansion. The issue, which is being heard in a California administrative court and whose outcome will not be known until next year, pits Uber against the California Public Utilities Commission. ...
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| Journalist sues over arrest at protest in Ferguson, Missouri Posted: 18 Dec 2014 04:25 PM PST By Daniel Wallis (Reuters) - A Washington-based journalist has sued St. Louis County and one of its police lieutenants, saying his rights were violated when he was arrested while covering protests over the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, court papers showed. Gerald Yingst, a reporter and producer with News2Share, also accuses police of defaming him by announcing his arrest on Twitter and saying he had refused a commander's order to clear the street, damaging his professional reputation. A St. ... |
| Bill O'Reilly declares victory in the 'War on Christmas' Posted: 18 Dec 2014 08:52 AM PST  The Fox News host, who has become Christianity's General Patton in the so-called "War on Christmas," is declaring victory.
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| 'Savior of the nation' Posted: 18 Dec 2014 07:13 AM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — From a Western perspective, Vladimir Putin's days as president of Russia should be numbered: The ruble has lost about half its value, the economy is in crisis and his aggression in Ukraine has turned the country into an international pariah.
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| Good news for U.S. homebuyers Posted: 18 Dec 2014 08:34 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. long-term mortgage rates fell this week, with the benchmark 30-year loan rate reaching a new low for the year.
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| Matt Bai: Why Democrats should take their convention to central Ohio Posted: 18 Dec 2014 02:18 AM PST  The site a party chooses for its convention can say something about the kind of country it wants to build. And when Democrats select where they expect to host Hillary Clinton's coronation in 2016, they should go to Columbus, Ohio, to show what American cities might yet become. In terms of jobs, urban renewal and a great location at the center of an urbanized state, Columbus has much to recommend it. But it also has other things all too rare in modern American cities: strong leadership and a business community that doesn't shirk its civic responsibility. It's a vision of a hopeful future.
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| Obama reignites political debate over Cuba Posted: 18 Dec 2014 06:30 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The surprising move by President Barack Obama to restore U.S. ties with Cuba reignited long-simmering political passions over the fate of the island nation, reinforcing yet another difference between Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and several Republicans eyeing bids for the White House.
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| U.S. links N. Korea to Sony hacking Posted: 17 Dec 2014 08:14 PM PST  Sony cancels its release of "The Interview," citing threats from hackers.
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| Executions in United States at 20-year low: report Posted: 17 Dec 2014 09:21 PM PST  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid growing concerns about how executions are carried out in the United States, the number of prison inmates being put to death fell to a 20-year low in 2014, the Death Penalty Information Center said in a report issued on Thursday. The 35 executions this year was the lowest since 1994, said the Washington-based nonprofit, which does not take a position on whether the death penalty should be abolished, in its annual survey of national data. ...
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| Amid scrutiny, Uber vows bigger focus on safety Posted: 17 Dec 2014 08:28 PM PST  Uber promises to focus on rider safety amid increasing concerns that its drivers are not adequately screened for past criminal convictions.
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| Cuba's Castro hails new era of 'living together' with U.S. Posted: 17 Dec 2014 06:56 PM PST  Cuban President Raul Castro hailed a landmark exchange of prisoners with the United States on Wednesday and praised U.S. President Barack Obama as the two countries agreed to normalize relations after more than five decades of hostility. The United States freed three convicted Cuban spies in return for the release of U.S. foreign aid worker Alan Gross, imprisoned in Cuba in 2009, and of an intelligence agent who spied for the United States and had been held for nearly 20 years. ...
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