| Fellow officers salute New York City cop's flag-draped casket Posted: 26 Dec 2014 02:58 PM PST  Hundreds of officers join the wife and sons of Officer Rafael Ramos.
|
| Will 'The Interview' change how Hollywood does business? Posted: 26 Dec 2014 02:54 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — "The Interview" was never supposed to be a paradigm-shifting film. But unusual doesn't even begin to describe the series of events that transpired over the past few weeks, culminating in the truly unprecedented move by a major studio to release a film in theaters and on digital platforms simultaneously.
|
| Weirdest political stories of 2014 Posted: 26 Dec 2014 12:02 AM PST  There's everyone from Sarah Palin to Seth Rogen to Hillary Clinton.
|
| Mourners gather for slain New York policeman Posted: 26 Dec 2014 02:43 PM PST  By Jonathan Allen and Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police officers in dress uniform and other mourners joined a somber, four-block line outside a New York City church on Friday for the wake of one of two officers shot by a man who said he was avenging the killing of unarmed black men by police. Targeted for their uniform, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were slain last Saturday afternoon while sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn in what is only the seventh instance of police partners being killed together in the city in more than 40 years. ...
|
| Former 'Saved by the Bell' actor Dustin Diamond arrested in Wisconsin Posted: 26 Dec 2014 02:48 PM PST (Reuters) - Former "Saved by the Bell" actor Dustin Diamond, who played the nerdy "Screech" on the high school sitcom, has been arrested for stabbing a man with a switchblade at a bar north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, police said on Friday. Dustin Diamond, 37, and his girlfriend were arrested shortly after they drove away from the Grand Ave Saloon in the town of Port Washington following the altercation on Thursday night, police said in a statement. ... |
| U.S. police struggle to uncover threats on social media Posted: 26 Dec 2014 04:05 AM PST  By Edwin Chan and Alex Dobuzinskis SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement agencies are a long way from being able to effectively track threats of the kind a gunman posted on Instagram before his execution-style murder of two New York City policemen last weekend. Police need more data analytics and mining software to monitor social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter , as well as trained personnel to make sense of what could be a deluge of data, say law enforcement officials and security experts. ...
|
| China's likely role in North Korea's cyber prowess Posted: 26 Dec 2014 09:46 AM PST  North Korea may be facing explosive hacking accusations, but analysts are questioning how an isolated, impoverished country with limited Internet access could wage cyber sabotage -- and many experts believe China plays a role. The US has accused Pyongyang of hacking Sony Pictures, which was intimidated into initially cancelling the comedy film "The Interview" that mocks North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, before deciding to release it online and in selected US cinemas on Christmas Day. While much of the focus has been on the so-called cyber warfare between Washington and Pyongyang -- especially after North Korea's Internet temporarily went down -- many analysts speculate China is a necessary partner in facilitating any attack by the North. "North Korea's cyber capacity relies on Chinese support in terms of both hardware and software," Willy Lam, a politics expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told AFP.
|
| Islamic State claims Iraq suicide bombing that killed 38 Posted: 26 Dec 2014 11:04 AM PST  The Islamic State group on Friday claimed it carried out a suicide bombing south of Baghdad that targeted Sunni fighters who oppose the jihadists, in which 38 people were killed. IS spearheaded a sweeping militant offensive that has overrun much of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland since June -- areas that Shiite-led government forces have sought local Sunni help to recapture. The Sahwa, or "Awakening" in Arabic, dates back to the height of the US-led war in Iraq, when Sunni tribesmen joined forces with the Americans to battle insurgents including IS's predecessor organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq. The Sahwa were key to greatly but temporarily reducing the violence, but when Iraq's government took over responsibility for their salaries they were sometimes paid late or not at all.
|
| 'Facilitator' of Taliban school attack killed in Pakistan Posted: 26 Dec 2014 09:25 AM PST  Pakistani security forces have killed a Taliban commander who allegedly facilitated the Peshawar school massacre, which left 150 people dead in the country's worst ever terror attack, officials said Friday.
|
| Senator to reveal major decision in March Posted: 26 Dec 2014 08:05 AM PST  BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders says he'll decide by March whether to launch a 2016 presidential campaign and, if so, whether he'll seek the Democratic nomination. Either way, Sanders says he wouldn't run just to nudge the debate to the left.
|
| Update on hospitalized George H.W. Bush Posted: 25 Dec 2014 04:29 PM PST  (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush remained hospitalized on Thursday near his home in Houston after experiencing shortness of breath this week, and was in "great spirits," his spokesman said. Bush, 90, was taken by ambulance to Houston Methodist Hospital on Tuesday. Spokesman Jim McGrath said on Wednesday that the 41st president's prognosis was positive and that he remained hospitalized as a precaution. "President Bush had another terrific day and is in great spirits," McGrath said on Thursday in an emailed statement. ...
|
| Sri Lanka floods, mudslides kill 14 Posted: 26 Dec 2014 05:17 AM PST  Floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rain have killed at least 14 people in Sri Lanka and driven 80,000 from their homes, police and officials said Friday, as the country marked the 10th anniversary of the tsunami.
|
| Asia remembers devastating 2004 tsunami Posted: 26 Dec 2014 06:12 AM PST  Survivors and relatives of the disaster's 226,000 victims gathered for memorial services.
|
| On Christmas, Obama marks end of Afghan combat Posted: 25 Dec 2014 08:33 PM PST  The president tells troops in Hawaii that their sacrifices have made the world safer.
|
| Capacity crowds pack screenings of 'The Interview' Posted: 25 Dec 2014 07:12 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Critics and early viewers agree that "The Interview" is less than a masterpiece. But thanks to threats from hackers that nearly derailed its release, it has become an event.
|
| Russia offers support to North Korea amid Sony hack Posted: 25 Dec 2014 08:28 AM PST  Russia on Thursday offered sympathy to North Korea amid the Sony hacking scandal, saying the movie that sparked the dispute was so scandalous that Pyongyang's anger was "quite understandable." ...
|
