| In battle against Islamic State, Iraqi tribal chiefs plead for more U.S. aid Posted: 27 Jan 2015 07:59 AM PST  At a meeting with Obama envoy, Sunni leaders a paint bleak picture.
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| Yahoo rallies as plan to spin off remaining Alibaba stake revealed Posted: 27 Jan 2015 01:13 PM PST  Yahoo promised to find a way to reduce the taxes it owes when it sells shares of Alibaba and now it has a plan to do so.
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| NYC economy lost $200M from fizzled storm, transit shutdown Posted: 27 Jan 2015 03:03 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — New York City lost about $200 million in economic activity in the fizzled snow storm and decision to shut down the transit system, but it wasn't a crippling loss, according to a preliminary estimate from Moody's Analytics.
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| Meteorologist offers rare apology on Twitter for ‘big forecast miss’ on snowstorm Posted: 27 Jan 2015 07:54 AM PST  Gary Szatkowski, chief of the National Weather Service office that serves Mount Holly, N.J., and Philadelphia, apologized on Twitter for his office's "big forecast miss" regarding this week's snowstorm.
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| Wisconsin Gov. Walker forms group to boost possible 2016 bid Posted: 27 Jan 2015 01:31 PM PST  The GOP governor of Wisconsin has taken the first formal step toward running for president.
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| Islamic State: Japanese hostage & Jordanian pilot have less than 24 hours Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:49 PM PST  An online message also demands the release of Sajida al-Rishawi.
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| Bowe Bergdahl to face desertion charges: NBC Posted: 27 Jan 2015 10:10 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan in 2009 but was released last year in a prisoner swap with the Taliban, will be charged with desertion, according to NBC. The television network, citing senior defense officials, said the charges could come within a week. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill Trott)
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| Nine dead in attack on luxury Tripoli hotel Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:20 PM PST  Gunmen stormed a luxury Tripoli hotel popular with diplomats and officials Tuesday in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, killing at least nine people -- including five foreigners -- before blowing themselves up. After setting off a car bomb outside the opulent Corinthia Hotel -- where visiting world leaders have met local dignitaries in the past -- three militants rushed inside and opened fire, Issam al-Naass, a security services spokesman, told AFP. They made it to the 24th floor of the hotel, a major hub of diplomatic and government activity, before being surrounded by security forces and detonating explosive belts they were wearing. The head of Libya's self-declared government, Omar al-Hassi, was inside the hotel at the time but was evacuated safely, Naass said.
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| Gunmen storm Libya hotel, killing American, 9 others Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:43 PM PST  TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — In the latest sign of Libya's descent into chaos, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel used by diplomats and businessmen in the capital on Tuesday, killing 10 people, including an American, a French citizen and three people from Eastern Europe.
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| Senate blocks swift passage of Keystone XL pipeline bill Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:14 PM PST  Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked the Keystone XL pipeline bill from moving forward on Monday, but supporters of the project vowed to push ahead and eventually get a vote on the measure. The Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed to limit debate, voting 53 to 39 on the measure. The Keystone bill allows Congress to approve TransCanada Corp's project to link Canada's oil sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast. Democrats, who lost control of the Senate as a result of November's elections, flexed their muscles to deliver a message to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that he will have to deal with them even on bills that enjoy some bipartisan support.
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| Blizzard slams Boston area, spares New York despite predictions Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:05 PM PST  By Scott Malone, Laila Kearney and Ellen Wulfhorst BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A powerful blizzard struck Boston and surrounding New England on Tuesday, leaving some 4.5 million people grappling with as much as three feet of snow and coastal flooding, but sparing New York City residents who had braced for a significant blast. Snow was forecast to keep falling into early Wednesday in eastern New England, possibly setting a record snowfall in Boston. At Logan International Airport, 20.8 inches (53 cm) of snow was on the ground late afternoon, swept higher in parts by strong winds. "There are drifts now of four, five and six feet in some places," Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said.
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| Obama dropping plan to tax college savings Posted: 27 Jan 2015 03:27 PM PST  President Barack Obama has dropped a controversial proposal to tax "529" college savings plans, a White House official said on Tuesday, calling it a "distraction" from administration efforts to provide middle-class tax relief. The proposal had aroused opposition from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. A source familiar with the situation said House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi had pressed senior administration officials to drop the proposal as she flew with Obama on Air Force One from India to Saudi Arabia. "Given it has become such a distraction, we're not going to ask Congress to pass the 529 provision so that they can instead focus on delivering a larger package of education tax relief that has bipartisan support," the White House official said.
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| U.S. says 9.5 million people enroll for 2015 Obamacare insurance Posted: 27 Jan 2015 01:37 PM PST  (Reuters) - More than 9.5 million people have signed up for 2015 individual health insurance on the new exchanges created under the national healthcare reform law, the U.S. government said on Tuesday, a number that surpasses its enrollment target for the year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it had signed up or automatically enrolled more than 7.1 million people on its HealthCare.gov website through Jan. 16. "The vast majority are able to lower their costs even further by getting tax credits," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement.
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| Gowdy vows to 'ratchet up' Benghazi investigation Posted: 27 Jan 2015 12:01 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of a special House committee investigating the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, promised Tuesday to "ratchet up" an inquiry he said is being hobbled by resistance from the Obama administration.
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| Dems accuse GOP of breaking promises on Benghazi panel Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:56 PM PST  Democrats on the special House panel investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks have accused Republicans of conducting the committee's work without them and withholding information that would undermine the credibility of the panel itself, according to three letters obtained by Yahoo News.
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| Millions hunker down for Northeast blizzard Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:43 PM PST  Much of the region is shut down but the storm has so far fallen short of predictions.
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| What! Facebook's down? No storm selfies during brief outage Posted: 27 Jan 2015 12:39 PM PST  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — No storm selfies, hookups, status updates. With Facebook and Instagram down for nearly an hour overnight, what were legions of users to do?
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