| GOP presidential candidates meet for 5th debate Posted: 15 Dec 2015 04:31 PM PST  They race for advantage seven weeks before the first votes are cast in Iowa.
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| The spotlight -- and target -- is on Cruz in the last GOP debate of 2015 Posted: |
| Freddie Gray jurors deadlocked, judge says keep deliberating Posted: 15 Dec 2015 03:47 PM PST  BALTIMORE (AP) — Jurors said they were deadlocked Tuesday as they weighed manslaughter and other charges against a police officer in the death of Freddie Gray. The judge told them to keep deliberating and they went home for the night without reaching a verdict.
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| Gun and bomb attack threat closes Los Angeles schools in likely hoax Posted: 15 Dec 2015 04:19 PM PST  Los Angeles shut more than 1,000 public schools on Tuesday over a threatened attack with bombs and assault rifles, sending hundreds of thousands of students home as city leaders were criticized for overreacting to what federal officials later said was likely a hoax. The emailed threat, which authorities said was "routed through Germany" but likely originated locally, was made nearly two weeks after a married couple inspired by Islamic State killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a county office building 60 miles (100 km) away in San Bernardino. "Based on past circumstance, I could not take the chance," Los Angeles School Superintendent Ramon Cortines told a news conference.
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| Baltimore jury deadlocked in police officer's trial Posted: 15 Dec 2015 01:51 PM PST  By Ian Simpson BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A jury is deadlocked in the trial of police officer William Porter, charged in the death of black detainee Freddie Gray, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams said on Tuesday. Williams said he had received a note from the jury of seven women and five men after it had weighed the fate of Officer William Porter, 26, for almost 10 hours. Williams ordered the jury to keep trying to reach a verdict.
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| California shooter was not fully investigated before U.S. visa was issued Posted: 15 Dec 2015 01:14 PM PST  U.S. authorities in Pakistan could have sought - but did not - a full background security investigation of San Bernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik before granting her a visa to enter the United States in 2014, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. Under the U.S. "Visa Security Program," consular officials in American embassies overseas can ask U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stationed in the embassies to produce a "Security Assessment Opinion," or SAO, before the consulate decides whether to approve a U.S. visa application.
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| Trump extends lead, Cruz surges in second ahead of GOP debate Posted: 15 Dec 2015 02:30 PM PST  Donald Trump shook off intense criticism about his anti-Muslim comments to surge to his biggest lead yet in the Republican presidential nominations race, ahead of a Tuesday debate featuring the billionaire and his rivals. Two polls unveiled Monday and Tuesday show Trump at new heights, with maverick US Senator Ted Cruz surging into second place and looking to rattle the frontrunner on the national stage. With seven weeks before voters in the heartland state of Iowa cast the first votes in the nominations process, Trump, Cruz and seven other candidates will go toe to toe in Las Vegas in the final Republican presidential debate of 2015.
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| NY, LA schools receive same email threat; LA cancels classes Posted: 15 Dec 2015 04:01 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nation's two biggest school systems — New York City and Los Angeles — received threats Tuesday of a large-scale jihadi attack with guns and bombs, and LA reacted by shutting down the entire district, while New York dismissed the warning as an amateurish hoax and held class as usual.
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| Assad can stay, for now: Kerry accepts Russian stance Posted: 15 Dec 2015 03:01 PM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday accepted Russia's long-standing demand that President Bashar Assad's future be determined by his own people, as Washington and Moscow edged toward putting aside years of disagreement over how to end Syria's civil war.
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