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White House acting fast on old crack sentences
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:32 PM PST
 President and AG Holder not waiting on Congress to grant clemency for some offenders. Full Story | Top |
Christie issues denial as 'Bridgegate' scandal flares up anew
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:14 PM PST
 By Edith Honan and Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former New Jersey official on Friday claimed Governor Chris Christie knew about politically motivated traffic jams as they happened, re-igniting a political scandal that has taken a toll on the prominent Republican. The letter from a former official at the agency that oversees the busiest U.S. bridge sparked a quick response from Christie, who again denied wrongdoing, and prompted a top New Jersey newspaper to suggest the governor could face impeachment. David Wildstein, who resigned his Port Authority post late last year, said in a letter that he had proof of the "inaccuracy" of some of Christie's statements about the so-called "Bridgegate" scandal, which polls show has already started to weigh on Christie's potential 2016 White House bid. Since the scandal first came to light, Christie has denied knowing the cause of the George Washington Bridge lane closings, which occurred after the mayor of Fort Lee declined to endorse the governor in a re-election bid and caused four days of massive traffic jams in that city. Full Story | Top |
2 Utah men charged with toppling ancient rock
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:53 PM PST
 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Prosecutors filed charges Friday against two former Boy Scout leaders accused of toppling one of the ancient rock formations at Utah's Goblin Valley State Park. Full Story | Top |
An important change is coming to hurricane warnings
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 01:19 PM PST
 A common misconception about hurricanes is that wind is your worst enemy. "Most people, when they hear hurricane, think wind first and maybe water second," said Jamie Rhome, storm surge specialist at the National Hurricane Center. "Given the fact that water is killing more people, we've got to start thinking water first." On Friday, the National Hurricane Center announced that it will add storm surge maps to text warnings when the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season begins in June. Full Story | Top |
Super Bowl madness in NYC's Times Square
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 11:36 AM PST
 Aline Colvero of Porto Alegre, Brazil poses for a photograph on Super Bowl Boulevard in Times Square in New York on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. The Seattle Seahawks play the Denver Broncos on Sunday at the stadium in the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Full Story | Top |
Keystone XL pipeline clears significant hurdle
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:21 PM PST
 State Dept. report raises no major environmental objections to its construction. Full Story | Top |
FBI: Powder at hotels near Super Bowl appears harmless
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:17 PM PST
 Letters sent to at least 5 hotels and Ex-NYC Mayor Giuliani; one tests to be baking soda. Full Story | Top |
Ex-official: Christie knew about lane closures
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:40 PM PST
 Letter from Port Authority staffer who resigned says N.J. gov. knew what was happening. Full Story | Top |
Two put on leave after school took lunches from kids who owed money
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 10:59 AM PST
 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah school cafeteria manager and a district supervisor have been placed on paid leave while officials investigate why lunches were taken from students who owed money on food accounts, a district spokesman said Friday. Full Story | Top |
Ex-official: Christie knew about bridge closures
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 12:58 PM PST
Letter from Port Authority staffer who resigned says N.J. gov. knew what was happening. Full Story | Top |
White House calls class warfare charges ‘hyperventilation’
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 08:11 AM PST
 The White House had a simple message on Friday for very rich Americans complaining that President Obama wants to wage class warfare: Stop your "hyperventilation." Full Story | Top |
Syria refuses to commit to more peace talks
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 09:34 AM PST
 After a week of negotiations, an end to the deadly civil war is not in sight. Full Story | Top |
Obama gets CEOs to help unemployed
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:16 PM PST
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Confronting the persistent joblessness that has marred the economic recovery, President Barack Obama won commitments Friday from more than 300 companies to reach out in their hiring to the nearly 4 million Americans who have been unemployed for half a year or more. Full Story | Top |
Doctor found 'no problem' with Navy Yard gunman before attack
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 11:08 AM PST
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The gunman who killed 12 people in last year's rampage at Washington's Navy Yard convinced Veterans Affairs doctors before the shootings that he had no mental health issues despite disturbing problems and encounters with police during the same period, according to a review by The Associated Press of his confidential medical files. Full Story | Top |
Kerry seeks to calm German anger at NSA reports
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 08:21 AM PST
 BERLIN (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that relations with Germany have gone through a "rough patch" recently because of revelations about NSA spying, but insisted that the two countries can put the episode behind them. Full Story | Top |
While U.N. leaders talk peace, nearly 1,900 die in Syria
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:45 AM PST
 BEIRUT (AP) — Fighting in Syria killed nearly 1,900 people during the week of U.N.-hosted peace talks in Switzerland, activists said Friday. The death toll indicates that violence barely paused as the warring parties met but struck uncompromising stances, failing to reach any agreements that could help resolve the conflict. Full Story | Top |
Amid drought, California agency won't allot water
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:13 PM PST
 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Amid severe drought conditions, California officials announced Friday they won't send any water from the state's vast reservoir system to local agencies beginning this spring, an unprecedented move that affects drinking water supplies for 25 million people and irrigation for 1 million acres of farmland. Full Story | Top |
Amanda Knox: heading for an extradition fight?
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:21 PM PST
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Roman Polanski. Edward Snowden. Manuel Noriega. Over the years, the famous and the infamous have been caught up in the legal process called extradition, which governs whether one country will turn over fugitives from justice to another country. Full Story | Top |
It is a mystery: Who left Knox home in coat?
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:13 PM PST
 SEATTLE (AP) — It was the photo that ran worldwide after an Italian court once again convicted Amanda Knox in the sensational murder case involving her and her former boyfriend: A person, covered by a coat, leaving her mother's Seattle home and speeding away in a car. Full Story | Top |
Ukraine activist's story fuels torture squad fears
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:13 PM PST
 KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The bloody images of Ukrainian opposition supporter Dmytro Bulatov, who says he was abducted and tortured for more than a week, have fueled fears among anti-government activists that extrajudicial squads are being deployed to intimidate the protest movement. Full Story | Top |
Cruise line cites fog, not illness, for return
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 10:49 AM PST
 PASADENA, Texas (AP) — A cruise ship carrying more than 160 passengers and crew sick with an apparent stomach virus returned to a Houston-area port early due to a dense fog advisory and not because people were vomiting and had diarrhea, a Princess Cruises spokeswoman said Friday. Full Story | Top |
10 Super Bowl Ads to watch out for
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 10:21 AM PST
 NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Scarlett Johansson gives SodaStream some sex appeal in a controversial spot, Kia revives actor Laurence Fishburne's "Matrix" character Morpheus in its commercial. And cute puppies and kids abound in ads for Cheerios to Anheuser-Busch. Full Story | Top |
Oust that tune: Study details cures for earworms
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 12:32 PM PST
WASHINGTON (AP) — It happens to nearly everyone: A song — let's say Abba's "Waterloo" — is stuck in your head and just won't go away. Full Story | Top |
Activists: 1,900 killed in Syria during talks
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 12:25 PM PST
BEIRUT (AP) — Fighting in Syria killed nearly 1,900 people, including at least 430 civilians, during the week of U.N.-hosted peace talks in Switzerland, activists said Friday. The death toll indicates that violence barely paused as the warring parties met but struck uncompromising stances, failing to reach any agreements that could help resolve the conflict. Full Story | Top |
Boston could prove sympathetic to bombing suspect
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:30 PM PST
 BOSTON (AP) — Given the powerful grief and anger over the Boston Marathon bombing, Boston would seem to be a particularly hostile place for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to stand trial. But it might just be his best hope of escaping a death sentence. Full Story | Top |
Christie denies lying about NJ lane closings
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:21 PM PST
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie's office says he told the truth about what he knew about politically motivated lane closings that caused massive gridlock in a New Jersey town last year. Full Story | Top |
US stocks end tough January with another decline
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:39 PM PST
 NEW YORK (AP) — Stock investors were hit from all sides in January. Full Story | Top |
FBI: Powder near Super Bowl appears harmless
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:17 PM PST
 NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A suspicious powder mailed to several locations in New York and New Jersey, including at least five hotels near the site of Sunday's Super Bowl, appears not to be dangerous, the FBI said Friday. Full Story | Top |
What now? Knox's murder conviction in Italy raises specter of extradition
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 01:17 AM PST
 SEATTLE (AP) — Amanda Knox is facing what seemed like a distant worry when she was giving national television interviews and promoting her autobiography last year: the possibility of being returned to Italy to serve decades in prison for the death of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Full Story | Top |
Obama: ‘Sochi is safe,’ but …
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:51 AM PST
 The president tells CNN he can't "discount" the possibility of an attack at the Olympics. Full Story | Top |
Catholic diocese files for bankruptcy protection
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:22 PM PST
 HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena filed for bankruptcy protection Friday as part of a proposed $15 million settlement for hundreds of victims who say clergy members sexually abused them over decades while the church covered it up. Full Story | Top |
Russia defends Assad, says chemical arms deadline viable
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 05:26 AM PST
By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia rejected U.S. charges that Syria is dragging its feet on giving up chemical weapons and said on Friday that a June 30 deadline to destroy President Bashar al-Assad's arsenal of toxic agents remains viable despite delays. The Syrian government is acting "in good faith" to eliminate its chemical weapons under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry official Mikhail Ulyanov as saying. Full Story | Top |
Atlanta area slowly rebounding from winter storm
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:04 PM PST
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on Friday outlined steps he said he plans to take to improve the city's emergency preparedness after a winter storm brought the metro area to a halt. Full Story | Top |
Kerry to hold talks with Ukraine's opposition in Germany
Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:56 PM PST
 By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet key Ukrainian opposition figures on Friday on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, his first meeting with some of the leaders of an anti-government uprising against President Viktor Yanukovich. Washington has welcomed talks in recent days between Yanukovich and the opposition groups to end two months of protests that began when Yanukovich rejected an EU trade deal in favor of closer ties and a financial bailout with Russia. Among those attending the meeting with Kerry is Arseny Yatsenyuk, a former economy minister and leader of the party of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko; Full Story | Top |
As Senate campaigns begin, some Democrats flee Obama
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:39 AM PST
 By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spooked by President Barack Obama's low approval ratings, some of his fellow Democrats in tough November election races have begun their campaigns by distancing themselves from the White House and asserting their independence from Obama's policies. In what amounts to a survival-first strategy among embattled Democrats crucial to the party's effort to keep control of the Senate, some candidates in conservative states Obama lost in 2012 are aggressively criticizing his healthcare, energy and regulatory policies. The group includes three incumbent senators, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mark Begich of Alaska, as well as Natalie Tennant, who is seeking to replace retiring Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Full Story | Top |
