Friday, January 31, 2014

Daily News: Yahoo News - White House acting fast on old crack sentences

Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:32 PM PST
Today's Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines:

White House acting fast on old crack sentences 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:32 PM PST
Attorney General Eric Holder, speaks about the mandatory minimum policy at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 2013 annual legislative conference in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)President and AG Holder not waiting on Congress to grant clemency for some offenders.
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Christie issues denial as 'Bridgegate' scandal flares up anew 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:14 PM PST
File photo of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie before delivering an address after being sworn in for his second term as governorBy 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.
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2 Utah men charged with toppling ancient rock 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:53 PM PST
FILE - This file frame grab from a video taken by Dave Hall shows two men cheering after a Boy Scouts leader knocked over an ancient Utah desert rock formation at Goblin Valley State Park. Prosecutors have filed charges Friday Jan. 31, 2014, against two former Boy Scout leaders accused of toppling ancient rock formations at Utah's Goblin Valley State Park. State Parks officials say Glenn Taylor was charged with criminal mischief. David Hall was charged with aiding criminal mischief, another felony. (AP Photo/Dave Hall, File)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.
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An important change is coming to hurricane warnings 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 01:19 PM PST
Storm surge flooding sample map (National Hurricane Center)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.
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Super Bowl madness in NYC's Times Square 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 11:36 AM PST
Super Bowl madness in NYC's Times SquareAline 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)
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Keystone XL pipeline clears significant hurdle 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:21 PM PST
In this March 11, 2013, file photo, a sign reading "Stop the Transcanada Pipeline" stands in a field near Bradshaw, Neb. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline will run through this field. In a move that disappointed environmental groups and cheered the oil industry, the Obama administration on Jan. 31, 2014, said it had no major environmental objections to the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)State Dept. report raises no major environmental objections to its construction.
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FBI: Powder at hotels near Super Bowl appears harmless 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:17 PM PST
Suspicious powder mailed to hotels near Super BowlLetters sent to at least 5 hotels and Ex-NYC Mayor Giuliani; one tests to be baking soda.
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Ex-official: Christie knew about lane closures 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:40 PM PST
New Jersey Governor Christie prepares to make an education announcement involving a new after-school dinner program for students in need at Dudley Family School in CamdenLetter from Port Authority staffer who resigned says N.J. gov. knew what was happening.
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Two put on leave after school took lunches from kids who owed money 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 10:59 AM PST
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, file photo, students pick up their lunch at Barre Town Elementary School in Barre Town, Vt. The Agriculture Department said Friday, Jan. 3, 2013, it's making permanent rules that allow schools to serve larger portions of lean meat and whole grains in school lunches and other meals. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)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.
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Ex-official: Christie knew about bridge closures 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 12:58 PM PST
New Jersey Governor Christie prepares to make an education announcement involving a new after-school dinner program for students in need at Dudley Family School in CamdenLetter from Port Authority staffer who resigned says N.J. gov. knew what was happening.
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White House calls class warfare charges ‘hyperventilation’ 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 08:11 AM PST
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman speaks during a news conference at the White House in WashingtonThe White House had a simple message on Friday for very rich Americans complaining that President Obama wants to wage class warfare: Stop your "hyperventilation."
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Syria refuses to commit to more peace talks 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 09:34 AM PST
A Syrian demonstrator is wrapped in a Syrian flag carrying the picture of President Assad as they shout pro-government slogans during a demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 31, 2014. The first face-to-face meetings between Syria's warring sides in three years were wrapping up Friday, with a patient U.N. mediator struggling to build enough momentum for a more constructive second round to break through the deadly impasse. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)After a week of negotiations, an end to the deadly civil war is not in sight.
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Obama gets CEOs to help unemployed 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:16 PM PST
President Barack Obama greets supporters after speaking at McGavock High School on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. Also pictured is former Vice President Al Gore, behind. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)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.
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Doctor found 'no problem' with Navy Yard gunman before attack 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 11:08 AM PST
This image released by the FBI shows a photo of Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis. Alexis, who killed 12 people in last year's rampage at Washington's Navy Yard lied so convincingly to Veterans Affairs doctors before the shootings that they concluded he had no mental health issues despite serious problems and encounters with police during the same period, according to a review by The Associated Press of his confidential medical files. (AP Photo/FBI)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.
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Kerry seeks to calm German anger at NSA reports 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 08:21 AM PST
US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, irght, address the media at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Firday, Jan. 31, 2014. Kerry meets with members of the German government before attending the Munich Security Conference. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)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.
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While U.N. leaders talk peace, nearly 1,900 die in Syria 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:45 AM PST
In this Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center (AMC), an anti-Bashar Assad activist group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian man carrying the body of a child who was killed following a Syrian government airstrike in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC)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.
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Amid drought, California agency won't allot water 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:13 PM PST
California Governor Jerry Brown talks during a meeting with more than a dozen water leaders from across Southern California in Los Angeles Thursday, Jan 30, 2014. Brown met with water managers as the state grapples with extreme drought conditions. (AP Photo)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.
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Amanda Knox: heading for an extradition fight? 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:21 PM PST
Amanda Knox prepares to leave the set following a television interview, Friday, Jan. 31, 2014 in New York. Knox said she will fight the reinstated guilty verdict against her and an ex-boyfriend in the 2007 slaying of a British roommate in Italy and vowed to "never go willingly" to face her fate in that country's judicial system . "I'm going to fight this to the very end," she said in an interview with Robin Roberts on ABC's "Good Morning America." (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)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.
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It is a mystery: Who left Knox home in coat? 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:13 PM PST
ADDS STATEMENT FROM KNOX SPOKESMAN DAVID MARRIOTT-An unidentified woman, center, is hidden under a jacket while being escorted from the home of Amanda Knox's mother, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, in Seattle.  Knox's family spokesman, David Marriott, said Thursday that Knox was at the house when an Italian court upholding her murder conviction was read Thursday, but said he didn't know whether the person who emerged was Knox. On Friday, Marriott stated he had made inquiries and that the person under the jacket wasn't Knox. (AP Photo)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.
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Ukraine activist's story fuels torture squad fears 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:13 PM PST
In this frame grab provided by 5 Channel, bloody Dmytro Bulatov speaks to press after he was found near Kiev, Ukraine, Jan. 31, 2014. Bulatov, an opposition protester who disappeared more than a week ago says he was kidnapped and tortured by unknown assailants, in a chilling development that is likely to further stoke anger against the embattled government of President Viktor Yanukovych. Dmytro Bulatov, is the latest in a string of disappearances and mysterious attacks on prominent opposition leaders, which left one activist dead and several badly beaten. (AP Photo/5 Channel)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.
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Cruise line cites fog, not illness, for return 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 10:49 AM PST
FILE - The new Caribbean Princess departs on its maiden voyage from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in this April 3, 2004 file photo. Federal health officials are investigating after an outbreak of illness has caused Caribbean Princess cruise ship to ends its trip early and returned to port in Houston late Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 more than a day ahead of schedule after more than 170 passengers and crew members aboard became sick. (AP Photo/Princess Cruises, Andy Newman, File)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.
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10 Super Bowl Ads to watch out for 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 10:21 AM PST
This undated frame grab provided by Toyota, shows the company's 2014 Super Bowl commercial. Toyota has enlisted the Muppets for this year's advertising campaign. (AP Photo/Toyota)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.
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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.
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Activists: 1,900 killed in Syria during talks 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 12:25 PM PST
In this Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center (AMC), an anti-Bashar Assad activist group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian man carrying the body of a child who was killed following a Syrian government airstrike in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center, AMC)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.
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Boston could prove sympathetic to bombing suspect 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:30 PM PST
FILE - This file photo provided Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, charged with using a weapon of mass destruction in the bombings on April 15, 2013 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. On Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder authorized the government to seek the death penalty in the case against Tsarnaev. (AP Photo/Federal Bureau of Investigation, File)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.
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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.
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US stocks end tough January with another decline 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:39 PM PST
Trader Robert Hannan works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. Stocks fell sharply in early trading Friday, as investors fretted over disappointing earnings from companies like Amazon.com and more trouble in overseas markets. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — Stock investors were hit from all sides in January.
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FBI: Powder near Super Bowl appears harmless 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:17 PM PST
Police officers stand guard outside the closed post office in Wood-Ridge, N.J., Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. The FBI says a 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. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)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.
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What now? Knox's murder conviction in Italy raises specter of extradition 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 01:17 AM PST
Amanda Knox arrives at the set of ABC's "Good Morning America" to be interviewed in New YorkSEATTLE (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.
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Obama: ‘Sochi is safe,’ but … 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:51 AM PST
FILE - In this June 25, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks about climate change, at Georgetown University in Washington. President Barack Obama is sticking to a fossil-fuel dependent energy policy, delivering a blow to a monthslong, behind-the-scenes effort by nearly every major environmental group to convince the White House that the policy is at odds with his goals on global warming. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)The president tells CNN he can't "discount" the possibility of an attack at the Olympics.
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Catholic diocese files for bankruptcy protection 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 03:22 PM PST
This 2011 file photo provided by Ron Zellar, shows the Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena, Mont. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena filed for bankruptcy protection Friday Jan. 31, 2014 in advance of proposed settlements for two lawsuits that claim clergy members sexually abused 362 people over decades and the church covered it up. (AP Photo/Ron Zellar,File)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.
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Russia defends Assad, says chemical arms deadline viable 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 05:26 AM PST
A Syrian demonstrator is wrapped in a Syrian flag carrying the picture of President Assad as they shout pro-government slogans during a demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 31, 2014. The first face-to-face meetings between Syria's warring sides in three years were wrapping up Friday, with a patient U.N. mediator struggling to build enough momentum for a more constructive second round to break through the deadly impasse. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)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.
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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.
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Kerry to hold talks with Ukraine's opposition in Germany 
Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:56 PM PST
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers opening remarks at a U.S.-Pakistan ministerial-level meeting at the State Department in WashingtonBy 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;
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As Senate campaigns begin, some Democrats flee Obama 
Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:39 AM PST
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) speaks to reporters after the Democratic weekly policy luncheon on Capitol HillBy 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.
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