| Clinton: Obama should honor health care pledge Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:25 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Adding pressure to fix the administration's problem-plagued health care program, former President Bill Clinton says President Barack Obama should find a way to let people keep their health coverage, even if it means changing the law.
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| GOP blocks key Obama court nominee in Senate vote Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:36 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked another of President Barack Obama's picks for one of the nation's top courts on Tuesday, the latest skirmish in a nominations battle that has intensified partisan tensions in the chamber.
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| One World Trade Center named tallest US building Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:19 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — They set out to build the tallest skyscraper in the world — a giant that would rise a symbolic 1,776 feet from the ashes of ground zero.
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| Israel halts plans to explore new settlements Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:35 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister on Tuesday abruptly halted a plan to explore the potential construction of thousands of new homes in West Bank settlements, saying it had created an "unnecessary confrontation" with the international community that threatened to weaken his campaign against Iran's suspect nuclear program.
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| Trial for Air Force officer accused of groping Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:49 PM PST  ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A woman testified that an Air Force officer who once led the branch's sexual-assault response team groped her outside a Crystal City bar, then asked her if she liked it.
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| Scientists: Oldest big cat fossil found in Tibet Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:30 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scientists have unearthed the oldest big cat fossil yet, suggesting the predator — similar to a snow leopard — evolved in Asia and spread out.
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| Scandal, latest loss have Dolphins fans fed up Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:03 PM PST  DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins fans are venting on Twitter and complaining on radio about the team owner, the coach, the general manager and even the backup left guard.
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| Families grieve in Damascus after attack on school Posted: 12 Nov 2013 12:16 PM PST  DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Families in a central neighborhood of the Syrian capital wept quietly Tuesday as they retrieved the bodies of four children and their bus driver killed in a mortar attack on their school in a predominantly Christian area a day earlier.
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| AP PHOTOS: Typhoon: from landfall to aftermath Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:43 PM PST  Five days into what could be the Philippines deadliest disaster ever, workers still struggle to get aid to those affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The scale of the disaster and challenges of delivering assistance means few in the region, strewn with debris and corpses, have received any help, despite tons of aid waiting to be distributed. The official death toll from the disaster rose to 1,774 on Tuesday, though authorities have said they expect that to rise markedly. President Benigno Aquino III told CNN that the death toll could be 2,000 or 2,500. Millions of people have been affected across a large swath of the country, many of them made homeless.
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| Gov't reaches agreement to allow airline merger Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:12 PM PST  DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines and US Airways reached a deal with the government that lets the two form the world's biggest airline and opens up more room at key U.S. airports for low-cost carriers.
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| Ohio boy who came home for early Christmas dies Posted: 12 Nov 2013 12:18 PM PST  TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A boy whose last wish was to be home for his favorite holiday has died, two weeks after his hometown welcomed him with a Christmas tree outside his window and a motorcycle-riding Santa Claus.
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| 1 World Trade Center named as tallest US building Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:21 AM PST CHICAGO (AP) — The new World Trade Center tower in New York replaced Chicago's Willis Tower as the nation's tallest building when an international panel of architects announced Tuesday that the needle atop the skyscraper can be counted when measuring the structure's height. |
| Martin's meeting with Dolphins owner postponed Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:41 PM PST DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Jonathan Martin's meeting with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been postponed until after the tackle talks with a special investigator about the team's harassment scandal. |
| Lone gunman, magic bullet, CIA or...? Posted: 11 Nov 2013 08:00 AM PST  Years after, Americans still obsess over theories about JFK's death.
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| For TV pitchman Trudeau, one almighty legal cleanse Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:11 PM PST  By Adam Kirby CHICAGO (Reuters) - A federal jury found pitchman Kevin Trudeau guilty of criminal contempt on Tuesday for exaggerating the contents of his weight-loss book in infomercials, and he was taken into custody, prosecutors said. Jurors took less than an hour to find Trudeau, 50, guilty of violating a 2004 federal court settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that barred him from misrepresenting the contents of his books in advertisements, said Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago. Prosecutors had argued Trudeau knowingly violated the 2004 agreement while marketing his book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You To Know About," in infomercials made in 2006 and 2007 that aired about 32,000 times. In part, Trudeau told viewers in the infomercials that the "cure" to obesity was not a diet and did not require exercise, but the book instructed readers to walk an hour each day and to limit intake to 500 calories.
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| Hard-hit areas in Philippines receiving only a trickle of aid Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:41 PM PST  TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) — Desperately needed food, water and medical aid are only trickling into this city that took the worst blow from Typhoon Haiyan, while thousands of victims jammed the damaged airport Tuesday, seeking to be evacuated.
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| Saturn like you've never seen Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:05 PM PST  NASA photo shows several of its moons, all but one of its rings; Earth, Venus and Mars.
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| E-cigarettes a lifesaver? Really, now... Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:13 PM PST  Switching to e-cigarettes could save millions of smokers' lives, a conference on the increasingly popular devices heard Tuesday, though some experts warned more research on the health effects is needed. The merits of e-cigarettes were thrashed out at a one-day gathering of some 250 scientists, policymakers, industry figures and enthusiasts at the Royal Society in London. The use of electronic cigarettes -- battery-powered devices that simulate smoking by heating and vaporising a liquid solution containing nicotine -- has grown rapidly, with tobacco manufacturers jumping on the trend. Delegates in London debated how the market had moved faster than science or the law.
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| Calling all the single ladies ... for Obamacare Posted: 12 Nov 2013 11:17 AM PST  Provocative new pro-Obamacare ads urge single women to enroll in exchanges.
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| Put a ring on it! World's largest orange diamond nets $31.5 m Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:16 PM PST  A spectacular and rare orange diamond, the largest known gem of its kind, was on Tuesday auctioned off for a record $31.5 million in Geneva. The deep orange gemstone, which was found in South Africa, weighs a whopping 14.82 carats. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has handed it the top rating for coloured diamonds: "fancy vivid". "To have one that's over 14 carats is exceptional," Christie's international jewellery director David Warren told AFP.
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| US Airways-American Airlines reach merger settlement Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:55 PM PST  By Diane Bartz and Soyoung Kim WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - US Airways Group Inc and American Airlines will be allowed to merge to become the world's largest airline after they agreed to give low-cost competitors more access to several key U.S. airports, including in New York and Washington. The agreement, subject to court approval, ends a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit filed in August. The government opposed the merger of US Airways and AMR Corp, parent of bankrupt American Airlines, on the grounds it would hinder competition and lead to higher fares. Department of Justice officials termed the settlement a major boost to the competitiveness at key major airports, while some analysts said the number of flights affected - only about 112 out of about 6,700 daily flights - indicated the change would be incremental.
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| Philippine president scales back typhoon death toll estimate Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:52 AM PST  As aid streams into the nation, Benigno Aquino expects the number to be 2,000 to 2,500.
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| Students try to blockade Bulgaria's parliament, five detained Posted: 12 Nov 2013 08:17 AM PST  Hundreds of Bulgarian students tried to blockade lawmakers inside parliament on Tuesday, escalating their street demonstrations against the Socialist-led government. "The university occupation is not enough, the government does not hear us and completely ignores us, so a blockade of parliament may do it," said Stanislav Kastchiyski, a journalism student at the Sofia University told Reuters. The cabinet of Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski took office in May after a center-right government was brought down after massive protests over high utility bills. "We want to stay in Bulgaria and live with dignity.
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| Clinton: Obama needs to keep health care vow Posted: 12 Nov 2013 02:41 PM PST  The former president says he likes the law, but says it may need modified.
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| U.S. justices decline to hear ultrasound abortion case Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:52 AM PST  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review a decision striking down a Oklahoma law that required any woman seeking an abortion to be shown an ultrasound image of the fetus beforehand. By refusing to hear the case, the high court left intact an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that struck down the law on the basis that it violated the U.S. Supreme Court's precedent on abortion restrictions. It was the second time in two weeks that the high court had declined to review an Oklahoma court ruling that struck down an abortion restriction. Last week, the court dismissed another case concerning a state law in Oklahoma that cracked down on the use of the abortion-inducing drug RU-486.
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| Aid pours into Philippines, just not the right places Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:16 AM PST  Aid workers, medical teams overwhelmed by thousands seeking food, shelter and rescue.
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| NYC tops Chicago with nation's tallest tower Posted: 12 Nov 2013 07:14 AM PST  The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's Height Committee said the spire atop the 1,776-foot structure is permanent, settling a debate between New York and Chicago over the tallest-building mantle.
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| Aquino: Philippines typhoon death toll closer to 2,500, not 10,000 Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:08 AM PST  By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The death toll from the massive typhoon that hit the Philippines is closer to 2,000 or 2,500, not the previously reported figure of 10,000, President Benigno Aquino told CNN on Tuesday. "Ten thousand, I think, is too much," Aquino said in an interview posted on CNN's website.
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| The secret, dirty cost of Obama's green power push Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:37 AM PST  CORYDON, Iowa (AP) — The hills of southern Iowa bear the scars of America's push for green energy: The brown gashes where rain has washed away the soil. The polluted streams that dump fertilizer into the water supply.
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| London will test banks with cyber 'war game' attacks Posted: 12 Nov 2013 12:15 PM PST  By Matt Scuffham and Joshua Franklin LONDON (Reuters) - A cyber attack by a foreign government on financial markets played out in one of London's historic halls on Tuesday in a "war game" simulation designed to test the City's defences against online saboteurs. About 100 bankers, regulators, government officials and market infrastructure providers gathered to take part in a exercise dubbed "Waking Shark II" at Plaisterers' Hall in the heart of Britain's financial district. The Bank of England has told banks to strengthen their defences against cyber attacks. One unidentified London-listed company incurred losses of 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion) in a cyber attack several years ago, according to British security services.
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| Last Jew in Afghanistan faces ruin as kebabs fail to sell Posted: 12 Nov 2013 12:22 AM PST By Jessica Donati and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Zabulon Simintov always removes his kippah, the skullcap worn by Jewish men, before entering his cafe in a dilapidated building that also houses Afghanistan's last synagogue. In his 50s, Simintov is the last known Afghan Jew to remain in the country. He has become something of a celebrity over the years and his rivalry with the next-to-last Jew, who died in 2005, inspired a play. Mindful of Afghanistan's extremely conservative Muslim culture, Simintov tries not to advertise his identity to protect the Balkh Bastan or Ancient Balkh kebab cafe he opened four years ago, naming it after a northern Afghan province. |
| Poll: Clinton would beat Christie in 2016 matchup Posted: 12 Nov 2013 05:05 AM PST  The 2016 presidential election is 1,093 days away. But if it were held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton and Chris Christie, the former secretary of state would have a double-digit lead on the New Jersey governor, a new NBC News national survey finds.
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| Slain musicians sought NYC for artistic freedom Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:28 AM PST  Iranian musicians Soroush and Arash Farazmand came to the United States to pursue their passion — playing music in an indie rock band called the Yellow Dogs. Instead of achieving fame for their songs, they gained notoriety for their horrific deaths.
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| Medicaid is health overhaul's early success story Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:23 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The ugly duckling of government health care programs has turned into a rare early success story for President Barack Obama's technologically challenged health overhaul.
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| Relief efforts hampered in Philippines' hardest-hit areas Posted: 12 Nov 2013 04:08 AM PST  Aid workers, medical teams overwhelmed by thousands seeking food, shelter and rescue.
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| Iran rejects blame for nuclear talks failure Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:29 AM PST  Iran, backed by Russia on Tuesday, blamed friction among Western powers for the failure of Geneva talks that came tantalisingly close to a landmark deal on its nuclear programme. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed claims by US Secretary of State John Kerry that Iran had baulked at the deal on offer from the six powers in last week's talks. He said it was French objections to the draft thrashed out by Tehran and Washington that had scuppered an agreement, echoing criticism of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in the Iranian media. "Mr Secretary, was it Iran that gutted over half of US draft Thursday night?
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| Desperate survivors seek to flee typhoon zone Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:32 PM PST  Thousands swarm an airport seeking a flight out, but only a few hundred make it.
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