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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Gaza official: Israeli fire kills 2 Palestinians

Gaza official: Israeli fire kills 2 Palestinians

Gaza official: Israeli fire kills 2 Palestinians

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:12 PM PST

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Gaza health official says two men have been killed by Israeli fire in the central Gaza Strip.

RG3 leads Redskins over Eagles 27-20

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:04 PM PST

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, left, passes under pressure from Philadelphia Eagles' Brandon Graham, center, and Colt Anderson in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Robert Griffin III threw two touchdown passes in his first game back from a knee injury, Kai Forbath set the NFL record for consecutive field goals to begin a career and the Washington Redskins held on to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 Sunday for their sixth straight win.

Memorial service for Sen. Inouye held in Hawaii

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST

Pallbearers carry the casket of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye into the courtyard of the Hawaii state Capitol during a visitation ceremony in Honolulu on, Saturday Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Oskar Garcia)HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and other dignitaries attended a memorial service for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye on Sunday.

Ranchers split over US border security plan

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:59 PM PST

In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 photo, rancher Dan Bell checks out part of his property at the border fence between the United States and Mexico, in Nogales, Ariz. When Bell drives through his property, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees: The hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, and the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — When Dan Bell drives through his 35,000-acre cattle ranch, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees — the hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road.

Telepresence robots let employees 'beam' into work

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:58 PM PST

Bo Preising, Suitable Technologies' vice president of engineering, at left, talks with fellow engineers, Josh Faust, center on screen, and Josh Tyler, on screen at right, both using a Beam remote presence system in Palo Alto, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. More employees are working from home, but there's still no substitute for actually being at the office. Enter the Beam. It's a roving computer screen _ with video cameras, microphones and speakers _ that stands five feet and rides on motorized wheels. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Engineer Dallas Goecker attends meetings, jokes with colleagues and roams the office building just like other employees at his company in Silicon Valley.

Ex-Sandy Hook teacher: Lanza was sweet little boy

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:56 PM PST

REDDING, Conn. (AP) — A former teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School says she remembers the gunman who killed 26 people at the school as a smart, sweet boy in her second-grade class.

Witch burns, audience on fire at Vienna opera show

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:55 PM PST

In this undated, publicly provided picture by Volksoper Vienna, children dressed as angels perform during a rehearsal of the opera Hansel and Gretel, by composer Engelbert Humperdinck in the Volksoper opera in Vienna. (AP Photo/HONS/ Barbara Palffy,Volksoper Vienna)VIENNA (AP) — At the end of the evening, the witch was toast Sunday — or more precisely a gingerbread cookie — and the audience at Vienna's Volksoper loved it.

Richard Adams, early figure in gay marriage, dies

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:47 PM PST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Richard Adams, who used both the altar and the courtroom to help begin the push for gay marriage four decades before it reached the center of the national consciousness, has died, his attorney said Sunday.

Analysis: Egypt's Islamists tighten grip on power

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:35 PM PST

An Egyptian man reads a newspaper at a coffee shop in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Egypt's opposition called Sunday for an investigation into allegations of vote fraud in the referendum on a deeply divisive Islamist-backed constitution after the Muslim Brotherhood, the main group backing the charter, claimed it passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote. Official results have not been released yet and are expected on Monday. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)CAIRO (AP) — With the passage of a divisive constitution, Egypt's Islamist leadership has secured its tightest grip on power since Hosni Mubarak's ouster nearly two years ago and laid the foundation for legislation to create a more religious state.

Air strike kills dozens of Syrians waiting to buy bread

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:31 PM PST

Free Syrian Army fighters take their positions as one of them fires during clashes with forces loyal to Syria's President Assad in Qastal Harami area in AleppoBEIRUT (Reuters) - Dozens of people were killed and many more wounded in a Syrian government air strike that hit a bakery where a crowd was queuing for bread on Sunday, activists said. If confirmed, the attack on Halfaya in central Syria, which was seized by rebels last week, would be one of the deadliest air strikes of Syria's civil war. Videos uploaded by activists showed dozens of bloodstained corpses lying amid rubble and shrapnel. An adolescent boy with both his feet blown off lay flailing in the middle of a road. "When I got there, I could see piles of bodies all over the ground. ...

Memorial service for Inouye begins in Hawaii

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:21 PM PST

Pallbearers carry the casket of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye into the courtyard of the Hawaii state Capitol during a visitation ceremony in Honolulu on, Saturday Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Oskar Garcia)HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and other dignitaries are attending a memorial service for the late Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Unwavering NRA opposes any new gun restrictions

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:20 PM PST

The National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, gestures during a news conference in response to the Connecticut school shooting on Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 in Washington. The nation's largest gun-rights lobby is calling for armed police officers to be posted in every American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings." (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON (AP) — An unwavering National Rifle Association said Sunday that not a single new gun regulation was needed to prevent mass shootings such as the one at a Connecticut elementary school, that "a media machine" relishes blaming the gun industry for each new attack and that a White House task force on gun violence may try to undermine the Second Amendment.

For family that lost home to Sandy, 'a miracle'

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:16 PM PST

LONG BEACH, N.Y. (AP) — The text from Sister Diane at St. Ignatius Martyr church was as odd as it was urgent: "A man is going to call. You must answer the phone."

Fear, finger-pointing mount over U.S. fiscal cliff

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:13 PM PST

U.S. House Speaker Boehner speaks to media on a "fiscal cliff" on Capitol Hill in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. lawmakers voiced rising fear on Sunday that the country would go over "the fiscal cliff" in nine days, triggering harsh spending cuts and tax hikes, and some Republicans charged that was President Barack Obama's goal. "It's the first time that I feel it's more likely that we will go over the cliff than not," Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said on CNN's "State of the Union. ...

AP source: Swisher, Tribe reach $56M, 4-year deal

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:12 PM PST

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians' pitch to bring Nick Swisher "home" worked.

Syrian rebels say capture military base, seize weapons

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:01 PM PST

HAWA, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have seized a military base in the country's north, capturing weapons they hope will repel air raids by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, rebels said on Sunday. Under cover of rain and fog, Col. Anas Ibrahim Abu Zeid led 200 fighters in a four-hour operation to take over the 135 Infantry Brigade base in the village of Hawa, a mostly Kurdish area in northern Aleppo province, on Saturday, they said, as they showed the base to journalists. The rebels found about 150 soldiers at the base, though it can hold up to 3,000 troops, Abu Zeid said. ...

Luck sets rookie record, rookie PK sets NFL mark

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:57 AM PST

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, right, scrambles away from Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker Brandon Siler during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Andrew Luck has broken the NFL rookie record for yards passing, and rookie kicker Blair Walsh has broken the league mark for 50-yard plus field goals in a season.

Argentina import controls put brake on bike sales

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:51 AM PST

In this Nov. 28, 2012 photo, people sit with their bicycles in the Plaza de la Republica along the 9 de Julio Avenue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Civic leaders have tried to make Buenos Aires a bicycle-friendly city, but that's been stymied by another government initiative, protectionist import bans designed to spur domestic production that have instead strangled supplies of everything from bananas to prescription drugs. For cyclists, fewer bikes are available because the business has mostly relied on foreign-made parts. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Summer has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere, and bicyclists all over the Argentine capital have hit the streets to enjoy the warm weather. That means this should be peak season for bicycle manufacturers and shops all over town, but the ride hasn't been so smooth this year.

So. Calif. couple unlawfully wedded for 48 years

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:50 AM PST

REDLANDS, Calif. (AP) — After spending nearly a half-century as husband and wife, Bob and Norma Clark are finally married.

Iran welcomes approval of new constitution in Egypt

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:46 AM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran welcomed on Sunday initial results that showed the approval of an Islamist-backed constitution in Egypt, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the charter after two rounds of voting that ended with a final ballot on Saturday. ...

Ho Ho Holy Discount: Vatican tax-free store busy

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST

This is a 1962 photo showing train carriages inside St. Peter's train station in the Vatican, whose tracks connect to Italy's rail system. There's a little-known open secret in the Vatican gardens, a few paces behind St. Peter's Basilica and tucked inside the Vatican's converted train station: a sprawling, two-story tax-free department store that rivals any airport duty free or military PX, stocking everything from Church's custom grade shoes (euro 483 a pair) to Baume et Mercier watches (ladies euro 1,585, men's Capeland euro 5,000). There's a hitch, however. It's not open to the public, only to Vatican citizens, employees and their dependents, diplomats accredited to the Holy See and (unofficially) their lucky friends who, after stocking up on holiday must-haves, proceed to the checkout with their Vatican connection and the ID card that entitles them to shop there. To be sure, Rome is no stranger to tax-free shopping. Embassies, nearby military bases and the U.N. food agencies all have commissaries for their employees, where tax-free imports of everything from American ice cream to French wine can be had minus the 21 percent sales tax included in list prices in Italy. The Vatican has that and more, given it's its own sovereign state _ the world's smallest _ operating in central Rome. At 44-hectares (110 acres), the Vatican city state is the physical home of the Holy See: the pope and governing structure and administration of the Catholic Church. The Vatican Museums, home of the Sistine Chapel, are the main profit-making enterprise. (AP Photo)VATICAN CITY (AP) — Anyone left on your Christmas list just aching for a 65-inch Samsung 3D flat-screen television? Just your luck. The Vatican's duty-free department store has one on sale for €2,899 ($3,840) — a nifty savings over the €3,799 ($5,032) it costs at Italy's main electronics chain Euronics.

More shoes showing up under Christmas tree

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:39 AM PST

In this photo of Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, customers shop for Rudsak shoes at Macy's shoe department in New York. Shoes are coming out of the closet and landing under the Christmas tree. They're a top seller this holiday season _ a big feat considering they don't usually make peoples' gift lists. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)NEW YORK (AP) — Shoes are coming out of the closet and landing under the Christmas tree. They're a top seller this holiday season — a big feat considering most years they don't even make gift lists.

Syria jets kill tens as international envoy visits

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:35 AM PST

BEIRUT (AP) — A government airstrike on a bakery in a rebel-held town in central Syria killed more than 60 people on Sunday, activists said, casting a pall over a visit by the international envoy charged with negotiating an end to the country's civil war.

Puntland troops rescue hostages on hijacked ship

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:32 AM PST

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — In a siege that lasted nearly two weeks, forces of Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region raided a hijacked ship Sunday and safely rescued 22 hostages who had been held captive for nearly three years, authorities said.

Audits of businesses for illegal immigrants rising

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST

In this Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 photo, workers, from left, Aaron Roaf, Levi Wilson, and Jason Ray stack pieces of milled wood trim at Belco Forest Products in Shelton, Wash. The workers were hired after an audit by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department resulted in the layoff of more than 20 workers for having suspect documents authorizing them to work in the United States. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reached its highest number yet of companies audited for illegal immigrants on their payrolls this past fiscal year.

'Hobbit' extends No. 1 journey with $36.7 million

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:12 AM PST

FILE - This publicity film image released by Paramount Pictures shows Tom Cruise in a scene from "Jack Reacher." Cruise plays a former military cop investigating a sniper case. Just turned 50, and just out with his latest action flick, LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiny hobbit Bilbo Baggins is running circles around some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

What now in Newtown? Seize the change, healers say

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:12 AM PST

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, Addison Strychalsky, 2, of Newtown, Conn., pets Libby, a golden retriever therapy dog, during a visit from the dogs and their handlers to a memorial for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims in Newtown. As the shock of Newtown's horrific school shooting starts to wear off, as the headlines fade and the therapists leave, residents are seeking a way forward through faith, community and a determination to seize their future. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — The grief will not end. Yet the healing must begin. So as the shock of Newtown's horrific school shooting starts to wear off, as the headlines fade and the therapists leave, residents are seeking a way forward through faith, community and a determination to seize their future.

Monti steps boldly into Italy election race: maybe

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:11 AM PST

ROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has many unquestioned qualities but it is starting to seem that bold political decision-making may not be one of them. After keeping his supporters waiting for weeks to know whether he would lead them in Italy's upcoming election, Monti held an eagerly awaited news conference on Sunday - and announced that they would have to wait a little longer. For most of his 13 months in office Monti repeated that he would withdraw from politics when his term ended. ...

UK 'plebgate' scandal becomes police crisis

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:11 AM PST

FILE - In this May 17, 2011 file photo, Andrew Mitchell arrives at Downing Street, London. Mitchell, who resigned from a government post over allegations that he used derogatory remarks against police officers called on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 for a full inquiry into the dispute amid new claims that police fabricated the evidence. Mitchell quit as the government's chief whip in September after he was accused of swearing at police officers who stopped him from wheeling his bicycle through the Downing Street gates. (AP Photo/PA, Yui Mok, File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVELONDON (AP) — The "plebgate" scandal started with an angry exchange over a bicycle in front of Downing Street. The controversy over what a senior politician did or didn't say to officers guarding the prime minister's official residence has now grown into a full-blown crisis which is raising new questions about the ethics of Britain's largest police force.

Bethenny Frankel and husband of 2 years separating

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:03 AM PST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bethenny Frankel and husband Jason Hoppy are separating.

Italy's Monti opens door to seeking new term

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 11:00 AM PST

Italian caretaker Prime Minister Monti gestures during an end of the year news conference in RomeROME (Reuters) - Two days after stepping down, Mario Monti announced on Sunday he would consider seeking a second term as Italian prime minister if approached by allies committed to backing his austere brand of reforms. The former European commissioner, appointed to lead an unelected government of experts to save Italy from financial crisis a year ago, resigned on Friday but has faced growing calls to seek a second term at a parliamentary election on February 24-25. At stake is the leadership of the world's eighth largest economy, where recession and public debt of more than 2 trillion ($2. ...

Syrian Christians fear bleak future after Assad

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:43 AM PST

FILE - In this Sunday, April 15, 2012 file photo, Syrian Orthodox Christians attend Easter mass in Damascus, Syria. Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population of more than 22 million, say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence that has been sweeping the country since March 2011. They are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Islamic groups. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi, File)BEIRUT (AP) — With Christmas just days away, 40-year-old Mira begged her parents to flee their hometown of Aleppo, which has become a major battleground in Syria's civil war.

Mood muted during last holiday shopping weekend

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:21 AM PST

ATLANTA (AP) — Last-minute shoppers crowded into malls and stores during the last weekend before Christmas, but many didn't seem to be in the spending spirit.

Lieberman fears country may go over 'fiscal cliff'

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:15 AM PST

President Barack Obama speaks to reporters about the fiscal cliff in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)Senators bickered Sunday over who's to blame for lurching the country toward a year-end "fiscal cliff," bemoaning the lack of a deal days before the deadline but bridging no differences in the debate.

Monti says he is open to leading next government

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:15 AM PST

Italian Premier Mario Monti gestures as he speaks during a news conference in Rome, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012. Italy's caretaker Premier Mario Monti said Sunday he won't run in February elections, but if political parties that back his anti-crisis agenda ask him to head the next government he would consider the offer. Monti ruled out heading any ticket himself, saying "I have no sympathy for 'personal' parties." At a news conference, Monti made clear he was spurning an offer from his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi to run on a center-right election ticket backed by the media mogul, citing Berlusconi's heavy criticism of his economic policies. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)ROME (AP) — After keeping Italians, and the rest of Europe, in suspense for weeks, caretaker Premier Mario Monti on Sunday ruled out campaigning in February elections, but said he would consider leading the next government if politicians who share his focus on reform request it.

Senators: Hagel would face tough confirmation

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:15 AM PST

FILE - This Nov. 1, 2012, file photo shows former Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel speaking in Omaha, Neb. President Barack Obama's possible pick of Republican Chuck Hagel to run the Pentagon raises serious concerns among some of his former Senate colleagues, who question his pronouncements on Iraq, Israel and the Middle East. The reservations publicly expressed by a few Republicans and even a Democrat hardly rival the unyielding GOP objections to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who withdrew from consideration last week for secretary of state in the face of relentless attacks mostly over her public statements about the Sept. 11 assault on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)Two senators predicted Sunday that former Sen. Chuck Hagel would face a difficult confirmation if nominated by President Barack Obama to be defense secretary.

Alabama terror case could hinge on relationships

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:10 AM PST

FILE - This undated file booking photo provided by the Mobile County/Metro Jail shows Randy "Rasheed" Wilson. A federal judge on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 denied bond for Wilson, a 25-year-old Mobile, Ala., native charged with plotting to join violent international jihad. U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Nelson said Wilson should remain in jail pending further court proceedings. (AP Photo/Mobile County/Metro Jail via AL.com, File)MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The terrorism case against an Alabama man accused of planning to wage violent jihad in Africa may hinge on just how well he knew a man on the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list.

Few tests done at toxic sites after superstorm

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:09 AM PST

FILE - This file photo of March 2, 2010 shows the Gowanus Canal, which was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 2010 for being heavily contaminated with PCBs, heavy metals, volatile organics and coal tar wastes. New York, New Jersey and EPA officials say toxic sites are OK after Superstorm Sandy, but The Associated Press has found that few actual tests have been done. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — For more than a month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said that the recent superstorm didn't cause significant problems at any of the 247 Superfund toxic waste sites it's monitoring in New York and New Jersey.

Memorial service for Inouye to be held in Hawaii

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:08 AM PST

Pallbearers carry the casket of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye into the courtyard of the Hawaii state Capitol during a visitation ceremony in Honolulu on, Saturday Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Oskar Garcia)HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii residents will bid a final goodbye to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye on Sunday.

In joyless season, Newtown faces Christmas

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 10:07 AM PST

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 file photo, mourners carry ornaments to decorate the Christmas trees at one of the makeshift memorials for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, in Newtown, Conn. In the wake of the shooting, the grieving town is trying to find meaning in Christmas. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — Bells and lights and gifts: These have always shown us it's Christmastime. But this year, in this town, the bells toll in mourning. The brightest lights glare from TV satellite trucks. And gifts? Some around town suggest that presents and other rituals really ought to be put off in this joyless season.
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