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Friday, December 28, 2012

Jean Harris, 'Scarsdale Diet' doctor killer, dies

Jean Harris, 'Scarsdale Diet' doctor killer, dies

Jean Harris, 'Scarsdale Diet' doctor killer, dies

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:05 PM PST

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 1981 file photo, Jean Harris, left, arrives at court in White Plains, New York Monday, Feb. 9, 1981. Harris, the patrician girls' school headmistress who spent 12 years in prison for the 1980 killing of her longtime lover, "Scarsdale Diet" doctor Herman Tarnower, in a case that rallied feminists and inspired television movies, died Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in New Haven, Conn. She was 89. (AP Photo/David Handschuh, File)NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Jean Harris, the patrician girls' school headmistress who spent 12 years in prison for the 1980 killing of her longtime lover, "Scarsdale Diet" doctor Herman Tarnower, in a case that rallied feminists and inspired television movies, has died. She was 89.

1 vs 2: Stanford, UConn women renew rivalry

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:04 PM PST

Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike (13) shoots over Tennessee guard Ariel Massengale (5) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)Whether facing off in the national championship game, playing in the Final Four, or just meeting in the regular season, the two programs on opposite sides of the country have created compelling matchups.

Stomach bug knocks Nadal from Australian Open

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:03 PM PST

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Just when Rafael Nadal had recovered from a knee injury, a stomach virus has delayed his return to tennis by a couple of months.

5 things to know about longshoremen negotiations

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST

The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance agreed Friday to a contract extension until early February, averting a potential strike Sunday by more than 14,000 dockworkers that could have brought commerce at major ports along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico to a near-standstill. Five things to know about the talks:

Wis. couple says pet chicken alerted them to blaze

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:59 PM PST

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin couple says clucks, not fire trucks, helped them escape a blaze at their home.

AP source: Obama not making new 'cliff' offer

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:57 PM PST

President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — A person familiar with the details says President Barack Obama is not making a new 'fiscal cliff' offer at his high-stakes meeting with congressional leaders at the White House.

Monti says will lead centrists in Italian vote

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:55 PM PST

Italy's outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti talks during a news conference in RomeROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Friday he would lead a centrist alliance in an election in February, ending weeks of speculation over his political future and confirming his bid for a second term. The announcement clears up some of the uncertainty hanging over election and puts Monti in a three-way contest for power with the center-left Democratic Party (PD), which is leading in the polls, and Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party. ...

Report: Hazing rules ignored before death at FAMU

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A blistering state report released Friday contends that Florida A&M University officials failed to follow state laws and regulations on hazing in the years leading up to the death of a FAMU drum major.

White House meeting a last stab at a fiscal deal

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST

President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama was presenting a limited fiscal proposal to congressional leaders at a White House meeting Friday, a make-or-break moment for negotiations to avoid across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts at the first of the year.

Strike averted, for now, at East Coast ports

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST

FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, a truck driver watches as a freight container, right, is lowered onto a tractor trailer by a container crane at the Port of Boston in Boston. The crane and a reach stacker, left, are operated by longshoremen at the port. The longshoremen's union may strike if they are unable to reach an agreement on their contract, which expires Dec. 29, 2012. A walkout by dock workers represented by the International Longshoremen's Association would bring commerce to a near halt at ports from Boston to Houston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)A deal has been struck that for now averts a strike by 14,500 longshoremen at major ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.

Burned bear cub recovering, may be released

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:48 PM PST

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game shows a cub black bear burned in the Mustang Fire north of Salmon, Idaho. The cub is recovering and may be released in June, an Idaho wildlife sanctuary an official said. The four-month-old bear nicknamed "Boo Boo" was discovered by a fisherman in a tree along the Salmon River in August days after the 312-square-mile Mustang wildfire complex passed through the area. The cub had second-degree burns on all four paws and was malnourished when U.S. Forest Service and Idaho Fish and Game workers rescued it. (AP Photo/Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Tricia Hebdon, File)HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) — An orphaned black bear cub burned in a wildfire last summer is recovering and may be released in June, an Idaho wildlife sanctuary official said.

MF Global trustee: Some clients may be made whole

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:45 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — Some customers of the failed brokerage MF Global could get back all the money they lost, according to the trustee who is working to recover those funds.

Life returns to shell-shocked Syrian town

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:43 PM PST

ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - After months of air raids and artillery shelling, some inhabitants of northern Syria are returning to their stricken homes to clear the rubble and rebuild, despite fear that President Bashar al-Assad's forces will strike again. One town visited by a Reuters correspondent near the Turkish border was largely abandoned two months ago after relentless bombardment reduced buildings to piles of masonry. A local activist said around 200 people were killed there. Residents trickling back after the violence abated remain deeply fearful. ...

In Syria, "father of martyrs" speaks of revenge

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:43 PM PST

AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - After losing three sons and two grandsons, 70-year-old Abdelhalim Haj Omar has no doubt about the fate he wants for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "I hope Bashar, God willing, doesn't die until they slaughter his whole family in front of him and they bring him here so that all of Syria can get their revenge from him," he says in the Syrian town of Azaz, on the border with Turkey. "He destroyed the country and killed its people," he adds, speaking in his carpentry workshop where stacks of wood are piled up next to finished wooden door frames. ...

US sailors sue Japanese utility over radiation

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:35 PM PST

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Eight U.S. sailors are suing the Tokyo utility that operates the Fukushima nuclear power plant, charging that the company lied about the high level of radiation in the area where they were carrying out a humanitarian mission after the tsunami that triggered the reactor crisis.

Venezuelans obsess: Will Chavez live or die?

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:35 PM PST

A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — He's getting better. He's getting worse. He's already dead. The whole thing is a conspiracy and he was never sick in the first place.

Housing and jobs key to lifting S&P toward record

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:32 PM PST

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, specialist Peter Elkins, foreground, is reflected in a trading post monitor as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. If Washington lawmakers can get past the NEW YORK (AP) — It may be a big if, but assuming Washington lawmakers can get past the "fiscal cliff," many analysts say that the outlook for stocks next year is good, as a recovering housing market and an improving jobs outlook helps the economy maintain a slow, but steady recovery.

VP reads message from ailing Chavez to military

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:32 PM PST

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — In a message read by his No. 2, President Hugo Chavez saluted Venezuela's military and acknowledged he was facing "complicated and difficult" times as he recovers from cancer surgery in Cuba.

A surprisingly good vintage as market logs gains

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, specialist Christian Sanfilippo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. Despite many challenges, 2012 turned out to be a surprisingly good year for stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq composite index will all end the year substantially higher, despite losing ground in the final days of the year as concerns about the looming fiscal cliff mount. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)NEW YORK (AP) — If you'd told investors what was going to happen in 2012 — U.S. economic growth at stall speed, an intensifying European debt crisis, a slowdown in China, fiscal deadlock in Washington, decelerating corporate earnings growth — and asked how the stock market would perform, few would have predicted a good year.

Police: NYC subway push victim was from India

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — The man who was shoved to his death in front of a subway train Thursday night was a 46-year-old from India who lived in New York City and worked for a printing business, police said.

NY woman charged in connection with slaying of 2

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:07 PM PST

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) — State and federal authorities have charged a 24-year-old woman in connection with the guns used in the Christmas Eve ambush slaying of two volunteer firefighters responding to a house fire in upstate New York.

Deal reached to avert U.S. port strike for now

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:25 PM PST

The skyline of Lower Manhattan in New York is seen behind the shipping docks in Newark, New Jersey(Reuters) - A union representing dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and an alliance of shippers have reached a labor agreement that will avert a strike that threatened to wreak havoc on the United States' economy. The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), which represents 14,500 workers at 15 container ports in the eastern United States, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) of shippers, terminal operators and port authorities, have agreed to extend their current contract by 30 days to finalize details, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service said in a statement on Friday. ...

Oil down slightly as fiscal-cliff talks continue

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:14 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell slightly Friday, as the stock market drifted lower and efforts continued in Washington to strike a budget deal before the year-end deadline.

NY woman arrested in connection with slaying of 2

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:11 PM PST

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) — A 24-year-old woman was arrested Friday and charged in connection with the Christmas Eve ambush slaying of two volunteer firefighters responding to a house fire in upstate New York.

NHL makes new offer; lockout enters critical stage

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:07 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL made a new offer to the players' association, hoping to spark talks toward ending the long lockout and saving the hockey season.

Baltazar, Romania banker, ex-gov't spokesman, dies

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:07 PM PST

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A hospital spokesman says influential banker Bogdan Baltazar, who became Romania's first government spokesman after communism collapsed, has died. He was 73.

Texas builds 'hurricane domes' for double-duty

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:06 PM PST

In this Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 photo, work continues on the construction of a new domed gym at Edna High School in Edna, Texas. The hurricane dome, a structure being built in part with money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, can be used to house first responders or residents evacuated during a storm. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)EDNA, Texas (AP) — Most of the time, the windowless building with the dome-shaped roof will be a typical high school gymnasium filled with cheering fans watching basketball and volleyball games.

Italy's Monti: I'm heading new electoral coalition

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:04 PM PST

Italian Premier Mario Monti speaks during a press conference at the Italian Senate in Rome, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. Monti has announced he is heading a new campaign coalition made of up centrists, businessmen and pro-Vatican forces, paving the way for his possible return to office if it wins enough seats in February parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Mario Monti announced Friday he is heading a new campaign coalition made of up centrists, business leaders and pro-Vatican forces backing his "ethical" vision of politics, paving the way for him to secure a second term if his alliance wins big in February parliamentary elections.

Thatcher papers show fascination with Reagan visit

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:04 PM PST

FILE - In this June 8, 1982 file photo, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, on Centennial, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, on Burmese, go horseback riding on the grounds of Windsor Castle, England. It is not often that the president of the United States needs to seek fashion advice. But when Ronald Reagan was getting ready for a visit to England as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1982, his people had an important question for the Brits: Just what does one wear to go riding with the queen in the magnificent horse country surrounding Windsor Castle? The answer: Something smart, but casual, of course. Riding boots, breeches and a turtleneck sweater would do fine _ no need for formal riding attire. The fashion inquiry is but one tidbit contained in nearly 500 pages of formerly Confidential documents relating to the Reagan visit being made public Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 by Britain's National Archives. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty, File)LONDON (AP) — Few people keep Queen Elizabeth II waiting, especially when she has issued a personal invitation, but President Ronald Reagan managed to do so in 1982 without causing any lasting damage.

Stocks edge lower as 'fiscal cliff' deadline nears

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:04 PM PST

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. Stocks were heading lower Friday, for a fifth day, on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell for a fifth day on concern that Washington lawmakers will fail to reach a budget deal before a year-end deadline, putting the market on track for its longest losing streak in three months.

Police say Chicago homicide toll not at 500 yet

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:01 PM PST

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say it's too soon to say whether the city has had its 500th homicide of the year.

Air Force faces Rice in Armed Forces Bowl

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:59 AM PST

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Troy Calhoun remembers the day almost six years ago when he returned to Air Force as the first academy graduate to become the head coach.

Putin signs ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:52 AM PST

Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony to present high-rank officer personnel at the Kremlin in MoscowMOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Friday that bans Americans from adopting Russian children and imposes other sanctions in retaliation for a new U.S. human rights law that he says is poisoning relations. Washington has called the new Russian law misguided, saying it ties the fate of children to "unrelated political considerations", and analysts say it is likely to deepen a chill in U.S.-Russia relations and harm Putin's image abroad. ...

Expectations low for White House "fiscal cliff" meeting

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:47 AM PST

U.S. President Obama returns from Christmas visit in Hawaii to the White House in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and congressional leaders were to meet on Friday for the first time since November, with no sign of progress in resolving their differences over the U.S. federal budget and expectations low for a "fiscal cliff" deal before January 1. Instead, members of Congress are increasingly looking at the period immediately after the December 31 deadline to come up with a retroactive fix to avoid steep tax hikes and sharp spending cuts that economists have said could plunge the country into another recession. ...

Rebels besiege airports in northern Syria

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:47 AM PST

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, smoke rises from buildings from heavy shelling in Homs, Syria, on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels stepped up their siege of a government helicopter base and clashed with soldiers near Aleppo's international airport on Friday, part of an effort to chip away at the air power that poses the biggest challenge to their advances against the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Gay couples in Maine poised for first weddings

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:46 AM PST

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2012 file photo, Sarah Dowling, left, speaks at a gay marriage rally, accompanied by her partner of 18 years, Linda Wolfe, and their daughter, Maya Dowling-Wolfe, in Portland, Maine. Dowling and Wolfe plan to marry after Maine passed a law allowing same-sex marriage, which takes effect at 12:01 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Chris Kast and Byron Bartlett already consider themselves married after a 2010 ceremony overlooking Portland Harbor, but now they're doing it all over again — planning to be among the first to get a marriage license when Maine's same-sex marriage law goes into effect at midnight.

Ryan wants to be Jets coach for 'next 15 years'

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:40 AM PST

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — No matter what, Rex Ryan wants to be the New York Jets coach for years to come.

Paintings outrage Islamic hard-liners in Pakistan

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:31 AM PST

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2012, Pakistani students carve wooden statues in the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan. A series of provocative paintings of Muslim clerics in scenes suggesting homosexuality has sparked a moral and legal crisis at Pakistan's leading arts college after extremists threatened violence, declaring that the works insult Islam.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's leading arts college has pushed boundaries before in this conservative nation. But when a series of paintings depicting Muslim clerics in scenes with strong homosexual overtones sparked an uproar and threats of violence by Islamic extremists, it was too much.

Mexico finds smuggling tunnel near US border

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:31 AM PST

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities have discovered a sophisticated smuggling tunnel equipped with electricity and ventilation not far from the Nogales port of entry into Arizona, U.S. and Mexican officials said Friday.

Health of George H.W. Bush 'improving'

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:29 AM PST

HOUSTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush remained in intensive care at a Houston hospital on Friday but his condition continues to improve, a spokesman said.
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