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Monday, January 28, 2013

French seal off Mali's Timbuktu, rebels torch library

French seal off Mali's Timbuktu, rebels torch library

French seal off Mali's Timbuktu, rebels torch library

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 01:03 PM PST

A Malian soldiers gestures at a check point at ThyGAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops retook control of Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on Monday after Islamist rebel occupiers fled the ancient Sahara trading town and torched several buildings, including a library holding priceless manuscripts. The United States and the European Union are backing a French-led intervention in Mali against al Qaeda-allied militants they fear could use the West African state's desert north as a springboard for international attacks. ...

Last jailed member of Greek dictatorship is dead

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Nikolaos Dertilis, the last jailed member of the military dictatorship that ruled Greece from 1967-74, has died. He was 94.

Senators pledge action on immigration reform

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST

Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs reporters at the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — Key Democratic and Republican senators are pledging to get a wide-ranging immigration bill through the Senate by summer even as they point to numerous pitfalls ahead.

They're back: J. C. Penney adds sales

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:59 PM PST

This image provided by J.C. Penney shows the company's new advertising campaign. Penney is still embracing its NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney is bringing back sales.

Iran says it successfully sent a monkey into space

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:58 PM PST

In this undated image taken from AP Television, scientists in Iran surround a monkey ahead of a space launch. Iran said it had successfully sent the monkey into space on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, describing the launch as another step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight. According to a brief report on state TV, the monkey was sent up to a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles) on board a rocket dubbed Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi. (AP Photo/AP Video)TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A gray-tufted monkey strapped in a pod resembling an infant's car seat rode an Iranian rocket into space and returned safely, officials said Monday in what was described as a step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight.

35,000 more NYC-area buildings in flood zones

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:54 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — Twice as many homes and businesses in and near the city would be in flood zones under new maps that may force more property-owners to buy flood insurance, complicate post-Superstorm Sandy rebuilding for some and confront others with the choice of building higher or paying considerably more for insurance.

After Beyonce, a question: Can reality compete?

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:53 PM PST

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama as Beyonce sings the national anthem at the ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington. Whether Beyonce actually sang at the inauguration is a tempest in a teapot, but dig deeper and it reveals something about American society at this moment. In small ways, we seem to be constantly learning that the things we see and experience aren't exactly what they're billed to be _ and that we may not care all that much. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, file)PITTSBURGH (AP) — The breathtaking model on your magazine cover: Of course she's not that thin and unblemished. That reality show you never miss? You're shocked — shocked that its real-life drama isn't 100 percent unscripted. And that diva who may or may not have mouthed the words to the national anthem to her own prerecorded voice? Yeah, well, so what? It was a big moment, and she wanted to sound her best.

APNewsBreak: Virgin shuns binding spaceport lease

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:53 PM PST

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2011 file photo, guests stand outside the new Spaceport America hangar in Upham, N.M. Virgin Galactic has agreed to start paying New Mexico rent on the nearly quarter-billion dollar spaceport the state built for British businessman Richard Branson's space tourism business, but it says it is doing so under protest and without waiving its right to walk away from the project, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.(AP Photo/Matt York, File)ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Virgin Galactic has agreed to start paying New Mexico rent on the nearly quarter-billion dollar spaceport the state built for British businessman Richard Branson's space tourism business, but it says it is doing so under protest and without waiving its right to walk away from the project, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Jury selection still on hold in Zumba trial

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:53 PM PST

Justice Nancy Mills listens to attorney Daniel Lilley during a motion hearing in the trial of Mark Strong, Sr., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 at York County Superior Court in Alfred, Maine. The remaining jury selection must be open to the public in the trial of the first major figure in a prostitution scandal centered on a Zumba studio in Kennebunk, Maine's highest court ruled Thursday. (AP Photo/Portland Press Herald, Gregory Rec, Pool)ALFRED, Maine (AP) — A judge will hold a hearing to determine whether to move forward with remaining charges in the trial of a key figure in a prostitution scandal centered at a Zumba dance studio in Maine.

Dutch Queen Beatrix announces she is to abdicate

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:51 PM PST

Image taken of a TV screen showing Dutch Queen Beatrix announcing she will abdicate April 30, 2014, during a speech prerecorded in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, has ruled the nation of 16 million for more than 32 years and would be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. (AP Photo/NOS Television/Peter Dejong)THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch Queen Beatrix announced Monday that she will abdicate on April 30 after 33 years as head of state, clearing the way for her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to become the nation's first king in more than a century.

Bodies found in Mexico where band went missing

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:50 PM PST

CORRECTS BYLINE TYPO TO VAZQUEZ.- State and federal police drive along a dirt road leading to a ranch near the town of Mina, in northern Mexico, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. At least eight bodies were found in a well near this ranch on Sunday near the site where 20 people went missing late last week, including members of a Colombian-style band, according to a state forensic official. Officials could not confirm whether the bodies belonged to 16 members of the band Kombo Kolombia and their crew, who were reported missing late last week after playing a private show in a bar in the neighboring town of Hidalgo, north of Monterrey. (AP Photo/Emilio Vazquez)MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Searchers pulled 10 bodies from a well in northern Mexico on Monday, near the site where 20 members of a Colombian-style music group and its crew disappeared late last week, according to a state forensic official.

AP PHOTOS: Shock, mourning after Brazil club fire

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:49 PM PST

A man cries during the burial of Vinicius Rosado, who died in a nightclub fire, at a cemetery in Santa Maria, Brazil, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless Kiss nightclub in this southern Brazilian city early Sunday, killing more than 230 people. Many of the victims were under 20 years old, including some minors. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)Family and friends are gathering to bury and remember their loved ones after a fatal nightclub fire in Santa Maria, Brazil. The club was hosting a party for university students Sunday when the fast-moving fire caused hundreds of partygoers to stampede toward the exit. Firefighters and police say more than 230 died and hundreds more were injured. Many of the victims were under 20 years old, including some minors. Brazilian police officials say they've made three detentions and are seeking a fourth person in connection with the blaze.

Caterpillar sets cautious tone for year after low profit

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:49 PM PST

The CAT logo is seen on back of a Caterpillar excavator machine at a work site in Detroit(Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc , the world's largest maker of construction equipment, posted a 55 percent drop in quarterly profit on Monday and set a cautious tone for the year, citing weak demand and oversupply. Executives at the company, which last year slashed production to reduce inventory, balanced their optimism on recent improvements in U.S. housing starts with concern about China's slowing growth, the U.S. deficit and eurozone instability. However, investors took heart in Caterpillar's 2013 profit forecast of $7 to $9 per share, lifting the stock 1.8 percent in afternoon trading. ...

Barge hits Miss. River bridge; oil cleanup ongoing

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:49 PM PST

IDENTIFIES IN THE BRIDGE IN PHOTO AND ADDS MORE DETAILS ON INCIDENT -The towboat Nature Way Endeavor banks a barge against the western bank of the Mississippi River, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 as a vehicles travel on the Interstate 20 bridge. A barge carrying 80,000 gallons of oil hit the railroad bridge next to the I-20 bridge, spilling light crude into the Mississippi River and closing the waterway for eight miles in each direction, the Coast Guard said. A second barge was damaged. (AP Photo/Vicksburg Post, Eli Baylis)VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) — Cleanup crews with booms skimmed oily water from the Mississippi River a day after a barge with more than 80,000 gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge near Vicksburg, spreading a sheen of light crude that kept part of the waterway shut to ship traffic Monday, authorities said.

Senate nears vote on $50.5B bill for Sandy victims

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:48 PM PST

FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2013 photo, a beach front home that was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy rests in the sand in Bay Head, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)WASHINGTON (AP) — Three months after Superstorm Sandy devastated coastal areas in much of the Northeast, the Senate moved Monday toward passing a $50.5 billion emergency package of relief and recovery aid after House Republicans stripped it of spending unrelated to disasters.

Masked 'Black Bloc' a mystery in Egypt unrest

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:46 PM PST

A masked Egyptian protester part of the Black Bloc, flashes the victory sign during clashes with riot police, background, near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. An unpredictable new element has entered Egypt's wave of political unrest, a mysterious group of black-masked young men calling themselves the Black Bloc. They present themselves as the defenders of protesters against the rule of President Mohammed Morsi, but Islamists have used them to depict the opposition as a violent force wrecking the nation. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)CAIRO (AP) — An unpredictable new element has entered Egypt's wave of political unrest: a mysterious group of masked young men called the Black Bloc who present themselves as the defenders of protesters opposed to the Islamist president's rule.

Oil slightly higher after mixed economic reports

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:40 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil rose Monday after a strong durable goods report in the U.S.

Google sued in UK over Safari tracking

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:37 PM PST

LONDON (AP) — A British law firm says that about a dozen Apple customers are suing Internet search leader Google in the U.K. over its alleged secret tracking of their Internet browsing habits.

Senate immigration reform backers seek quick action

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:34 PM PST

US senators attend news conference at Capitol on immigration reform.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of senators who have agreed on an immigration reform plan said on Monday they hope to move quickly with legislation giving 11 million illegal immigrants a chance to eventually become American citizens. The four Democrats and four Republicans released the outline of a comprehensive immigration reform effort - one with plenty of details missing - that still must be turned into legislation. ...

Actor Taye Diggs captures burglary suspect

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:34 PM PST

Actors Idina Menzel, left, and Taye Diggs arrive at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police say actor Taye Diggs chased down and captured a burglary suspect he found rummaging through his garage.

Dutch Queen abdicates, Willem-Alexander to succeed

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:33 PM PST

File photo showing Netherlands' Beatrix and her son Crown Prince Willem-Alexander waving to well-wishers from the balcony of the Royal Noordeinde Palace after opening the new parliamentary year in The HagueAMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Queen Beatrix, who turns 75 on Thursday, announced she was abdicating in favor of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander, telling her country it was time to hand the crown to the next generation after more than three decades on the throne. Willem-Alexander, 45, who will be sworn in as king on April 30, is married to Princess Maxima, who comes from Argentina, and has three young children. ...

Obama honors NBA Champion Miami Heat

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:25 PM PST

President Barack Obama accepts a signed basketball from Miami Heat forward LeBron James as he welcomes the the NBA basketball champion Miami Heat, to the East Room of the White House, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama honored the Miami Heat for winning the 2012 NBA Championship title after falling short just a year before.

Japan's new import rules to help US beef industry

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:25 PM PST

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Japan's decision to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports will provide a boost to the American meat industry, but tight supplies may limit how much exports can grow this year.

US economy gets lift from housing, other tailwinds

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:25 PM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is a study in contrasts.

FACT CHECK: The stretched case against Chuck Hagel

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:22 PM PST

FILE - This Jan. 7, 2013 file photo shows former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, president Barack Obama's choice for defense secretary, speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican-leaning groups opposing President Barack Obama's choice of Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department have let loose a barrage of claims about the former GOP senator.

Neglect, errors to blame in Brazil nightclub fire

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:21 PM PST

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) — There was no fire alarm. There were no sprinklers or fire escapes. And when a band member tried to put out a fire that had been started by pyrotechnics, the extinguisher didn't work.

Bomb explodes south of Beirut

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:21 PM PST

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese security official says a small bomb has exploded near a car in a Hezbollah stronghold south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

After disasters, county struggles against drought

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST

In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 photo, Caddo County farmer Karen Krehbiel examines unharvested milo on her family's farm near Hydro, Okla. Not all of the farm's milo fields were irrigated because of an ongoing drought, the latest natural disaster to strike the county, which also has been beset in recent years by floods, tornadoes, ice storms and hail. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)BINGER, Okla. (AP) — In the gently rolling hills of Oklahoma ranch country is a place that has seen more than its share of destructive weather — tornadoes, ice storms and floods, year after year, for half of the last decade.

Randy Travis to enter drunken-driving plea

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:18 PM PST

SHERMAN, Texas (AP) — A prosecutor says country music star Randy Travis is expected to enter a guilty plea in a drunken-driving case in North Texas.

Taylor Swift talks sexier look, new tour

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:14 PM PST

FILE - This Jan. 9, 2013 file photo shows Taylor Swift at the People's Choice Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Swift says you can expect some of her bolder choices of late, from her music to her new, sexier image, to be incorporated in her upcoming tour. Swift kicks off her worldwide tour in Omaha, Neb., next month in support of her latest album, NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift says you can expect some of her bolder choices of late — from her music to her sexier image — to be incorporated in her upcoming tour.

Who are these guys at QB in Super Bowl?

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:10 PM PST

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick talks with reporters during a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in New Orleans. The 49ers will face the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game on Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tom Brady is not playing in the Super Bowl. Neither is Ben Roethlisberger or either of the Mannings.

Arsonist sentenced to death for murdering 5 who died of heart attacks in 2003 California fire

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:08 PM PST

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Arsonist sentenced to death for murdering 5 who died of heart attacks in 2003 California fire.

Mali military enters fabled town of Timbuktu

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:08 PM PST

Chadian soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, Northern Mali, Monday Jan. 28, 2013. Malian soldiers descended on the city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants fled into the desert having set ablaze a library that held thousands of ancient manuscripts. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)SEVARE, Mali (AP) — Backed by French helicopters and paratroopers, Malian soldiers entered the fabled city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants who ruled the outpost by fear for nearly 10 months fled into the desert, setting fire to a library that held thousands of manuscripts dating to the Middle Ages.

Preserve CIA prisons as evidence, lawyers for September 11 suspects ask

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:05 PM PST

Ramzi, Walid bin Attash and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, three of the alleged conspirators in the 9/11 attacks, attend court dressed in camouflage during hearings in Guantanamo BayGUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - - Lawyers for five alleged conspirators who attacked America on September 11 and say they were tortured in secret CIA prisons have asked a U.S. military judge to order that the prisons be preserved as evidence. The issue is one of more than two dozen on the docket for a week of pretrial hearings that began on Monday in the war crimes tribunal at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. The defendants include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the hijacked plane attacks that killed 2,976 people on September 11, 2001. ...

Adelman back coaching T-wolves after 3-week hiatus

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:05 PM PST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Coach Rick Adelman has returned to the Minnesota Timberwolves after spending three weeks with his ailing wife. He rejoins a club that lost nine of 11 games in his absence.

France warns extremists could prevail in Syria

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:05 PM PST

In this image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, smoke rises from buildings after rockets slammed into them in the rebel-held town of Rastan, Syria, just north of Homs, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Regime troops shelled the city of Homs on Friday as soldiers battled rebels around the central province with the same name, which was a major frontline during the first year of the revolt. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition leaders pleaded Monday for funds and political backing from the international community as France warned that extremists could prevail in Syria if nations fail to honor their pledges of support.

Scouts considering retreat from no-gays policy

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 01:07 PM PST

FILE - In this July 18, 2012 file photo, Jennifer Tyrrell, right, arrives for a meeting at the Boys Scouts of America national offices in Irving, Texas, with her son Jude Burns, 5, second from right, partner Alicia Burns, and son Cruz Burns, 7, left. The Ohio woman was ousted as a den mother because she is a lesbian. The Boys Scouts of America announced Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, that it is considering a dramatic retreat from its controversial policy of excluding gays as leaders and youth members. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)NEW YORK (AP) — The Boys Scouts of America is considering a dramatic retreat from its controversial policy of excluding gays as leaders and youth members.

US stocks mixed after uneven economic signals

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:02 PM PST

In this Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, photo, Trader Michael Urkonis, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street appeared headed for a day of trade without drama Monday Jan. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)U.S. stocks meandered between small gains and losses Monday, cooling off after a rally that had pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 index above 1,500 for the first time since December 2007. Encouraging news about manufacturing provided an early boost, but stocks fell later after a report on the pace of home sales fell short of expectations.

Mexican church sparks debate on forgiving killers

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 11:58 AM PST

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An order of Roman Catholic priests in Mexico has produced a video urging relatives of drug cartel victims to forgive the killers, sparking debate in a country that has suffered more than 70,000 estimated drug gang killings.

Guatemala ex-dictator to stand trial on genocide

Posted: 28 Jan 2013 11:53 AM PST

Guatemala's former dictator Efrain Rios Montt (1982-1983) leaves the courtroom after his pre-trial hearing in Guatemala City, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. A judge in Guatemala has begun pre-trial hearings in a genocide case against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who is accused of overseeing hundreds of killings when he ruled Guatemala from 1982 to 1983, at the height of the country's 36-year civil war. The war ended in peace accords in 1996, after 200,000 deaths. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A former U.S.-backed dictator who presided over one of the bloodiest periods of Guatemala's civil war will stand trial on charges he ordered the murder, torture and displacement of thousands of Mayan Indians, a judge ruled Monday.
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