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Monday, September 30, 2013

Goodbye to all that centrism

Goodbye to all that centrism

Goodbye to all that centrism

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:37 PM PDT

Italy's former PM Berlusconi waves as he arrives at the lower house of parliament in RomeBy John Lloyd How much longer will the political center hold in Europe? Its erosion, years in the making, is only picking up speed. In Italy, the latest political crisis presages the collapse of the centrist left-right coalition. In Austria, a recent election barely gave a similar coalition enough votes to continue governing. The European Union nations are hurtling toward elections next spring for the European parliament, which will bring real debate and divide to what has been a largely consensual assembly. ...

Biden: Iran sanctions most effective in history

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:36 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden says U.S.-led sanctions against Iran have been the most effective sanctions regime ever.

More babies share parents' beds despite SIDS risks

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:34 PM PDT

CHICAGO (AP) — The government's latest infant bed-sharing numbers show a troubling trend: the percentage of U.S. babies sleeping with parents or another child more than doubled since the early 1990s, despite public health messages linking the practice with sudden infant death syndrome.

US stocks fall as government shutdown looms

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:32 PM PDT

A specialist works at the Barclays post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange just after the closing bell July 24, 2013New York (AFP) - US stocks Monday retreated as a partial US government shutdown loomed due to Washington political gridlock over a new budget.

US Senate rejects House budget, shutdown imminent

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:29 PM PDT

Washington (AFP) - The United States was just hours from a potentially devastating shutdown of key federal government agencies Monday as lawmakers failed to agree stopgap budget measures.

Obama: 'Not at all' resigned to a shutdown

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:27 PM PDT

President Barack Obama answers a question about the looming federal government shutdown from a reporter during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he's "not at all" resigned to a government shutdown. He says he expects to speak to congressional leaders during the day and in ensuing days to address budget and debt impasses.

Shutdown impact: Tourists, homebuyers hit quickly

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:27 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government shutdown would have far-reaching consequences for some, but minimal impact on others.

Stocks sink as government heads toward shutdown

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:26 PM PDT

The morning sun illuminates the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, as the government teeters on the brink of a partial shutdown at midnight unless Congress can reach an agreement on funding. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks sank Monday as Wall Street worried that a budget fight in Washington could lead to an event far worse for the economy— a failure to raise the nation's borrowing limit.

Feds defend plan to drop gray wolf protection

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:24 PM PDT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Federal officials offered a staunch defense Monday of their proposal to drop legal protections for the gray wolf in most of the country, as opponents rallied in the nation's capital before the first in a series of public hearings on the plan.

Slave descendants fighting tax hikes on Ga. coast

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:21 PM PDT

DARIEN, Ga. (AP) — Residents of one of the few remaining Gullah-Geechee communities on the Southeast coast opened new appeals Monday against soaring property values that brought them big tax hikes, fearful they could be forced off lands their families have owned since their ancestors were freed from slavery.

Ashton, asked about Iran sanctions, says she wants best atmosphere for talks

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:21 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top EU official, asked if new sanctions should be imposed on Iran as talks about its nuclear program unfold, said she wanted to go to the October 15-16 talks with Iran in Geneva with "the best possible atmosphere." "I am not in the business of telling Congress what to do," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in response to a question at a Washington think tank about whether Congress, or others, should impose additional sanctions on Iran. ...

Keep the Iran sanctions, Netanyahu urges Obama

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:17 PM PDT

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. The White House said the two leaders would discuss negotiations with the Palestinians, developments in Syria and Iran. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite soothing assurances from Iran's new leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implored President Barack Obama on Monday to keep punishing sanctions in place against Tehran — and even tighten them if the Islamic republic advances its nuclear programs while negotiating with the U.S.

Berlusconi faces obstacles in bid to topple government

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:16 PM PDT

Italy's former PM Berlusconi arrives at the lower house of parliament in RomeBy Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi on Monday faced dissent within his People of Freedom Party, complicating his plans to bring down Prime Minister Enrico Letta's coalition government. But even if Letta survives a confidence vote on Wednesday the prospects for stability and reform in Italy look more fragile than ever as he will face a larger and stronger opposition backed by Berlusconi's media empire. ...

Italy's Berlusconi struggles to unite party against govt

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:13 PM PDT

Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi smiles as he arrives for a meeting of his group at the Italian Deputy Chamber on September 30, 2013 in RomeRome (AFP) - Silvio Berlusconi on Monday struggled to bridge divisions among supporters over his bid to topple the government, as the heightened political instability hit Italy on the financial markets.

Federal workers prepare for shutdown process

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:04 PM PDT

With hours to go until a possible government shutdown, visitors tour the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. Capitol officials said today that if a shutdown goes into effect, all organized tours of the Capitol and the Capitol Visitors Center will be suspended. The Senate has the next move on must-do legislation required to keep the government open, and the Democratic-led chamber is expected to reject the latest effort from House Republicans to use a normally routine measure to attack President Barack Obama's signature health care law. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal workers will still have to report to work for about four hours Tuesday even if the government shuts down.

Senate clears bill to pay military in shutdown

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:59 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has adopted a bill to pay members of the military in case the government shuts down.

Italian government sees hope of survival

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:54 PM PDT

Italian premier Enrico Letta speaks during a video appearance at the Italian State RAI TV program "Che Tempo che Fa", in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013. Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday backpedaled somewhat in his strategy aimed apparently at collapsing Italy's fragile coalition government and triggering early elections, after some key supporters chafed at his orders to quit the Cabinet in a show of solidarity ahead of a Senate vote to strip him of his seat because of his tax-fraud conviction and prison sentence.(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)ROME (AP) — The Italian government's chances of survival rose on Monday as some of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's longtime loyalists vowed they would not support his attempt to bring down the fragile coalition.

Under fire, 'Obamacare' going live — with glitches

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:54 PM PDT

ObamaWASHINGTON (AP) — Contentious from its conception, President Barack Obama's health care law has survived the Supreme Court, a battle for the White House and rounds of budget brinkmanship. Now comes the ultimate test: the verdict of the American people.

Tornado tops stormy NW weekend

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:52 PM PDT

This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, at 02:00 AM EDT shows an expansive area of cloudiness over the Pacific Northwest associated with a large area of low pressure over coastal British Columbia. Heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms will continue across the region as the system pushes inland. High pressure over the southwestern United States brings mostly sunny skies. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)SEATTLE (AP) — The National Weather Service confirms the winds that damaged industrial buildings in western Washington, including a Boeing factory, were a tornado.

Filmmaker scraps Hillary Clinton CNN documentary

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:47 PM PDT

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during the annual Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting on September 25, 2013 in New York CityWashington (AFP) - An Oscar-winning filmmaker has abandoned a planned documentary on Hillary Clinton, following an outcry from Republicans who argued the film would promote the former secretary of state's presidential run.

Deadlocked Congress brings government to edge of shutdown

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:45 PM PDT

By David Lawder and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress, still in partisan deadlock on Monday over Republican efforts to halt President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, was on the verge of shutting down most of the government starting on Tuesday morning. With the law funding thousands of routine government activities set to expire at midnight, U.S. Senate Democrats killed a proposal by the Republican-led House of Representatives to delay Obamacare for a year in return for temporary funding of the federal government beyond Monday. ...

Paris prosecutor probing fortune of Assad's uncle

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:43 PM PDT

PARIS (AP) — The Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation Monday into the real estate holdings of Syrian President Bashar Assad's uncle after watchdogs accused him of corruption.

Life in prison for NJ chemist who poisoned husband

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:42 PM PDT

Trianle Li weeps after speaking in Judge Michael Toto's courtroom at State Superior Court in New Brunswick, NJ, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, after she was sentenced to life in prison for the poisoning murder of her husband. Tianle Li won't be eligible for parole for more than 62 years for the killing of Xiaoye Wang, a computer software engineer, in early 2011. The 42-year-old Li was convicted in July of murder and hindering apprehension. She continues to deny any role in her husband's death, said her attorney, Steven Altman. (AP Photo/Home News Tribune, Thomas P. Costello, Pool)NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A Chinese-born chemist who worked for a decade for one of America's biggest pharmaceutical companies was a cold, calculating murderer who poisoned her husband rather than let him divorce her, a judge said Monday as he sentenced her to life in prison.

Court in Amanda Knox trial allows new DNA test

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:36 PM PDT

Francesco Sollecito, father of co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, talks to reporters as he arrives for the start of U.S. student Amanda Knox's second appeals trial in her British roommate's murder, in Florence, Italy, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. Italy's highest court ordered a new trial for Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, overturning their acquittals in the gruesome 2007 slaying of Meredith Kercher with a harsh assessment of an appeals court acquittal in 2011. The Court of Cassation said the acquittal was full of "deficiencies, contradictions and illogical" conclusions. (AP Photo/Francesco Bellini)FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — The Florence appellate court hearing U.S. student Amanda Knox's third trial in her roommate's murder agreed Monday to run additional DNA tests on the presumed weapon, but rejected more than a dozen other defense requests for new testimony or evidence.

Car bombs kill 54 in Shi'ite districts of Baghdad

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:34 PM PDT

Photos of the day - September 30, 2013By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Car bombs killed at least 54 people in mostly Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad on Monday as suspected Sunni Muslim militants pursued a campaign to plunge Iraq back into sectarian strife. Altogether 14 bombs shook Baghdad, the deadliest of them in Sadr City, where a white car blew up near where men had gathered to seek work, killing seven people, including two soldiers. "The driver said he would move the car soon, but it exploded a few minutes later," said Abu Mohammed, a worker at the scene, where bits of molten metal lay among cars wrecked in the blast. ...

Sheriff: Rape report filed before slaying

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:31 PM PDT

This photo released by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office shows Woodrow Karey, Jr. after being charged in the shooting death of Pastor Ronald J. Harris, Sr., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013. Police said a gunman walked into the Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center in Lake Charles and shot Pastor Ronald J. Harris Sr. "as he was preaching." Harris was pronounced dead at the scene. Karey, 53, of Lake Charles, is charged with second-degree murder and was held in the parish jail Saturday. (AP Photo/Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office)The wife of a Louisiana man charged with killing a preacher had filed a rape complaint against the pastor two days before the shooting, but it's not yet clear if there was an assault or a consensual sexual relationship, a sheriff said Monday.

Lysacek has torn labrum, will miss Skate America

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:29 PM PDT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — This isn't quite the way Evan Lysacek wanted to break into acting.

Some in House GOP seek new Obamacare delay

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:28 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some House Republicans want their next volley in a battle over curbing the president's new health care law to be a delay in requiring people to buy health insurance. That would be the GOP's new condition for keeping the government open after a midnight deadline.

Mall shopkeepers suspect Kenyan troops in thefts

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:27 PM PDT

This photo taken Friday, Sept. 27, 2013 and made available Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, shows the scene at the Dormans coffee shop on the ground floor of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. The four-day siege, which included the collapse of part of the mall, left 67 people dead, according to officials. (AP Photo)NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Jewelry cases smashed. Mobile phones ripped from displays. Cash registers emptied. Alcohol stocks plundered.

Once infertile, woman gives birth after surgery

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:26 PM PDT

In this Dec. 28, 2012 photo provided by Dr. Kazuhiro Kawamura of the St. Marianna University School of Medicine in Kawasaki, Japan, Kawamura holds a newborn baby whose 30-year-old mother was treated for primary ovarian insufficiency, sometimes called premature menopause, in Tokyo. The mother was one of the five women out of 27 treated who were able to produce usable eggs for in vitro fertilization, Kawamura said. The new technique, described in a report published Monday, Sept. 30, 2013 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, raises the promise of a woman with the condition having a baby with her own eggs. (AP Photo/Kazuhiro Kawamura)NEW YORK (AP) — A 30-year-old infertile woman gave birth after surgeons removed her ovaries and re-implanted tissue they treated in a lab, researchers report.

Nickelodeon entra a la radio con Clear Channel

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:23 PM PDT

En esta foto del 3 de septiembre del 2013, la cantante Ariana Grande canta en el programa "Today" de NBC en Nueva York. Nickelodeon unió fuerzas con Clear Channel Media and Entertainment para crear su propia emisora de radio en el servicio en línea de Clear Channel iHeartRadio. Nick Radio debutó el lunes 30 de septiembre con la cantante de Grande como DJ invitada junto con Big Time Rush. (Foto por Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, Archivo)NUEVA YORK (AP) — Nickelodeon está incursionando en el negocio de la radio.

'Breaking Bad' finale draws record ratings, illegal download surge

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:22 PM PDT

Actor Bryan Cranston (centre) and members of 'Breaking Bad' pose in the press room during the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California on September 22, 2013Los Angeles (AFP) - The final episode of "Breaking Bad" drew the cult US television show's biggest ever ratings with 10.3 million viewers tuning in, figures released Monday showed.

NC Republicans vow to fight US DOJ over voter laws

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:19 PM PDT

FILE - In a June 30, 1982 file photo, President Ronald Reagan signs an expansion of the 1965 Voting Rights Bill during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The Justice Department will sue the state of North Carolina for alleged racial discrimination over tough new voting rules, the latest effort by the Obama administration to fight back against a Supreme Court decision that struck down the most powerful part of the landmark Voting Rights Act and freed southern states from strict federal oversight of their elections. North Carolina has a new law scaling back the period for early voting and imposing stringent voter identification requirements. It is among at least five Southern states adopting stricter voter ID and other election laws. (AP Photo, File)RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's Republican governor and GOP lawmakers are vowing to fight a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department challenging the state's tough new elections law on the grounds it disproportionately impacts minority voters.

Gunmen kill 2 police, 1 soldier in Egypt's Sinai

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:18 PM PDT

FILE - This undated file photo released by NASA, taken from 175 miles up by Gemini II, shows the Sinai Peninsula, center, in Egypt. Gunmen killed several security forces in Egypt's northern Sinai on Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, officials said, in the latest attack to hit the volatile peninsula.(AP Photo/NASA, File)EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Gunmen killed two policemen and a soldier in the north of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Monday, officials said, the latest apparent attack by Islamic militants in the volatile desert region.

Small number of schools drop out of lunch program

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:14 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2013, file photo, students at the Maurice J. Tobin K-8 School in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood eat free lunches consisting of a sandwich with meat, a vegetable dish, a piece of fruit, and milk. The Agriculture Department says that around half a percent of schools _ or 524 schools out of around 100,000 _ have dropped out of the federally-subsidized national school lunch program since the government put new standards for healthier foods in place last year. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department says 524 schools — out of about 100,000 — have dropped out of the federally subsidized national school lunch program since the government introduced new standards for healthier foods last year.

Greek PM vows to eradicate far-right Golden Dawn

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:11 PM PDT

A pedestrian passes anti-fascist graffiti in Athens, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. Greece's government is submitting legislation to Parliament aimed at cutting state funding to the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party, whose leadership was arrested over the weekend on charges of acting as a criminal organization. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's prime minister said Monday his government will do "whatever it takes" to completely eradicate the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, whose neo-Nazi leaders have just been arrested.

Weapons experts kick off complex Syria mission

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:03 PM PDT

The convoy of a U.N. team of weapons inspectors, who concluded its almost week-long mission in Syria, arrive at Rafik Hariri international airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. The inquiry determined that the nerve agent sarin was used in the Aug. 21 attack on a Damascus suburb in Syria, but it did not assess who was behind it. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Inspectors charged with the enormous task of overseeing the destruction of Syria's deadly chemical weapons stockpiles kicked off their mission Monday, racing to meet tight deadlines against the backdrop of civil war.

Chinese teenager to take on Woods, McIlroy

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:03 PM PDT

Guan Tianlang of China walks across the 17th green at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 31, 2013 in Dublin, OhioBeijing (AFP) - Chinese prodigy Guan Tianlang, 14, will take on world number one Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in a "skills challenge" before an 18-hole showdown between the two pros, organisers said Monday.

Netanyahu to Obama - Tighten sanctions if Iran defies West

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:03 PM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in WashingtonBy Matt Spetalnick and Dan Williams WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday to step up sanctions on Iran if it pursues its disputed nuclear drive while negotiating with the West. Seeking to ease Israeli concerns about U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran, Obama said Tehran must prove its sincerity with actions, insisted that Washington would not ease sanctions prematurely and reaffirmed U.S. readiness to resort to military action if all else fails. ...

New York spreading wireless access across city

Posted: 30 Sep 2013 11:55 AM PDT

One World Trade Center and the lower New York City skyline, including the Brooklyn Bridge, are seen from the air over New York on May 13, 2013New York City (AFP) - Free Internet access will be given to more neighborhoods across New York as the Big Apple aims to build a "wireless corridor" designed to boost business, officials announced Monday.
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