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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Kerry to Mideast, Europe on damage control mission

Kerry to Mideast, Europe on damage control mission

Kerry to Mideast, Europe on damage control mission

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:31 PM PDT

Secretary of State John Kerry speaks in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, during a ceremony to dedicate a bust of Winston Churchill. Senate and House leaders, as well as Kerry, gathered on Wednesday to dedicate the Churchill bust, which will now stand in the Capitol as a testament to the strength of the relationship between the US and the United Kingdom. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. watches at right. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry is hitting the road again, this time on a damage-control mission to the Middle East and Europe where rancor is high over U.S. strategies in Syria, Egypt and Iran as well as American surveillance activities revealed by ex-NSA analyst Edward Snowden.

Kenya bombs Somali militant camp after mall attack

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:29 PM PDT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's military says its air force has attacked a militant training camp in Somalia in retaliation for last month's al-Shabab assault on Nairobi's Westgate Mall.

In unofficial vote, Abyei residents choose S Sudan

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:27 PM PDT

People from the nine Ngok Dinka tribes parade through the streets after the result of an unofficial vote was announced in the disputed border region of Abyei, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, whose ownership is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. The outcome of the unofficial vote announced Thursday was that residents of the disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan said they want to join South Sudan, which is no surprise since the residents who voted beginning Sunday are aligned with South Sudan. (AP Photo/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin)JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — In an unofficial vote, residents of a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan said they want to join South Sudan.

UK hacking prosecutor: Brooks, Coulson had affair

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:27 PM PDT

FILE - This combination of Monday, Oct. 28, 2013 file photos shows former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks and husband Charlie Brooks, left image, and former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as they arrive at The Old Bailey law court in London. On Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, a prosecutor in Britain's phone hacking trial revealed that Rebekah Brooks and Coulson — the two most senior U.K. tabloid editors accused of illegal eavesdropping and bribery — had a secret affair lasting at least six years. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Lefteris Pitarakis)LONDON (AP) — A prosecutor electrified Britain's phone hacking trial Thursday by revealing that Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson — the two most senior U.K. tabloid editors accused of illegal eavesdropping and bribery — had a secret affair lasting at least six years.

Google releases 1st phone powered by 'Kit Kat'

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:26 PM PDT

This image provided by Google shows its new Nexus 5 phone, which was unveiled Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. The Nexus 5 phone is the first device to run on the latest version of Google's Android operating system, nicknamed after the Kit Kat candy bar. The phone and software are designed to learn and anticipate a person's interest and needs. (AP Photo/Google)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is selling a new Android smartphone that it hopes will become more like a clairvoyant friend than a piece of hardware.

Bob Dylan guitar under New York hammer for $500,000

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:25 PM PDT

US legend Bob Dylan performs on stage during the Vieilles Charrues music festival on July 22, 2012 in Carhaix-Plouguer, western FranceBob Dylan's electric guitar, on which he performed a career-defining set at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, is going under the hammer in New York for $500,000. Christie's will auction off the 1964 Fender Stratocaster guitar on December 6 with five newly discovered Dylan song lyrics dating back to 1965-66. Christie's expects the guitar to fetch $300,000 to $500,000, and the lyrics $3,000 to $30,000. The three-song electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island saw a 24-year-old Dylan evolve from folk-protest singer into an enigmatic rock legend.

German lawmaker says he met Snowden in Russia

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:24 PM PDT

BERLIN (AP) — A German lawmaker said he met Edward Snowden in Moscow on Thursday, and that the National Security Agency leaker is prepared in principle to help Germany investigate allegations of surveillance by U.S. intelligence.

GOP blocks Obama nominees, Dems weigh response

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:20 PM PDT

FILE - In this May 1, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama's nominee for the Federal Housing Finance Authority director Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., waves during the announcement of his nomination in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Democrats are struggling to halt a Republican blockade against Obama's pick of Watt and of Patricia Millett for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked President Barack Obama's picks for a powerful federal court and a housing regulatory agency, prompting Democrats to threaten curtailing the GOP's ability to derail nominations.

Ewan McGregor to star on Broadway next year

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:19 PM PDT

FILE - This Sept. 10, 2013 file photo shows actor Ewan McGregor at the press conference for "August: Osage County" at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. McGregor will make his Broadway debut next year in a revival of Tom Stoppard's NEW YORK (AP) — "Star Wars" and "Trainspotting" star Ewan McGregor will make his Broadway debut next year in a revival of Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing."

Horsemeat found in canned beef at two retailers -food agency

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:19 PM PDT

A "no horsemeat" sign is exhibited alongside meats in the window of Bates Butchers at Market Harborough, central EnglandA batch of canned sliced beef containing horsemeat has been removed from the shelves of retailers Home Bargains and Quality Save, Britain's Food Standards Agency said on Thursday . Routine tests by local government trading standards officers in Lincolnshire, eastern England, found the product, which was manufactured in Romania in January this year, contained horse DNA at a level of between 1 and 5 percent. Neither Home Bargains, the trading name of family-owned business TJ Morris, nor Quality Save, a chain of discount stores operating in northern England, could immediately be reached for comment. The beef tested negative for the drug phenylbutazone, or 'bute', the anti-inflammatory painkiller for sporting horses which is banned for animals intended for eventual human consumption as it is potentially harmful, the agency said.

Column: A journalistic revolution

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:15 PM PDT

Glenn Greenwald, the blogger and journalist who broke the U.S. NSA surveillance scandal, uses his laptop after an exclusive interview with Reuters in Rio de JaneiroBy Neal Gabler Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who revealed National Security Agency surveillance leaks from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, dueled this week with former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller over objectivity in journalism. He explained that his new reporting venture, a website funded by eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar, would treat official pronouncements with skepticism. But while this argument has been taking up a lot of the journalistic oxygen, Paul Thornton, head of the Los Angeles Times letters to the editor section, weighed in recently with a potentially more significant position. Because, according to Thornton, "Saying 'There's no sign humans have caused climate change' is not stating an opinion, it's asserting a factual inaccuracy." It should have been the journalistic shot heard 'round the world, except not many people seem to have heard it.

Iraqi PM: Terror 'found a second chance' in Iraq

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, walks with the House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking Democrat Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., right, and the committee's chairman Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif. in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, before their meeting. Al-Maliki says terrorists WASHINGTON (AP) — Terrorists "found a second chance" to thrive in Iraq, the nation's prime minister said Thursday in asking for new U.S. aid to beat back a bloody insurgency that has been fueled by the neighboring Syrian civil war and the departure of American troops from Iraq two years ago.

US stocks slip, still post big October gain

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:14 PM PDT

Trader Christopher Lotito, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. Stocks edged lower in early trading on Wall Street Thursday, paring the market's big gain for October. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ending slightly lower on Wall Street but still finished October with a gain.

Toronto police say they have mayor drug video

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:13 PM PDT

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford tells to the media to get off his property as he leaves his home in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of police documents in the drug case against a friend of Ford. Peter Jacobsen, a lawyer for various Canadian news organizations that pushed to release the records, said the case against Alexander Lisi involves the mayor. (AP Photo/, Nathan Denette)TORONTO (AP) — Toronto police said Thursday they have obtained a video that appears to show Mayor Rob Ford smoking a crack pipe — a video that Ford had claimed didn't exist and has been at the core of a scandal that has embarrassed and gripped Canada for months.

Shanahan on Haynesworth: 'lazy, lack of passion'

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:12 PM PDT

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Mike Shanahan says Albert Haynesworth is "lazy" and has a "lack of passion" and "lack of character."

Changes pursued in US security clearance system

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:06 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2013 file photo, employees of the Washington Navy Yard line up to enter through a gate two days after a gunman killed twelve people and was killed himself inside. A new report says contract guards who protect federal facilities are receiving uneven training on responding to shootings like the one last month at the Washington Navy Yard. The report was released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office. A summary of the report was presented at a House subcommittee hearing on securing federal facilities. The report says officials at five guard companies said their guards had not received training on what to do when a gunman is opening fire. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — The decision to grant a security clearance to a government contractor who later killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard was made without a review of a critical police report, but background investigators still followed the correct standards, the top federal personnel management official told a Senate panel Thursday.

Court blocks ruling on NY police stop-frisk policy

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:06 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked a judge's order requiring changes to the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk program and removed the judge from the case.

Ga. man gets life sentence in beating deaths of 8

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:05 PM PDT

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Spared from a possible death sentence by a deal between lawyers, a Georgia man convicted of beating his father and seven others to death inside the mobile home they shared was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Officials: Israeli airstrike inside Syria

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:03 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say Israeli warplanes attacked a military target inside Syria.

Portable electronics to be allowed on flights: FAA

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:01 PM PDT

Passengers use their laptop as they wait for their flight on December 4, 2010 at the El Prat airport near BarcelonaAirline passengers will soon be allowed to use a range of mobile electronic devices in flight with very few restrictions, US aviation authorities said Thursday. The move by the Federal Aviation Administration put an end to stricter regulations that have barred the use of electronics during taxi, takeoff and landing for the past 50 years. "Airlines can safely expand passenger use of portable electronic devices during all phases of flight," FAA administrator Michael Huerta told reporters at Reagan National Airport. The relaxed safety guidelines came from a committee convened last year to study the matter, and included input from pilots, passengers, flight attendants, aviation manufacturers and experts from the mobile technology industry.

Manning says gender ID dispute could go to court

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:59 PM PDT

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Imprisoned documents leaker Chelsea Manning says she'll go to court, if necessary, to get treatment for gender identity disorder, also called gender dysphoria.

Pa. residents living above mine fire free to stay

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:58 PM PDT

FILE -- This Jan. 13, 2010 file photo shows steam rising from the ground around retired Centralia Postmaster Tom Dempsey as he stands in an area that was in Centralia, Pa. The steam is caused by a fire that was still burning underground after it started in 1962 at the town dump and ignited an exposed coal vein. The underground fire eventually forced an exodus of more than 1,000 people, nearly the entire population. The attorney for the few remaining residents of the central Pennsylvania coal town that was decimated by a 50-year-old mine fire said on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, that they have settled their lawsuit against state officials who have been trying for years to evict them. The settlement allows eight Centralia residents to stay in their homes for as long as they live and it also includes a cash payout. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, FILE)All they ever wanted was to be left alone, free to live out their lives in the central Pennsylvania coal town whose population had fled an underground mine fire.

Delany says power conferences hope to stay in DI

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:58 PM PDT

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany talks with reporters during a new conference at the Big Ten NCAA college basketball media day Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, in Rosemont, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Giving the power conferences more autonomy in a restructured NCAA could help address the "existential threats" that plague college sports at their highest level, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said.

After unity, some Democrats push back on Obama

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:57 PM PDT

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama gestures while speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Just two weeks after Obama saw his Democratic party put up an unyielding front against Republicans, his coalition is showing signs of stress. From health care to spying to pending budget deals, many congressional Democrats are challenging the administration and pushing for measures that the White House has not embraced. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — Just two weeks after President Barack Obama saw his Democratic Party put up an unyielding front against Republicans, his coalition is showing signs of stress.

Djokovic, Federer into last eight, London line-up complete

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:56 PM PDT

Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating USA's John Isner during their third round match at the ninth and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 indoor tennis tournament on October 31, 2013 at the Bercy Palais-Omnisport (POPB) in ParisNovak Djokovic and Roger Federer reached the Paris Masters quarter-finals on Thursday while Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet claimed the final two places at next week's World Tour Finals. Second seed Djokovic overcame American John Isner 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-2 while Federer, the fifth seed, outclassed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 6-3, 6-4. They were joined in the quarter-finals by Juan Martin Del Potro, Wawrinka and defending champion David Ferrer.

Saudi men quietly help campaign for women to drive

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:56 PM PDT

This image made from video taken on Oct. 26, 2013 provided by the Oct. 26 driving campaign, which has been authenticated based on other AP reporting, shows a man in a car giving a thumbs-up to a woman driving in Saudi Arabia during a day of protest by women who got behind the wheel to defy a driving ban in the kingdom. Arabic reads "men are supporting." Men risking careers and livelihoods are working quietly behind the scenes to help steer a campaign to grant Saudi women the right to drive. They have been filming women flouting the kingdom's driving ban, uploading videos, posting on Facebook and Twitter, teaching their sisters and wives how to drive, and riding in packs next to female drivers to protect them from harassment. But the arrest this week of an outspoken male reformer has sent chills among activists who fear authorities are ramping up pressure on male relatives and supporters to clamp down on the effort. (AP Photo/Oct. 26 Driving Campaign)DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A growing number of men are quietly helping steer a campaign to end Saudi Arabia's ban on allowing women to drive, risking their jobs and social condemnation in the conservative kingdom.

ME says doc's wife may have drowned in tub

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:55 PM PDT

Anna Walthall, a former mistress of Martin MacNeill, testifies during his trial at the Fourth District Court in Provo Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013. MacNeill is charged with murder for allegedly killing his wife Michele MacNeill in 2007. (AP Photo/Daily Herald, Mark Johnston, Pool)PROVO, Utah (AP) — A medical examiner has testified that the wife of a Utah doctor on trial for murder may have died from drug toxicity combined with heart disease.

MGM Resorts 3rd-quarter loss narrows

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:52 PM PDT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — MGM Resorts' third-quarter loss narrowed as gambling revenue improved and it paid less interest on debt.

Michael Jackson's doctor sues Texas over license

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:52 PM PDT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas doctor convicted in the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson is suing the state for stripping his right to practice medicine, and his attorney said Thursday that the cardiologist has former patients eager for him to work again.

Kentucky is No. 1 in preseason poll

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:51 PM PDT

Kentucky head coach John Calipari watches his team during their Blue-White NCAA college basketball scrimmage, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, in Lexington, Ky. The Blue team won 99-71. (AP Photo/James Crisp)LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Every time Kentucky coach John Calipari starts to praise his latest crop of talented freshmen, he's just as quick to point out that it is a work in progress.

Senate bill eyes limiting US surveillance

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:50 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators who oversee U.S. intelligence issues have approved a plan to scale back how many Americans' telephone records the National Security Agency can sweep up.

Driver expects to fight Google Glass ticket

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:50 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California woman cited for wearing Internet-connected eyeglasses while driving plans to contest the citation.

FAA eases rules on electronic devices on planes

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:50 PM PDT

A passenger check her cell phone before a flight, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, in Boston. The Federal Aviation Administration issued new guidelines Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, under which passengers will be able to use devices to read, work, play games, watch movies and listen to music, from the time they board to the time they leave the plane. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)WASHINGTON (AP) — Airline passengers won't have to "turn off all electronic devices" anymore — they'll be able to read, work, play games, watch movies and listen to music from gate to gate under new guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration. But they still can't talk on their cellphones through the flight.

Column: Why Scandinavian women make the rest of the world jealous

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:50 PM PDT

Denmark's member of the European Parliament Hanne Dahl and her baby attend a voting session at the European Parliament in StrasbourgBy Lynn Parramore Icelanders are among the happiest and healthiest people on Earth. Iceland is the world's most peaceful nation (the cops don't even carry guns), and the best place for kids. Iceland is also the best place to have a uterus, according to the folks at the World Economic Forum. According to the 2013 report, Icelandic women pretty much have it all.

Avs goalie Varlamov accused of kicking girlfriend

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:49 PM PDT

Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov appears in this booking photo released by the Denver Police Department. Varlamov surrendered to Denver police on an arrest warrant on charges of kidnapping and third-degree assault in what authorities are calling a domestic violence incident. Police released few details about the case Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, during a brief news conference. (AP Photo/Denver Police Department)DENVER (AP) — Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov will be able to travel with the team while prosecutors consider whether he should be charged with assaulting his girlfriend.

Obama pitches the US to foreign investors

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:49 PM PDT

President Barack Obama speaks during the "SelectUSA Investment Summit" on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013 in Washington. Obama encouraged international businesses and investors to bring new investment and jobs to the United States. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is casting himself as America's business pitchman.

Prosecutor reviewing facts in Ga. gym mat death

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:48 PM PDT

MACON, Ga. (AP) — A federal prosecutor said Thursday that he is conducting a formal review of facts and evidence in the death of a teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat in his high school gym.

Official: 92 bodies of migrants found in Niger

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:47 PM PDT

In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, volunteers and officials dig graves to inter the bodies of migrants who died of thirst after their the truck they were traveling in, seen rear, broke down while attempting to cross the Sahara Desert north of Arlit, Niger. Nearly 100 African migrants hoping to escape crushing poverty met a grisly end in the desert, officials said Thursday, dying of thirst under the baking sun after their truck broke down in Niger not far from the Algerian border. It took weeks for authorities to learn of the tragedy and for recovery teams to reach the distant site, where they found a gruesome scene including the remains of 52 children and 33 women.(AP Photo/Almoustapha Alhacen)DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Nearly 100 African migrants hoping to escape crushing poverty met a grisly end in the desert, officials said Thursday, dying of thirst under the baking sun after their two trucks broke down in the middle of the Sahara before reaching Algeria.

Tina Fey to write, produce new comedy for NBC

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:47 PM PDT

FILE - This Feb. 18, 2013 file photo shows actress Ellie Kemper at the Vanity Fair and Juicy Couture Celebration for the 2013 Vanities Calendar at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. NBC has ordered 13 episodes of a new singlecam comedy from multiple Emmy Award winners Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. Ellie Kemper is set to star. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBC says it's ordering 13 episodes of a new comedy created by Tina Fey and starring Ellie Kemper of "The Office."

Brazil's flamboyant playboy tycoon takes big fall

Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:46 PM PDT

FILE - In this April 7, 2009 file photo, Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista attends a ceremony in which Batista donated about $4.5 U.S. million dollars for the the Rio 2016 Olympic games bid, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The oil company of Brazil's one-time richest man Eike Batista has filed for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes, File)RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Just a few years ago, flamboyant billionaire Eike Batista was boasting that he'd soon be the world's richest man. For those who visited his home, he loved to show off his prized Mercedes-Benz McLaren, which he parked right in the living room of his mansion.
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