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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Obama nominating Johnson to head Homeland Security

Obama nominating Johnson to head Homeland Security

Obama nominating Johnson to head Homeland Security

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:20 PM PDT

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2010, file photo, Jeh Johnson speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington. President Barack Obama has chosen former Pentagon lawyer Johnson as the new secretary of the Homeland Security Department. Obama plans to announce Johnson's nomination Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has chosen former Pentagon lawyer Jeh (jay) Johnson as the new secretary of the Homeland Security Department.

S&P 500 rockets to new record after budget deal

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:19 PM PDT

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on October 16, 2013 in New York CityNew York City (AFP) - US investors powered the S&P 500 to an all-time high Thursday, one day after Washington politicians reached a deal to reopen the government and avert a feared debt default.

US stock market reaches all-time high

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:15 PM PDT

Trader Gordon Charlop, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. An eleventh hour agreement that averted a U.S. government debt default boosted Asian stock markets Thursday Oct. 17, 2013. European markets, which rallied the day before in anticipation of a deal, were down. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is closing at an all-time high a day after Washington reached a deal to avoid a U.S. default.

Court considers Calif. school's May 5 US flag ban

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:15 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday wrestled with the novel question of whether it was offensive for Northern California high school students to display the American flag during a school day dedicated to celebrating Mexican heritage.

Russia, U.S. deny date set for Syria peace conference

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:15 PM PDT

By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - A senior Syrian official said on Thursday that a long-delayed international conference aimed at ending his country's civil war was scheduled for November 23-24, but co-organizers Russia and the United States said no date had been set. A spokeswoman for the U.N. Syria peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi also cast doubt on the statement, saying the timing of the conference intended to bring Syria's government and opposition together had not yet been agreed. ...

Obama picks attorney Jeh Johnson for Homeland Security chief

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:10 PM PDT

Pentagon general counsel Jeh Johnson and Army General Ham attend hearing on Capitol Hill in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will nominate attorney Jeh Johnson on Friday to be the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, a White House official said on Thursday. Johnson, who served as a top official in the Department of Defense, would succeed Janet Napolitano, who stepped down earlier this year. "He is one of the most highly qualified and respected national security leaders, having served as the senior lawyer for the largest government agency in the world," the official said of Johnson. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Nolan Ryan retiring as CEO of Texas Rangers

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:06 PM PDT

FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2012, file photo, Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan speaks to reporters during a news conference in Arlington, Texas. Ryan announced in a statement on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013, that he hs retiring after six years of serving as CEO of the Rangers. The Hall of Fame pitcher became the 10th president of the Rangers in February 2008 and became chief executive officer three years later. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File)ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nolan Ryan is retiring after six seasons as CEO of the Texas Rangers.

Obama: shutdown encouraged US foes, depressed friends

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:06 PM PDT

US President Barack Obama speaks about the reopening of government following a shutdown in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, October 17, 2013Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama warned Thursday that America's political dysfunction had encouraged its enemies and dismayed its friends, and said the crisis had left "no winners" in Washington.

Boehner's jam: Caucus loves but won't follow him

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:03 PM PDT

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, walks to the chamber for the vote on a Senate-passed bill that would avert a threatened Treasury default and reopen the government after a partial, 16-day shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The end to the rancorous standoff between the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House was hastened by the imminent deadline to extend the debt ceiling to avoid a national default. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' debt-and-spending breakthrough crystalized a political contradiction.

Larry Flynt doesn't want man who shot him executed

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:02 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Porn publisher Larry Flynt says he doesn't want to see the serial killer whose gunshots left him paralyzed 35 years ago put to death for his crimes.

Lawmakers launch budget talks as Washington returns to work

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:01 PM PDT

President Barack Obama walks out to make a statement to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. The Senate voted to avoid a financial default and reopen the government after a 16-day partial shutdown and the measure now heads to the House, which is expected to back the bill before day's end. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)By David Lawder and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers launched an effort to resolve budget differences in a less confrontational fashion on Thursday as Washington picked up the pieces from a political crisis that has slowed the economy and undermined the country's international standing. As hundreds of thousands of federal employees returned to work, Republican and Democratic negotiators held their first meeting to tackle tax and spending issues that have led to repeated rounds of brinkmanship over the past three years. ...

Deadly Halloween tableau too realistic for some

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:59 PM PDT

MUSTANG, Okla. (AP) — One man lies on his stomach on the driveway. Blood is splattered along the garage door that smashed his head and presumably killed him. Another man lies a few feet away, run over by a truck.

Family of Nazi criminal searches for missing body

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:59 PM PDT

People hold up signs with names of Nazi concentration and death camps during a march marking the 70th anniversary of the roundup and deportation of Rome's Jews to concentration camps, in Rome's ghetto neighborhood, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. Nazi forces rounded up more than 1,000 Jews from Rome's ghetto and nearby neighborhoods and sent them by train to Auschwitz. Only 16 survived. Rome's Jewish community, which gathered Wednesday amid deep anger over the late Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke and his Holocaust-denying final statement. Priebke died Friday in Rome, where he was serving a life term for his role in the 1944 massacre of 335 civilians at the Ardeatine Caves outside the capital. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)ROME (AP) — The case of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke took on another bizarre twist Thursday as his family said it doesn't know where his body is.

S&P 500 reaches all-time high after US debt deal

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:59 PM PDT

Trader Gordon Charlop, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. An eleventh hour agreement that averted a U.S. government debt default boosted Asian stock markets Thursday Oct. 17, 2013. European markets, which rallied the day before in anticipation of a deal, were down. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — The Standard & Poor's 500 index reached an all-time high Thursday, a day after Washington reached a deal to avoid a U.S. default.

Obama, Italy's Letta compare notes on budget woes

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:55 PM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in the Oval Office of the White House in WashingtonBy Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta congratulated each other on Thursday for surviving extended budget crises and pledged to work together to advance U.S.-EU trade talks and address security issues. The two leaders met at the Oval Office on the day after Congress agreed to fund the U.S. government until January and averted a debt default by lifting the nation's debt ceiling until February. The U.S. government reopened after a 16-day shutdown. Letta said the U.S. ...

World welcomes US budget deal but fears remain

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:55 PM PDT

President Barack Obama speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Lawmakers Wednesday voted to avoid a financial default and reopen the government after a 16-day partial shutdown. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)LONDON (AP) — The world's disbelief at the political impasse in the U.S. turned to cautious relief Thursday as the country stepped back from the brink of default. But fears remain about another possible shutdown — and, even worse, a possible default — early next year.

Factbox: New U.S. budget panel, same problems on taxes, spending

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:53 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another U.S. budget deal, another special committee in Congress to find future budget savings. The creation of this latest panel is a fundamental part of the emergency law signed by President Barack Obama early on Thursday to end a 16-day federal government shutdown and avoid a default on Washington's debt. Reminiscent of the 2011 "supercommittee" that failed to agree upon one penny's worth of deficit-reduction - much less the $1.2 trillion in savings over 10 years it was tasked to identify - this newly formed group is hoping to arrive at a happier outcome. ...

Column: The selfishness in Congress is far from over

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:52 PM PDT

By Ian Bremmer When I write about our new G-Zero world, I am describing an international phenomenon: a global environment in which no power or group of powers can sustainably set an international agenda. The global community, used to orienting itself around a collection of U.S.-led powers, has fallen victim to a widening leadership vacuum, what with the United States disengaging from foreign affairs and Europe too busy with its own crisis. ...

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:50 PM PDT

Copyright 5/8 2013 Publishers Weekly. Week ending 10/13/13, powered by Nielsen Bookscan 5/8 2013 The Nielsen Company.

Rebel snipers kill high-ranking Syrian general

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:49 PM PDT

An undated handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA shows top-ranking general in Syrian military intelligence, General Jama'a Jama'a who was killed in Deir al-Zor city in northeastern SyriaBEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebel snipers killed a top-ranking general in Syrian military intelligence on Thursday, state television and opposition activists said. State TV said General Jama'a Jama'a was shot dead in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, which is in a province largely held by opposition forces trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-Assad monitoring group, said Jama'a was a member of Assad's inner circle and one of Syria's most prominent military figures. ...

After the shutdown: For some voters, rising disgust with Washington

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:44 PM PDT

File photo of U.S. President Obama speaking about continuing government shutdown during White House news conference in WashingtonBy John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Congress may have settled the U.S. fiscal impasse for now, but some voters say politicians will have an even tougher job restoring the public's shattered faith in government. Low- and middle-income mothers in focus groups conducted as the showdown ended on Wednesday night used words like disgusted, angry, frustrated and embarrassed when discussing the stalemate that shut down the government and brought it to the verge of a historic default. ...

Amid GOP struggles, Jeb Bush focuses on education

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:43 PM PDT

BOSTON (AP) — As his party struggles through the latest Washington crisis, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is calling on elected leaders to improve a national education system he says is "woefully behind the times."

Chevron halts shale gas search after protests

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:43 PM PDT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Chevron said Thursday it has suspended searching for shale gas in northeast Romania following protests in the capital and the local area against fracking.

Verizon third-quarter earnings, revenue beat Wall Street estimates

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:41 PM PDT

File photo shows a Verizon Wireless store in Del Mar, CaliforniaBy Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc on Thursday posted stronger- than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue driven by wireless growth, sending its shares up 4 percent. While wireless customer growth was slightly below Wall Street estimates, its Verizon Wireless venture with Vodafone Group Plc posted good profit and revenue growth as customers spent more on data services. Verizon has agreed to buy out Vodafone's 45 percent share of the venture. The subscriber shortfall caused some concern that the company, the first U.S. ...

Brazilian oil workers go on strike

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:41 PM PDT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Workers of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras have gone on a nationwide strike protesting next week's scheduled auction of a huge offshore oil field, arguing foreign companies shouldn't be involved, union officials said Thursday.

S&P 500 stock index reaches all-time high

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:40 PM PDT

Trader Gordon Charlop, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. An eleventh hour agreement that averted a U.S. government debt default boosted Asian stock markets Thursday Oct. 17, 2013. European markets, which rallied the day before in anticipation of a deal, were down. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index has touched an all-time high a day after Washington reached a deal to avoid a U.S. default.

Hulu names Fox exec Hopkins as CEO

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:34 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Online video service Hulu named Fox executive Mike Hopkins as its new CEO Thursday, ending the speculation over the company's leadership following Jason Kilar's departure in March.

Defense: 1-year sentence enough in lab scandal

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:34 PM PDT

BOSTON (AP) — A lawyer for a Massachusetts chemist charged in a far-reaching scandal at a state drug-testing lab will recommend a one-year sentence while prosecutors seek five to seven years.

Column: The Omidyar way

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:33 PM PDT

By Adrienne LaFrance People talk about billionaires the way bird-watchers point out rare sightings — wide-eyed and in hushed, anxious tones. Speculation in media circles has been similarly breathless since the news broke Tuesday that billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar is launching a major news organization with Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill, some of the world's leading investigative journalists responsible for exposing the reach of the U.S.'s military and surveillance complex. ...

2 convicted killers mistakenly released in Florida

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:30 PM PDT

This undated photo provided by the Florida Department. of Corrections shows Joseph Jenkins. Jenkins and Charles Walker were mistakenly released from prison in Franklin County, Fla., in late September and early October. According to authorities, the the two convicted murderers were released with forged documents. A manhunt is under way for the two men. (AP Photo/Florida Department of Corrections)ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two convicted killers serving life in a Florida prison were mistakenly freed in the last three weeks after forged court documents reduced their sentences, authorities said. Relatives picked up one inmate while the other was given a bus ticket and dropped off at a bus station.

DNA links mysterious Yeti to ancient polar bear

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:27 PM PDT

Undated photo made available by Britain's Channel 4 television Thursday Oct.17 2013 of Oxford University genetics professor Bryan Sykes posing with a prepared DNA sample taken from hair from a Himalayan animal. Sykes says he may have solved the mystery of the Abominable Snowman — the elusive ape-like creature of the Himalayas also known as the Yeti. He thinks it's a bear, based on two samples sharing a genetic fingerprint with a polar bear jawbone found in the Norwegian Arctic that is at least 40,000 years old. His findings, yet to be published, will be aired in a TV show in the UK Sunday. (AP Photo/ Channel 4)LONDON (AP) — A British scientist says he may have solved the mystery of the Abominable Snowman — the elusive ape-like creature of the Himalayas. He thinks it's a bear.

Common App says 2 causes of admissions lags fixed

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:27 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Computer problems have plagued a popular online college application system, causing admissions delays. But operators of the program said Thursday that they had fixed a large chunk of the problem.

Analysis: Awash in oil, U.S. reshapes Mideast role 40 years after OPEC embargo

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:27 PM PDT

File of James Prokupek is seen silhouetted during tour of refinery in Norco, LouisianaBy Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Forty years after an Arab oil embargo throttled the U.S. economy, surging North American energy production has brought the United States closer to a long-dreamed "energy independence" that is reshaping its goals and role in the Middle East. On October 17, 1973, OPEC announced an oil embargo against the United States and any other country that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War. That use of oil as a diplomatic weapon has driven an American yearning for disengagement from the Middle East and its problems ever since. ...

Director Bay attacked on 'Transformers' set in HK

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:20 PM PDT

American film director Michael Bay, left, assists the cameraman as they are filming their latest film "Transformers Four" in Hong Kong Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Two men have been arrested after the American film director, Michael Bay, was allegedly assaulted in Quarry Bay while working on his latest film, "Transformers Four" as the two men demanding money from the film crew. (AP Photo)HONG KONG (AP) — Hollywood director Michael Bay was attacked and slightly injured Thursday on the set of the fourth installment of the "Transformers" movie series currently filming in Hong Kong, police said.

Peterson attended son's funeral on Wednesday

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:19 PM PDT

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson pauses during introductions before an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Minneapolis, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013. One of the star running back's sons, a 2-year-old in South Dakota, died Friday after an alleged attack in a child abuse case. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Adrian Peterson rejoined the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday after missing practice to attend the funeral for his 2-year-old son, describing the situation as "devastating."

Missouri teen sex assault case to be reopened

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:19 PM PDT

County prosecutor Robert Rice, left, and Sheriff Darren White, back, hold a news conference outside the Nodaway County Court House in Maryville, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. Rice announced that he's asking for a special prosecutor to look at the case of a 14-year-old girl who says she was plied with alcohol and raped by a 17-year-old acquaintance. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A 14-year-old girl who says she was raped by an older boy from her Missouri high school could get another chance to bring the case to court when a special prosecutor reviews the allegations.

1.8M-year-old skull gives glimpse of our evolution

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:19 PM PDT

In this photo taken Oct. 2, 2013, in Tbilisi, Georgia, David Lordkipanidze, director of the Georgia National Museum, holds a pre-human skull found in 2005 in the ground at the medieval village Dmanisi, Georgia. The discovery of a 1.8 million-year-old human ancestor, the most complete ancient hominid skull found to date, captures early human evolution on the move in a vivid snapshot and indicates our family tree may have fewer branches than originally thought, scientists say. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)DMANISI, Georgia (AP) — The discovery of a 1.8-million-year-old skull of a human ancestor buried under a medieval Georgian village provides a vivid picture of early evolution and indicates our family tree may have fewer branches than some believe, scientists say.

Defense lawyers say police denied access to Holmes

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:14 PM PDT

FILE -This June 4, 2013 file photo shows Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes in court in Centennial, Colo. On Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, Holmes' lawyers will argue that the two hours that passed before he was read his Miranda rights violated his constitutional rights and that anything he told the arresting officers should be barred from his trial. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Andy Cross, Pool, File)CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — Defense attorneys weren't able to speak to James Holmes for several hours after his arrest and one testified Thursday that investigators ignored her demand that they not question the Colorado theater shooting suspect about explosives found in his apartment.

Skull discovery suggests early man was single species

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:14 PM PDT

This handout photo received October 17, 2013 courtesy of the Georgian National Museum shows a complete, approximately 1.8-million-year-old hominid skull from Dmanisi, GeorgiaWashington (AFP) - A stunningly well-preserved skull from 1.8 million years ago offers new evidence that early man was a single species with a vast array of different looks, researchers said Thursday.

Outdoor air pollution a leading cause of cancer: WHO

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 12:11 PM PDT

Diesel exhaust has been classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on CancerGeneva (AFP) - The World Health Organization on Thursday classified outdoor air pollution as a leading cause of cancer in humans.
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