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Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Turkey's Erdogan sees president as media report cabinet reshuffle imminent

Turkey's Erdogan sees president as media report cabinet reshuffle imminent

Turkey's Erdogan sees president as media report cabinet reshuffle imminent

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 12:43 PM PST

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), during a meeting at his party headquarters in Ankara on December 25, 2013Ankara (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan saw President Abdullah Gul late Wednesday amid expectations he was about to reshuffle his cabinet following the resignation of three ministers amid a high-level graft scandal.

Coming snow could slow power restoration efforts

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 12:42 PM PST

Carla Coulter, 46, of Clio, holds her 1-year-old grandson Connor Hergert closely as she gives him a kiss on the forehead while listening to the FirstMerit Bank Mixed Chorus sing "Silent Night" along with about 100 spectators during the 76th Annual Holiday Sing on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013 at FirstMerit Bank in downtown Flint, Mich. "We don't have power. We're warming up, and I just feel so very blessed to have my family," Coulter said. "I don't need anything else." (AP Photo/The Flint Journal, Jake May) LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUTLITCHFIELD, Maine (AP) — The ice that snapped utility poles and knocked out power to more than half a million people in the U.S. and Canada was stubbornly hanging on Wednesday as frigid temperatures cloaked a region from the Great Lakes to New England.

Bulls use big third quarter to rout Nets 95-78

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 12:40 PM PST

Chicago Bulls' D.J. Augustin, left, passes around Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Garnett during the first half of the NBA basketball game at the Barclays Center Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)NEW YORK (AP) — Taj Gibson enjoyed coming home for the holidays.

Egypt names Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 12:33 PM PST

Egyptians attend the funeral of a dozen policeman and a civilian killed from an explosion at a police headquarters, in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013. A powerful blast tore through a police headquarters in an Egyptian Nile Delta city early Tuesday, killing more than a dozen, wounding more than 100 and leaving victims buried under rubble in the deadliest bombing yet in a months-long wave of violence blamed on Islamic militants. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, which came a day after an al-Qaida-inspired group called on police and army personnel to desert or face death at the hands of its fighters. (AP Photo/Ahmed Omar)CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's military-backed interim government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization Wednesday, intensifying its campaign of arrests and prosecutions targeting its members and tightening the noose on the group's network of charities and businesses.

Fighting rages in South Sudan as UN moves to boost force

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 12:31 PM PST

A picture taken on December 25, 2013 shows the aftermath of massive looting conducted by rebels at a market, including shops burnt to ashes, in BorBor (South Sudan) (AFP) - South Sudan's army battled rebel forces Wednesday in an oil flashpoint while troops flushed out insurgents in Bor after its recapture, as the United Nations moved to double its peacekeeping force to stave off civil war. Thousands are believed to have been killed in more than a week of violence pitting troops loyal to President Salva Kiir against those backing his rival Riek Machar, a former vice president who was sacked in July. Amid reports of bodies piled in mass graves, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the two rivals to negotiate an end to the spiralling violence in the world's youngest nation. "South Sudan is under threat – but South Sudan is not alone," Ban said in a Christmas Day radio and video message to the people of the violence-wracked nation.

3 children die in Louisiana mobile home fire

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 12:09 PM PST

A burned trailer where three children were killed in a fire this morning sits charred in Whispering Oaks Trailer Park in Houma, La. Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013. Mike Delaune of the state Fire Marshal's Office said that a 12-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and a 9-year old boy died in the fire. (AP Photo/The Houma Daily Courier, Dee Dee Thurston)HOUMA, La. (AP) — Louisiana fire officials say a mobile home has killed three children and left their father with serious arm burns from trying to save them.

Turkish PM presents new cabinet list after 3 ministers resign over graft inquiry

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:55 AM PST

Turkey's European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis, Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan chat as they wait for the arrival of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at Esenboga Airport in AnkaraISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan presented a new list of cabinet ministers to President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday after three ministers resigned over a high-level graft inquiry, sources said. It was unclear if more than the resigned ministers had been replaced. Erdogan is expected to make a statement later amid the spiraling corruption scandal. (Writing by Ece Toksabay, editing by David Evans)

Surfers dressed as Santa Claus gather in Florida

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:48 AM PST

COCOA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — More than 210 surfers dressed as Santa Claus, elves and snowmen were surfing the Christmas Eve waves off central Florida's Atlantic coast.

Foles still hears about 1 bad game vs. Cowboys

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:47 AM PST

Philadelphia Eagles' Nick Foles passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Foles has a new nickname that's appropriate this time of year: Saint Nick.

18 migrant dies in capsizing off Turks and Caicos

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:41 AM PST

MIAMI (AP) — At least 18 migrants from Haiti died Wednesday when their overloaded sailboat capsized as it was being towed to shore in the Turks and Caicos Islands, officials in the British territory said.

French tanks deploy at Bangui airport amid heavy gunfire

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:41 AM PST

A French soldier speaks to African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) soldiers as they patrol in Bangui on December 20, 2013Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - Heavy arms fire triggered panic Wednesday in the Central African capital Bangui, prompting a French force to deploy tanks near the airport, where tens of thousands of residents are seeking refuge from deadly sectarian violence. The tanks took positions at the entrance to the airport, where French and African peacekeepers are based, after automatic weapons fire and explosions shook several parts of the city. Tens of thousands of people have been sheltering in precarious conditions on the airport grounds since the sectarian bloodletting erupted early this month in the former French colony, claiming hundreds of lives. Automatic weapons fire, much of it from heavy machine guns, was heard but apparently not directed at the airport.

Las Vegas cab driver finds $300K in back seat

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:41 AM PST

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas cab driver Gerardo Gamboa thought someone left a bag of chocolates in the back seat of his vehicle, but the stash turned out to be $300,000 in cold hard cash.

Former NBA player proposes new Vegas Strip arena

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:39 AM PST

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former National Basketball Association player wants to build a $1.3 billion arena and hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

Official: Israel plans new settlement construction

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:31 AM PST

An Israeli soldier stands near an Iron Dome anti-missile battery system, on the far left, near the southern city of Sderot, Israel, Wednesday, Dec. 25. 2013, 2013. Israeli air and ground forces launched a series of attacks Tuesday on targets across the Gaza Strip, killing a young girl and wounding several in response to the deadly shooting of an Israeli civilian by a Palestinian sniper. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel likely will announce new plans for construction in Jewish settlements next week, an official said Wednesday, a move that is likely to trigger an international uproar and threaten peace talks with the Palestinians.

Turkey PM faces resignation call as three ministers quit

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:23 AM PST

Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler speaks during a press conference in Istanbul on April 18, 2013Three top Turkish ministers resigned on Wednesday over a high-level graft probe, with one of them calling on the prime minister to step down in a major escalation of the biggest scandal to hit the government in years. After announcing his own resignation, Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar raised the stakes by calling on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to follow suit. "I am stepping down as minister and lawmaker," Bayraktar told the private NTV television. Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler also announced they were quitting on Wednesday.

Israeli actors sit out show at settlement theater

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:16 AM PST

File - In this Aug. 29, 2010. file photo, Israeli children walk past the theater in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ariel. A trio of Israeli stage actors is refusing to perform in an acclaimed play before a theater in a West Bank Jewish settlement of Arial, part of a burgeoning domestic movement against the government's settlement policies. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)JERUSALEM (AP) — A trio of Israeli stage actors is refusing to perform in an acclaimed play before a theater in a West Bank Jewish settlement, part of a burgeoning domestic movement against the government's settlement policies.

Mapuche leader found dead in reservoir she opposed

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:09 AM PST

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The body of a Mapuche Indian leader has been found in Chile, floating in the reservoir she spent a decade trying to prevent from being created.

Knicks' Anthony sidelined by sprained left ankle

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:53 AM PST

New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony (7) looks to pass the ball around Orlando Magic's Tobias Harris, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Monday, Dec. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/John Raoux)NEW YORK (AP) — Carmelo Anthony will miss the New York Knicks' game against Oklahoma City with a sprained left ankle, unable to take part in a Christmas Day showdown with Kevin Durant.

Calif. girl's family spending holiday at hospital

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:50 AM PST

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the McMath family and Omari Sealey shows Jahi McMath. McMath remains on life support at Children's Hospital Oakland nearly a week after doctors declared her brain dead, following a supposedly routine tonsillectomy. Her family was expected to appear with hospital officials in court Monday, Dec. 23, 2013 to announce the name of the independent physician they have chosen to provide a second opinion on the girl's condition. (AP Photo/Courtesy of McMath Family and Omari Sealey, File)OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The family of a 13-year-old Northern California girl declared brain dead after suffering complications following a tonsillectomy was trying to give the girl as normal of a Christmas as possible, with a tree and presents in her hospital room, her uncle said.

Egypt Brotherhood vows protests despite 'terror' listing

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:47 AM PST

A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood runs past burning tyres during clashes with riot police following a protest in Cairo on December 20, 2013A leader of the Muslim Brotherhood vowed that the movement would keep up protests after Egypt's military-installed government designated it a "terrorist" group on Wednesday. "The protests will continue, certainly," Ibrahim Munir, a member of the group's executive council who is in exile in London, told AFP, adding the move was "illegitimate".

Santa's sleigh delayed after snags at UPS, FedEx

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:40 AM PST

FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2013 file photo, package handler Chris Addison arranges packages before loading a delivery truck at a FedEx sorting facility in Kansas City, Mo. Santa's sleigh didn't make it in time for Christmas for some this year due to shipping problems at UPS and FedEx.The delays were blamed on poor weather earlier this week in parts of the country as well as overloaded systems. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)NEW YORK (AP) — Santa's sleigh didn't make it in time for Christmas for some this year due to shipping problems at UPS and FedEx.

AP Exclusive: Al-Qaida leader targeting UN workers

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:35 AM PST

This undated photo provided by Iraqi government intelligence officials on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013 shows Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani. Iraqi intelligence officials that the shadowy leader of the powerful al-Qaida group fighting in Syria has sought to kidnap United Nations workers. The officials say they obtained the information about al-Golani, after capturing members of another al-Qaida group and that men gave them the first known photograph of al-Golani and letters written by the militant leader. (AP Photo/Iraqi Government)BAGHDAD (AP) — The shadowy leader of a powerful al-Qaida group fighting in Syria sought to kidnap United Nations workers and scrawled out plans for his aides to take over in the event of his death, according to excerpts of letters obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

Belichick questions NFL offseason workout limits

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:16 AM PST

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Patriots coach Bill Belichick is blaming recently instituted NFL rules shortening offseason practice time for what he claims to be an increasing number of player injuries.

Serena Williams wins 3rd AP Athlete of Year award

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:16 AM PST

FILE - In this Sept. 8, 2013, file photo, Serena Williams, of the United States, holds up the championship trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, during the women's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Williams is The Associated Press' 2013 Female Athlete of the Year, easily winning a vote by news organizations. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)Serena Williams likes to make one thing clear: She is never satisfied, no matter how many matches and tournaments she wins.

NJ tribe sues makers of film 'Out of the Furnace'

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:14 AM PST

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Members of the Ramapough Native American tribe have filed a $50 million lawsuit against the makers of a recent Hollywood movie they say depicts their people in a negative light.

End of an era as smelter closes in Missouri town

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:06 AM PST

In this Nov. 15, 2013 photo, a "No Trespassing" sign is seen outside Doe Run Co.'s lead smelter in Herculaneum, Mo. The nation's only primary lead smelter and the unquestioned center of the tiny town 25 miles south of St. Louis, is shutting down for good, its operator citing rising regulatory costs. Despite the environmental and health concerns that include high levels of lead in the blood of some children and yards so toxic the soil had to be removed, many in the small town are saddened by the end of an era. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)HERCULANEUM, Mo. (AP) — From the day its founder arrived here, this Mississippi River town has been tied inseparably to lead, the heavy, dull-gray metal that has been mined in southern Missouri for more than two centuries.

Christmas Day bombings in Iraq's capital kill 37

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 10:05 AM PST

BAGHDAD (AP) — Militants in Iraq targeted Christians in three separate Christmas Day bombings in Baghdad, killing at least 37 people, officials said Wednesday.

3 killed, 2 wounded in shooting at north NJ bar

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 09:57 AM PST

IRVINGTON, N.J. (AP) — Three men were fatally shot during a Christmas morning fight at a New Jersey strip club that began when a man apparently tried to enter the bar with a gun but was stopped by a bouncer, authorities said.

Air blitz death toll in Syria's Aleppo passes 400

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 09:54 AM PST

Rescuers climb on the rubble of a destroyed building following an airstrike in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 24, 2013The death toll from a 10-day Syrian regime air offensive on Aleppo rebels passed 400 Wednesday, as Pope Francis called on Christmas Day for aid access to the war-torn country. But even as the European Union and Arab League condemned the campaign in Syria's second city, a Russian company signed a major oil and gas exploration deal with the Damascus government. Aleppo has been divided into regime and rebel-held enclaves since a massive opposition offensive in the northern city in July last year. The air force has been bombarding the rebel-held areas using TNT-packed barrels since December 15, in an offensive the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said has left 410 people dead, including 117 children, as of Tuesday night.

South Sudan President Kiir urges end to tribal atrocities

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 09:52 AM PST

A South Sudan army soldier holds his weapon in BorBy Aaron Maasho and Carl Odera JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir called for an end to wanton killings and tribal-based atrocities on Wednesday, as government troops clashed with rebels loyal to his former deputy in an oil-producing region of the country. This is unacceptable," Kiir said, according to an official Twitter account of South Sudan's government. Western powers and east African states, keen to prevent more chaos in a fragile region, have tried to mediate between Kiir, a Dinka, and rebel leader Riek Machar, a Nuer, who was vice president until Kiir sacked him in July. A South Sudan government official said Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta would arrive in Juba on Thursday morning to help mediate as well.

Bipartisan bill seeks to boost foreign adoptions

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 09:41 AM PST

In this Feb. 20, 2013 photo provided by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., holds an infant during a visit to the Phu My Village orphanage in Vietnam. "Every child needs and deserves to grow up in a family," says Landrieu. "While our foreign policy has done much to keep children alive and healthy, it has not prioritized this basic human right." In mid-December 2013, amid partisan conflict in Congress, dozens of lawmakers from both parties - including staunch liberals and conservatives - have united behind a bill aimed in part at encouraging more adoptions of foreign orphans. (AP Photo/CCAI, Becky Weichhand)Amid partisan conflict in Congress, dozens of lawmakers from both parties — including staunch liberals and conservatives — have united behind a bill that supporters say addresses a heart-rending issue beyond politics: the millions of foreign children languishing in orphanages or otherwise at risk because they have no immediate family.

Plushenko out of Olympic individual event

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 09:29 AM PST

Russia's Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko at the end of his Men Free Skating program at the 2010 European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn on January 21, 2010Russian figure skating great Yevgeny Plushenko said Wednesday that nagging injuries will keep him from contesting the individual competition at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games on home soil in Sochi. But it also leaves the door wide open for Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu and Patrick Chan of Canada to take the top prize at one of the Winter Games' most high-profile events. Plushenko said he will still take part in the newly-created team competition that will be contested in Sochi on a trial basis for the first time. "I think that I will select the team event and cede my spot in the men's competition to a young athlete," the R-Sport news agency quoted Plushenko as saying on the sidelines of the Russian Championships in Sochi.

18 migrants dies in capsizing off Turks and Caicos

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 09:20 AM PST

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands (AP) — Eighteen people believed to be migrants from Haiti died Wednesday when their overloaded sailboat overturned as their vessel was being escorted to shore in the Turks and Caicos Islands, officials in the British territory said.

Analysis: As Egypt hardliners gain, scope for conflict grows

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 09:12 AM PST

A man walks near a damaged vehicle after an explosion near a security building in Egypt's Nile Delta city of MansouraBy Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - If there was any hope left that the generals who overthrew Egypt's elected president six months ago might ease the state's crackdown on dissent, a suicide bomb that ripped through a police station on Tuesday may have destroyed it. The army-backed government says it will shepherd Egypt back to democracy and points out that the state defeated Islamist militants when they last launched waves of attacks in the 1990s. The tactic of using suicide bombers to hit security forces is more familiar to Iraq or Syria than to Egypt, which for all its history of militancy is one of the few big Arab states that has never experienced a modern civil war. The blast was claimed by a Sinai Peninsula-based Islamist militant group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has stepped up attacks on government targets in recent months and narrowly failed to assassinate the interior minister in September.

Cafe in SC combination eatery-museum-vets hangout

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 08:57 AM PST

in this Dec. 17, 2013 photo, Kris Tourtellotte of Little River, S.C., founder of the nonprofit Veterans Welcome Home and Resource Center, sits in the Veterans Cafe in Myrtle Beach, S.C. In the four years the cafe has been open it has become a combination of an eatery, a military museum and place to hang out for those who served the nation in the military. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith)MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — There's a red white and blue sign in the window of the Veteran's Cafe and Grille that says simply "Welcome Home."

Christmas bombings kill 34 in Iraq

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 08:46 AM PST

People stand among debris at the site of a bomb attack at a marketplace in Baghdad's Doura DistrictBy Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 34 people were killed in three bombings in Christian areas of Baghdad on Wednesday, including a car bomb that exploded as worshippers were leaving a Christmas service, Iraqi police and medics said. Elsewhere in Iraq, at least 10 people were killed in three attacks that targeted police and Shi'ite pilgrims, police said. Iraq is enduring its deadliest violence in years, reviving memories of the sectarian bloodshed between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims that killed tens of thousands in 2006-07. The day's deadliest incident occurred in the Doura district of southern Baghdad when the car bomb went off as Christians were emerging from a Christmas mass, killing at least 24 people.

Activists: Over 400 killed in Aleppo bombings

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 08:38 AM PST

BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian human rights group says more than 400 people have been killed during a government bombardment of rebel-held areas of the northern city of Aleppo, and more than one-quarter of the victims are children.

3 Turkish Cabinet ministers resign over probe

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 08:36 AM PST

In this photo taken late Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013, Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, right, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, center, and EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis speak at the Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey. Guler and Caglayan resigned from their posts on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013, days after their sons were arrested in a massive corruption and bribery scandal that has targeted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's allies and has become the worst crisis in his decade in power. Caglayan and Guler both stepped down on Wednesday, despite denying any wrongdoing. (AP Photo)ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Three Cabinet ministers resigned in Turkey on Wednesday, days after their sons were taken into custody in a sweeping corruption and bribery scandal that has targeted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's allies and rattled the government.

18 dead as boat capsizes off Turks and Caicos

Posted: 25 Dec 2013 08:31 AM PST

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands (AP) — A spokesman for the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands says 18 migrants died when their overloaded boat capsized off the British territory.
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