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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Egypt to put 20 Al-Jazeera journalists on trial

Egypt to put 20 Al-Jazeera journalists on trial

Egypt to put 20 Al-Jazeera journalists on trial

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:04 PM PST

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013 file photo, Mohammed Badr, a cameraman for Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, appears at a court in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt's chief prosecutor has referred 20 journalists who work for the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network, including four foreigners, to a criminal trial on charges of joining or assisting a terrorist group and spreading false news that endangers national security. Egypt's interim-backed military government accuses the Qatar-based broadcaster of being biased in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities have branded a terrorist organization. Only eight are currently in detention.(AP Photo/Ahmed Omar, File)CAIRO (AP) — Egypt said 20 journalists, including four foreigners, working for Al-Jazeera will face trial on charges of joining or aiding a terrorist group and endangering national security — an escalation that raised fears of a crackdown on freedom of the press.

Death penalty decision imminent in Boston bombing

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:02 PM PST

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing oversight hearing on the Justice Department. As attorney general, Holder has approved pursuing the death penalty in at least 34 criminal cases, upholding a long-ago pledge to Congress that he would vigorously enforce federal law even though he's not a proponent of capital punishment. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — As attorney general, Eric Holder has approved pursuing the death penalty in at least 34 criminal cases, upholding a long-ago pledge to Congress that he would vigorously enforce federal law even though he's not a proponent of capital punishment.

Clapper says Syrian al-Qaida wants to attack US

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, foreground left, and CIA Director John Brennan, foreground right, take their seats on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, prior to testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on current and projected national security threats against the U.S. Also taking their seats on the panel are Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, far right, and FBI Director James Comey, far left. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Syrian militant group tied to al-Qaida, the al-Nusra Front, wants to attack the United States and is training a growing cadre of fighters from Europe, the Mideast and even the U.S., the top U.S. intelligence official told Congress on Wednesday.

San Francisco: Rescuers didn't kill Asiana victim

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The city of San Francisco is contradicting a coroner's findings that a Chinese girl survived an airliner crash in July but was run over and killed by rescuers.

Ukraine lawmakers offer protester amnesty

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:59 PM PST

Protesters chant slogans at the barricade in central Kiev, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. Ukraine's parliament is considering measures to grant amnesty to those arrested during weeks of protests in the crisis-torn country, but possibly with conditions attached that would be unacceptable to the opposition. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's parliament has passed a measure offering amnesty to arrested protesters, if demonstrators vacate most of the buildings they occupy.

Mich. jury: Man guilty of firing gun along I-96

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:57 PM PST

Raulie Wayne Casteel, the Wixom man accused of shooting at 23 motorists along the Interstate 96 corridor in October 2012, testifies Monday Jan. 27, 2014, in Livingston County Circuit Court in Howell, Mich. If convicted as charged of terrorism, he faces life in prison. (AP Photo/Daily Press & Argus, Lisa Roose-Church, Pool)HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — A man who said he opened fire on motorists along a busy southeast Michigan highway because he believed they were part of a government conspiracy against him was convicted Wednesday of terrorism, assault and other charges.

PepsiCo holding benefit for veterans

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:57 PM PST

NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo Inc. is making a $1 million donation and streaming a live concert Friday to benefit injured military veterans and their families.

Obama touts wage hike, creates 'myRA' savings plan

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:57 PM PST

President Barack Obama prepares to sign an executive order mandating that federal contractors be required to raise the minimum wage they pay their workers to $10.10, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, at the end of an appearance at the US Steel's Mon Valley Works in West Mifflin, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (AP) — Declaring that hard work should pay off for every American, President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed an order to create starter retirement accounts that could be opened with as little as $25 but acknowledged there's a limit to the help he can give low-wage workers without congressional action.

Lawyers debate McDonnells' contact with witnesses

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:56 PM PST

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Prosecutors and defense lawyers for former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, are arguing over how much contact the couple can have with potential witnesses who are friends or relatives.

Ukraine's parliament passes a measure offering protesters amnesty if they free buildings

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:55 PM PST

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's parliament passes a measure offering protesters amnesty if they free buildings.

Pa. diocese: Educator changed name, hid NY firing

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:55 PM PST

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The now-fired headmaster of a Pennsylvania Catholic school had changed his name and didn't disclose that he had been fired from another Catholic school because of his racist writings, a diocese said Wednesday.

Swimmer's death casts light on campus sex assaults

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:53 PM PST

In this 2010 photo provided by the University of Missouri Athletic Department is Sasha Menu Courey. The Canadian family of former University of Missouri school swimmer says the school and its athletics department failed to properly investigate her alleged off-campus rape by as many as three football players in 2010. Menu Courey struggled with mental illness and committed suicide 16 months later. (AP Photo/University of Missouri Athletic Department)COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The case of a former University of Missouri swimmer who said she was raped in an episode that her parents say led to her suicide underscores the problems higher education institutions in the U.S. face in cracking down on sexual assaults.

U.S. spy chiefs say number of foreign militants in Syria rises

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:52 PM PST

By Patricia Zengerle and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 7,000 foreign militants are fighting for the rebels in Syria's civil war and some are being trained to return home and conduct attacks, U.S. spy chiefs told lawmakers on Wednesday. The estimate, given at a Senate intelligence hearing, was much higher than earlier figures of 3,000 to 4,000 foreign fighters in Syria, and came after news emerged this week that Congress had secretly approved more funding to send weapons to "moderate" rebels. "We estimate, at this point, an excess of 7,000 foreign fighters have been attracted from some 50 countries, many of them in Europe and the Mideast," James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, told the hearing. "And this is of great concern not only to us, but to those countries," he said at the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual hearing on global security threats.

Kan. court skeptical of defense in Tiller shooting

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:51 PM PST

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Justices on Kansas' highest court expressed skepticism Wednesday that a man convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting of a Wichita abortion provider should get a new trial because he sincerely believed he was saving the lives of unborn children.

Holder offers assurances on surveillance

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:51 PM PST

Attorney General Eric Holder pauses while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing oversight hearing on the Justice Department. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder sought to strike a conciliatory tone on the subject of surveillance Wednesday, defending the Obama administration's methods to Congress at the same time he insisted that the government will safeguard Americans' privacy.

Russian providers drop opposition TV after WWII poll

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:51 PM PST

A picture taken on April 25, 2011, shows then-president Dmitry Medvedev (R) visiting the Dozhd (Rain) independent television channel's headquarters in MoscowRussia's main opposition television channel said Wednesday that viewers across the country had their access cut after senior officials reacted furiously to a poll on World War II. Several providers dropped the independent Internet and cable channel Dozhd (Rain) from their television packages after criticism over a poll on the siege of Leningrad. Lawmakers earlier this week condemned the poll as unpatriotic and asked the prosecutor-general to investigate the channel for extremism, which is punishable by imprisonment. The Russian Association of Cable Television, an industry association, has urged providers to drop the channel, which President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Wednesday had "crossed all the limits of what can be tolerated."

Michigan man convicted of terrorism for shooting at vehicles in terrifying spate of attacks

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:49 PM PST

HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — Michigan man convicted of terrorism for shooting at vehicles in terrifying spate of attacks.

At 1 time, Seattle tried landing Peyton Manning

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:49 PM PST

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning arrives for a news conference Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, in Jersey City, N.J. The Broncos are scheduled to play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football game Sunday, Feb. 2, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — They sat on the tarmac just hoping for the chance at a meeting.

Boeing outlook sinks stock despite solid 4Q profit

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:49 PM PST

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, file photo, workers assemble Boeing 787 Dreamliners in the company's massive assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C. Boeing reports quarterly financial results on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith, File)Boeing is building airplanes faster, but Wall Street wants it to build profits faster, too.

'Ice is breaking' in Syria talks: UN mediator

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:48 PM PST

Syria: violence on the groundThe ice is slowly breaking in peace talks between Syria's warring sides, UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said Wednesday, warning though that no substantive results were expected during this round. "The ice is breaking, slowly, but it is breaking," Brahimi told reporters after a fifth day of talks in Geneva, which both sides described as "positive." The delegations from President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the opposition National Coalition are set to determine Friday when they will return to Geneva, likely after a week, Brahimi said. The discussions had finally focused on the Geneva I communique -- the never-implemented roadmap to peace put out by global powers during talks here in 2012 -- but the two sides disagree sharply on what part of the text the talks should focus on.

Helicopters search for stranded Southern drivers

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:47 PM PST

A damaged car is left on the side of the road, stuck in snow off Pryor Road, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 in Atlanta. After a rare snowstorm stopped Atlanta-area commuters in their tracks, forcing many to hunker down in their cars overnight or seek other shelter, the National Guard was sending military Humvees onto the city's snarled freeway system in an attempt to move stranded school buses and get food and water to students on them, Gov. Nathan Deal said early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ben Gray) MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WXIA-TV OUT; WGCL-TV OUTATLANTA (AP) — Helicopters took to the skies Wednesday to search for stranded drivers while Humvees delivered food, water and gas — or a ride home — to people who were stuck on roads after a winter storm walloped the Deep South.

After threat, NY rep. faces temperament questions

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:41 PM PST

FILE- This May 9, 2012 file photo shows Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grimm is defending his actions after he physically threatened a reporter at the Capitol after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014. After cutting the interview short, Grimm told New York cable news station NY1's Michael Scotto, "You ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this (expletive) balcony." He also threatened to "break (Scotto) in half." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm has never been shy about promoting himself as a tough-guy.

Monarch butterflies drop, migration may disappear

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:40 PM PST

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2011 file photo, a Monarch butterfly perches on a tree at the Sierra Chincua Sanctuary in the mountains of Mexico's Michoacan state. The number of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico has plunged to its lowest level since studies began in 1993. A report released on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 by the World Wildlife Fund, Mexico's Environment Department and the Natural Protected Areas Commission blames the dramatic decline on the insect's loss of habitat due to illegal logging in Mexico's mountaintop forests and the massive displacement of its food source, the milkweed plant. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)MEXICO CITY (AP) — The stunning and little-understood annual migration of millions of Monarch butterflies to spend the winter in Mexico is in danger of disappearing, experts said Wednesday, after numbers dropped to their lowest level since record-keeping began in 1993.

Fed cuts another $10 bn from stimulus program

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:39 PM PST

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke listens during a conference on November 8, 2013 in WashingtonThe Federal Reserve stayed the course on tapering its stimulus for the US economy Wednesday, reducing asset purchases by $10 billion for the second month in a row. Amid emerging-market turmoil blamed in part on its stimulus reduction, the Fed, as expected, cut the monthly bond-buying program to $65 billion beginning February and left its benchmark interest rate near zero, citing "growing underlying strength in the broader economy." Wrapping up the final meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee under departing Chairman Ben Bernanke, policy makers noted that despite some mixed economic indicators since their December meeting, overall the US economy was doing better. Information indicates "that growth in economic activity picked up in recent quarters," the FOMC said in a statement.

Stocks slide on weak earnings; Fed cuts stimulus

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:38 PM PST

Trader Luke Scanlon, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. Stocks are lower in early trading as weak earnings from several U.S. companies dented investors' confidence. Worries about emerging markets were also coming back after relief faded over an effort by Turkey to shore up its struggling currency. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — Stock investors had plenty to dislike on Wednesday.

Southern snowstorm scuppers Hawks-Pistons NBA game

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:38 PM PST

A snowy and icy view of I-20 in Atlanta is visible from a Marta train after a snow storm on January 10, 2011 in Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Atlanta Hawks' Wednesday home game against the Detroit Pistons has been postponed because of the freak snowstorm that paralyzed much of the US South, the NBA said. Thursday is an off day for both teams, but if the contest is played then it will give the Hawks three games in three nights. The Hawks are slated to visit Philadelphia on Friday and return home to host Minnesota on Saturday. A state of emergency is in effect for the area, as snow and ice has stranded motorists in Atlanta and forced students to sleep at schools.

Lamar on Macklemore's wins: 'It's well-deserved'

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:36 PM PST

Kendrick Lamar performs at the 56th annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)NEW YORK (AP) — Kendrick Lamar is taking a philosophical approach to being shut out at the Grammy Awards.

Big impact on income gap is health law's new angle

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:33 PM PST

This handout photo provided by the Brookings Institution, taken Jan. 13, 2012, shows Gary Burtless of the Brookings Institution speaking in Washington. If the gap between haves and have-nots is the defining issue of President Barack Obama's second term, his health care overhaul was its first-term counterpart. Now it turns out the two are linked: new research shows that Obama's health care law will significantly boost the economic fortunes of people in the bottom fifth of the income ladder. Obama may be hard pressed to top his first-term accomplishment. (AP Photo/Ralph Alswang, Brooking Institution)WASHINGTON (AP) — Maybe the health care law was about wealth transfer, after all.

Farm bill passes House after years of disagreement

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:30 PM PST

FILE - In this July 9, 2009 file photo three combines harvest the winter wheat on the Cooksey farm near Roggen, Colo. Farm-state lawmakers are pushing for final passage of the massive, five-year farm bill as it heads to the House floor Wednesday — member by member, vote by vote. There are goodies scattered through the bill for members from all regions of the country: a boost in money for crop insurance popular in the Midwest; higher cotton and rice subsidies for Southern farmers; renewal of federal land payments for Western states. There are cuts to the food stamp program — $800 million a year, or around 1 percent — for Republicans who say the program is spending too much money, but they are low enough that some Democrats will support them. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — After years of setbacks, a nearly $100 billion-a-year compromise farm bill cleared the House on Wednesday despite strong opposition from conservatives who sought a bigger cut in food stamps.

Judge reinstates Nicollette Sheridan lawsuit

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:29 PM PST

FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2012 file photo, Nicollette Sheridan arrives at The Carousel of Hope at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills. A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, reversed an earlier ruling dismissing Sheridan's lawsuit over her departure from the hit ABC series, "Desperate Housewives." (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge in Los Angeles has reinstated a lawsuit by Nicollette Sheridan over her firing from "Desperate Housewives."

Imprisoned mobster might still run Sicilian Mafia

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:28 PM PST

ROME (AP) — A Palermo prosecutor who was allegedly threatened with assassination by the Mafia boss who ran the Sicilian Cosa Nostra says the mobster might still be calling the shots from prison.

Storm postpones Pistons-Hawks, Alabama-Auburn

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:26 PM PST

In this aerial view looking south toward downtown Atlanta, the ice-covered interstate system shows the remnants of a winter snow storm Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, in Atlanta. While such amounts of accumulation barely quality as a storm in the north, it was enough to paralyze the Deep South. (AP Photo/David Tulis)ATLANTA (AP) — The winter storm which swept through the Southeast left plans for many games in a deep freeze. Even the NBA couldn't overcome the ice and snow which covered Atlanta and the Deep South.

Bethune Cookman coach gives birth to baby boy

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:23 PM PST

In this image taken on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, and released by Bethune-Cookman, Vanessa Blair-Lewis, Bethune-Cookman women's basketball coach, watches an internet broadcast of her team's game after giving birth to son Blair Eric Lewis at Halifax Health Medical Center in Port Orange, Fla. (AP Photo/Bethune-CookmanBethune Cookman women's coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis and her husband, veteran NBA official Eric Lewis, don't like missing basketball games.

Marseille earn morale-boosting win

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:20 PM PST

Marseille's French midfielder Florian Thauvin (R) is congratulated by forward Andre-Pierre Gignac (L) after scoring on January 29, 2014 at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern FranceMarseille gave their faltering bid for Champions League qualification from Ligue 1 a shot in the arm with a 2-1 home victory against struggling Valenciennes on Wednesday. Andre-Pierre Gignac's first-half opener was cancelled out by Arthur Masuaku, but Florian Thauvin got what proved to be the clinching goal after the hour mark. The win lifts OM back up to fifth place in the table, two points behind Saint-Etienne in fourth and six points behind Lille in the third and final Champions League spot. Jose Anigo's side took the lead on 32 minutes when Gignac pounced on a poor backpass by Eloge Enza Yamissi before rounding 'keeper Nicolas Penneteau to score.

FACT CHECK: Obama and Medicare premiums

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:19 PM PST

President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — It seems to be something of an occupational hazard for President Barack Obama: When he talks about his health care law, he's bound to hit a fact bump sooner or later.

Marshawn mostly mum again as Seahawks meet media

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:16 PM PST

A member of the New Jersey state police escorts Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, right, through an area where a media availability was being held at the team's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, in Jersey City, N.J. The Seahawks and the Denver Broncos are scheduled to play in the Super Bowl XLVIII football game Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Beast Mode was Least Mode again.

Fed to reduce pace of bond buying by another $10B

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:14 PM PST

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 25, 2012, file photo, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke arrives for a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington. The tumultuous Ben Bernanke era at the Federal Reserve moves toward its close with the final policy meeting of his eight-year tenure scheduled for the last week of January 2014. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is pushing ahead with a plan to shrink its bond-buying program because of a strengthening U.S. economy. It's doing so even though the prospect of reduced Fed stimulus and higher U.S. interest rates has rattled global markets.

Amanda Knox trial nears 3rd verdict

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:11 PM PST

FILE PHOTOS COMBO - File photos combo shows, from left; Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, slain 21-year-old British woman Meredith Kercher, her American roommate Amanda Knox. Few international criminal cases have cleaved along national biases as that of American student Amanda Knox, awaiting half world away her third Italian court verdict in the 2007 slaying of her British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. Whatever is decided this week, the protracted legal battle that has grabbed global headlines and polarized trial-watchers in three nations probably won't end in Florence. With the first two trials producing flip-flop guilty-then-innocent verdicts against Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, the case has produced harshly clashing versions of events. A Florence appeals panel designated by Italy's supreme court to address errors in the appeals acquittal is set to deliberate Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, with a verdict expected later in the day. (AP Photo/files)FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Few international criminal cases have stirred national passions as strongly as that of American student Amanda Knox, waiting half a world away for her third Italian court verdict in the 2007 slaying of her British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

Police: Gun in Md. mall attack assembled in store

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:11 PM PST

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — Maryland police say a shotgun used in a deadly attack at a shopping mall was assembled in the dressing room of the skateboard shop where the rampage took place.

Autistic NYC boy's death prompts tracking plan

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:11 PM PST

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, file photo, after an arm, torso and legs were discovered a day earlier, a New York Police Department dive unit continues the search for human remains along a rocky shoreline in the Queens borough of New York. The remains were those of missing autistic teenager Avonte Oquendo. The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, it will fund voluntary tracking devices for children with autism or other conditions that put them at risk for fleeing their caregivers. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)NEW YORK (AP) — Following the death of an autistic teenager who walked away from his New York City school last year, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday it will fund voluntary tracking devices for children with autism or other conditions that put them at risk for fleeing their caregivers.
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