| British storms claim lives, cause travel chaos Posted: 15 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST  Transport networks suffered major disruption and more than 140,000 homes were without power across storm-battered Britain on Saturday after the country's latest severe weather claimed two lives. With southern England the worst affected by Britain's wettest start to a year in two and a half centuries, London's Heathrow airport said some plane services had been cancelled. Work was being carried out to restore power to more than 140,000 properties, said the Energy Networks Association, which added that electricity had been re-connected to 310,000 properties. More than 30 people were rescued from a flooded seafront restaurant in Milford on Sea, southern England, after wind-blown shingle shattered windows.
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| UAW drive falls short amid culture clash in Tenn. Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:55 PM PST  CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (AP) — The failure of the United Auto Workers to unionize employees at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee underscores a cultural disconnect between a labor-friendly German company and anti-union sentiment in the South.
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| Calif. wine-grape growers celebrate bumper crop Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:52 PM PST MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — California agriculture officials reported good news for wine lovers and vineyard operators alike: a record harvest of wine grapes. |
| Hiller shuts out Czechs, Switzerland wins 1-0 Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:49 PM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Although Switzerland has scored just two goals in three games at the Olympics, Jonas Hiller hasn't allowed any at all — not even to Jaromir Jagr on his 42nd birthday.
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| Putin visits Russian skier after broken back surgery Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:43 PM PST  By Ossian Shine and Alexei Anishchuk SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian Olympic skicross racer Maria Komissarova underwent six-and-a-half hours of spinal surgery on Saturday after breaking her back in a Sochi 2014 training crash. Her condition was serious but she was in a stable condition, the Russia Freestyle Skiing Federation said, adding that she was likely to be taken to a Moscow hospital or go abroad for treatment when it was possible to move her. Her mother, Maria, was due to arrive in Sochi on Sunday. President Vladimir Putin visited Komissarova on Saturday evening to wish her a rapid recovery and doctors briefed him on the surgery, the federation said.
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| Agent: Player A in NFL report is Andrew McDonald Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:37 PM PST  The agent for Andrew McDonald, a former Miami Dolphins lineman who is identified as Player A in the investigation of the racially charged bullying scandal, says his client is "disappointed his name has "become associated with other players involved this story."
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| Joy for Fenninger, USA, but Games hit by horror accident Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:32 PM PST  Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - Anna Fenninger swept to Olympic super-G gold while the USA edged ice hockey rivals Russia on a sombre Saturday where a freestyle skier suffered a broken back in a horrific fall. Austrian 24-year-old Fenninger showed off her smooth and technically sound giant slalom skills, conquering the demanding course to clock 1min 25.52sec for victory. Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch won silver at 0.55sec to go with the gold she won in the super-combined, while combined silver medallist Nicole Hosp of Austria took bronze, a further 0.11sec adrift. In men's ice hockey, T.J. Oshie scored the shootout winner as the USA defeated Russia 3-2 in a nail-biting hockey clash to decide the latest chapter of the two giants' historic rivalry.
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| Bulgarian nationalists stage rally Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:26 PM PST  SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Hundreds of Bulgarians have marched through their capital to honor a World War II general known for his anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi activities.
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| Asian cinema triumphs at Berlin film fest Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:25 PM PST  China's stylish film noir "Black Coal, Thin Ice" by Diao Yinan about a washed up ex-cop investigating a series of grisly murders won the Berlin film festival's Golden Bear top prize Saturday. In a remarkably strong showing for Asian cinema, the picture, whose Chinese title is Bai Ri Yan Huo, also captured the Silver Bear best actor award for its star Liao Fan. Liao put on weight to play the alcoholic suspended police officer who falls hard for a mysterious murder suspect (Gwei Lun Mei). "Yesterday was Valentine's Day and also the beginning of spring in China and the whole of Berlin was in love.
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| Diao Yinan's 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' wins in Berlin Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:25 PM PST  BERLIN (AP) — Director Diao Yinan's "Black Coal, Thin Ice," a detective thriller set in northern China, won the Berlin International Film Festival's main Golden Bear prize on Saturday. The movie also picked up the best actor award, which went to Liao Fan.
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| For American skaters, old suits don't help Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:09 PM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Maybe it wasn't the suits after all.
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| Bopping to the beat is a rare feat in animals Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:09 PM PST  A bonobo named Kanzi first surprised researcher Patricia Gray more than a decade ago, when Gray was absent-mindedly tapping on a glass window and the great ape on the other side tapped back. Since then, a few other creatures have showed scientists that they can truly synchronize their movements to a musical beat -- among them a cockatoo that is moved by listening to the Backstreet Boys and a sea lion named Ronan whose favorite song turns out to be the Earth, Wind and Fire classic, "Boogie Wonderland." While animals in circuses and at water parks may appear to dance or sway to pop music blaring from speakers, most of the time they are not truly synching their movements to the beat, researchers told the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting on Saturday. "Is it just something that we and a couple of other species do?" asked Aniruddh Patel, professor in the department of psychology at Tufts University.
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| Berlusconi pledges 'responsible' opposition Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:09 PM PST  MILAN (AP) — Three-time former Premier Silvio Berlusconi pledged Saturday that his Forza Italia party will be a "responsible opposition" to any new government headed by the Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi, but expressed concern about what he called an "opaque" power grab.
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| 'Chavistas' march in Venezuela, opposition protests continue Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:07 PM PST  By Girish Gupta and Efrain Otero CARACAS (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro marched in the center of Caracas on Saturday to call for peace and make a show of political strength after this week's deadly violence at street protests. In a well-off eastern part of the capital, several hundred protesters gathered to demand the president resign, denouncing him over grievances ranging from political repression to daily issues such inflation, shortages and rampant crime. Almost a year after he succeeded the late Hugo Chavez, Maduro accuses his rivals of stoking unrest to try and stage a coup like the one 12 years ago that briefly ousted Chavez. We'll give you people in the streets," the president told the rally, to loud applause and cheers of "No to fascism!" Thundering at the crowd from a pastel-colored stage plastered with the slogan "People of Peace," he mocked the demands of protesters who want him to step down.
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| AP PHOTOS: Halftime in Sochi Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:01 PM PST  Four shootout goals lead the U.S. men's hockey team past Russia 3-2. Poland's Zbigniew Brodka of nabs gold in men's 1,500-meter speedskating. And Sweden wins Olympic gold in women's 4x5K cross-country relay.
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| Man City avenge Chelsea loss in FA Cup Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:59 AM PST  Manchester City avenged their recent loss to Chelsea in the Premier League with a 2-0 home win on Saturday that sent them into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. City's perfect home record in the league was spoilt last week when Chelsea pulled off a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium, but goals in each half from Stevan Jovetic and Samir Nasri gave Manuel Pellegrini's side revenge. "We wanted revenge today," City captain Vincent Kompany told ITV.
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| Lebanon forms government after 10-month deadlock Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:56 AM PST  By Laila Bassam and Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon announced a new government on Saturday, breaking a 10-month political deadlock during which spillover violence from neighboring Syria worsened internal instability. A caretaker government has run the country since former Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned in March as parties aligned with the Shi'ite Hezbollah movement and a Sunni-led rival bloc pursued a power struggle exacerbated by their support for opposing sides in Syria's almost three-year-old civil war. "A government in the national interest was formed in a spirit of inclusivity," new Prime Minister Tammam Salam declared on live television. He said he hoped the new government would allow Lebanon to hold presidential elections before President Michel Suleiman's mandate expires in May and finally conduct parliamentary polls that were postponed last year due to the political impasse.
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| Another blast of snow makes its way into Northeast Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:55 AM PST BOSTON (AP) — Another round of snow made its way into the Northeast on Saturday as the region continues to dig out from the previous storm. |
| Billie Jean King to attend Sochi closing ceremony Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:55 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will attend the closing ceremony of the Sochi Olympics in Russia.
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| Italy center-right bloc says ready to work on forming new government Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:55 AM PST Angelino Alfano, head of Italy's New Center Right party, said on Saturday that he was ready to work on forming a new government with the center-left Democratic Party led by Mattero Renzi but that it may take a few days to hammer out an agreement on policy. If the ambition of the new government is great, then we cannot do things in a rush," Alfano said after meeting President Giorgio Napolitano. The president plans to conclude consultations with parliamentary groups on Saturday, and is widely expected to ask PD leader Matteo Renzi to replace Enrico Letta, who resigned on Friday. The PD is the largest party in parliament but does not have the numbers to form a government on its own and would need the support of a coalition partner. |
| Italy's Berlusconi says still backs reforms agreed with Renzi Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:55 AM PST Silvio Berlusconi, leader of Italy's main center-right party, on Saturday said he would continue to support an agreement sealed last month with center-left leader Matteo Renzi to reform the electoral law and the political system. "We will stick to the agreement on the electoral law and institutional reforms," Berlusconi said after meeting President Giorgio Napolitano, who is holding consultations with parliamentary groups on the formation of a new government. The accord between Renzi and Berlusconi had been a source of friction for the coalition supporting Enrico Letta, who resigned as prime minister on Friday. |
| USA down Russia in hockey shootout thriller Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:54 AM PST  Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - T.J. Oshie scored the shootout winner as the United States defeated Russia 3-2 in a nail-biting Sochi Olympic hockey clash on Saturday in the latest chapter of the two giants' historic rivalry. Oshie took six of eight shots for the Americans in the shootout, firing it between the legs of Russian netminder Sergei Bobrovski on the final one to clinch the victory in the preliminary round game in dramatic fashion. Oshie's winner came moments after Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk had failed to score on what turned out to be his last shootout attempt. In the other preliminary round games on Saturday, Slovenia upset Slovakia 3-1, Switzerland shutout the Czechs 1-0 and Sweden defeated Latvia 5-3.
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| UK taxi driver crushed to death in windstorm Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:46 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — Strong winds that pummeled Britain killed a taxi driver, whose car was crushed by falling chunks of masonry from a building, and an elderly man who died after a "freak wave" struck a cruise ship in the English Channel, officials said Saturday. Another 15 cruise ship passengers were injured.
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| Obama, childhood buddies go golfing in California Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:43 AM PST RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — It's a day of golf in Southern California for President Barack Obama while the nation's capital recovers from this week's snowfall. |
| Tanaka may pitch, but $155M man not born to run Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:42 AM PST  TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — As dozens of cameras recorded his every move and perhaps 150 media watched on a cool and breezy morning, Masahiro Tanaka slowly jogged four laps on the warning track around a back field following his first official workout with the New York Yankees.
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| Bahrainis protest, wounded police officer dies Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:39 AM PST  MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahraini anti-government activists clashed with security forces as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday, sending tear gas into a major shopping mall and bringing the capital's streets to a standstill on the same day that authorities said a police officer died of injuries sustained from an earlier bombing.
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| APNewsBreak: WNBA and players agree on new CBA Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:29 AM PST The WNBA is assured of labor peace for the next few years. |
| 10 Things to Know: This Week's Takeaways Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:27 AM PST  Looking back at the stories to remember from the past week:
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| Ruffles and romance at John Rocha's London catwalk Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:23 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — As romantic destinations go, Iceland probably ranks pretty low down most lists.
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| Lebanon gets new government after 10-month deadlock Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:18 AM PST  Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam on Saturday unveiled a compromise government, capping 10 months of political wrangling during which the war in neighbouring Syria exacerbated sectarian tensions. The 24-member government, including only one woman, brings together the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah and its allies with the Sunni-led bloc of former prime minister Saad Hariri, who back opposing sides in the Syria war. "After 10 months of efforts, of patience, a government protecting the national interest is born," said Salam, who had been tasked with forming the cabinet in April. "It is a unifying government and the best formula to allow Lebanon to confront challenges," he said, announcing the line-up to replace that of his predecessor Najib Mikati.
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| Strike-hit Amplats says suing union in South Africa Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:17 AM PST  South African mining giant Anglo American (Amplats) on Saturday said it was suing a trade union for damages and losses suffered over the past three-week work stoppage. "The company is suffering damages arising from the failure by AMCU (union) to maintain control of the strike," Amplats spokeswoman Mpumi Sithole told AFP. The world's top platinum miner is seeking a payment of 591 million rands ($54 million, 40 million euros) for property damaged by striking members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) who it says have failed to adhere to picketing rules. The provisional damages claim comes to "about 591-million rand, although as AMCU's wrongful conduct is continuing, the damages will continue to accrue," she said.
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| Nutriom recalls dried egg products Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:14 AM PST LACEY, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state company is recalling more than 100 tons of dried egg products over concerns about salmonella contamination. |
| Oshie latest success story from tiny Minn. town Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:11 AM PST  WARROAD, Minn. (AP) — As T.J. Oshie led the U.S. men's Olympic team to a dramatic 3-2 shootout win over Russia on Saturday, people in his tiny northern Minnesota hometown were screaming in joy at their televisions, daring to hope that the 27-year-old would be the latest from Warroad to bring home Olympic gold.
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| Kiev protesters offer goodwill gesture after detainees freed Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:07 AM PST  Protesters occupying Kiev city hall said Saturday they stood "ready" to vacate the premises, in a gesture of goodwill after authorities released all those detained in the anti-government unrest rocking the country. The "headquarters of the revolution" since the protest movement rocking Ukraine began more than two months ago, the building where 600 to 700 protesters camp out is highly symbolic and the concession comes ahead of a fresh, mass demonstration due on Sunday. But in a strongly worded interview, jailed opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko warned that nothing short of President Viktor Yanukovych's resignation would satisfy protesters, up in arms over his decision to ditch an EU pact in favour of closer ties with Russia. Speaking to AFP Saturday, Yuriy Syrotyuk, the number-two of the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party that controls the occupied city hall, said protesters stood "ready" to evacuate, and could do so "in a few minutes, at most half-an-hour" if the green light was given.
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| Midway through, Sochi Games delivering for Putin Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:04 AM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — No protests. No real problems.
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| China film noir 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' wins Berlin Golden Bear Posted: 15 Feb 2014 11:03 AM PST  Berlin (AFP) - China's "Black Coal, Thin Ice" by Diao Yinan about a washed up ex-cop investigating a series of grisly murders won the Berlin film festival's Golden Bear top prize Saturday.
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| Chinese director Diao Yinan's "Black Coal, Thin Ice" wins Berlin film festival's Golden Bear Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:55 AM PST BERLIN (AP) — Chinese director Diao Yinan's "Black Coal, Thin Ice" wins Berlin film festival's Golden Bear. |
| Mob attacks alleged gays in Nigerian capital Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:54 AM PST ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A mob armed with wooden clubs and iron bars, screaming that they were going to "cleanse" their neighborhood of gay people, dragged 14 young men from their beds and assaulted them, human rights activists said Saturday. |
| Nerveless Oshie earns spot among American Games greats Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:48 AM PST By Steve Keating SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - T.J. Oshie added his name to the list of American Olympic heroes with a nerveless shootout performance that lifted the United States men's ice hockey team to a heart-stopping 3-2 win over Russia at the Sochi Winter Games on Saturday. In a heavyweight clash that evoked memories of the 1980 Olympics 'Miracle on Ice' when a group of American college players upset the former-Soviet Union's 'Big Red Machine', Oshie delivered the knockout punch scoring on four of his six attempts, including the winner, in an epic shootout to deny Russia its Lake Placid revenge. Regarded as a shootout specialist, U.S. coach Dan Bylsma called on Oshie at the contest's climax, sending the 27-year-old out alone out to centre ice six-times to face down netminder Sergei Bobrovsky and over 11,000 screaming fans, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. |
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