| Obama in Mexico to meet with N. American leaders Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:18 PM PST  TOLUCA, Mexico (AP) — President Barack Obama sought to reassure leaders of Mexico and Canada Wednesday of his commitment to new trade agreements between Asia, the Pacific and the Americas, even as he faces political resistance in the U.S. from members of his own Democratic party.
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| David Bowie up for prizes at Brit Awards Posted: 19 Feb 2014 10:52 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Bruno Mars, Nile Rodgers and Arctic Monkeys are set to perform Wednesday at Britain's leading music awards, where David Bowie could crown a comeback year with a pair of prizes.
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| Ukraine leader announces 'truce', start of talks with opposition Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:20 PM PST  Kiev (AFP) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Wednesday announced a "truce" and the start of direct talks with the opposition after holding private talks with three anti-government leaders.
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| Brief thaw lifts sprits and raises flooding risks Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:19 PM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — As a small army of moms and nannies pushing baby strollers descended on Chicago's Lincoln Park to take advantage of a sunny, relatively mild day, shrinking mounds of snow and growing puddles signaled that one of the cruelest winters in memory is about to get miserable in a different way.
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| US stocks fall after Fed minutes Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:17 PM PST  New York (AFP) - US stocks Wednesday finished lower after minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting showed some policymakers sought an early hike in the Fed's benchmark interest rate.
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| Ranbaxy, Teva settle New York antitrust drug claims Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:14 PM PST  Generic drug makers Ranbaxy of India and Teva of Israel have agreed to settle allegations they made an illegal pact to restrict competition in New York state, authorities said Wednesday. New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the US units of Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals had made a deal to not challenge each other's market positions with respect to dozens of generic drugs they sold in the United States, to protect their sales. The settlement required the two to end the collusion, commit not to enter into similar agreements in the future, and pay the state $150,000 each. "Agreements between drug manufacturers to protect each other's market positions violate fundamental principles of antitrust law and can lead to higher drug prices," Schneiderman said.
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| Federal gov't wants access to license plate data Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:12 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department is proposing that a private company give it access to a nationwide database of license plate tracking information, according to a federal contract proposal. |
| Robredo into quarterfinals in Rio Open Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:09 PM PST RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Fourth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain reached the quarterfinals of the Rio Open on Wednesday, defeating Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-1 at the outdoor clay tournament. |
| Some Fed officials sought early rate hike: FOMC minutes Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:08 PM PST  Some Federal Reserve policy makers sought an early hike in its benchmark interest rate amid growing confidence in the US economy, minutes from their January meeting showed Wednesday. The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting of January 28-29 revealed the group was increasingly upbeat, shrugging off fresh turmoil in emerging markets and judging that poor December employment numbers were mainly weather-related. The FOMC meeting ultimately delivered a consensus view that the Fed's benchmark short-term interest rate should remain at the ultra-low level of 0-0.25 percent, where it has been for five years, and stuck to forecasts for it to remain there into 2015. But in the first shift in months away from dovish caution in the FOMC, the minutes of the meeting disclosed a clear increase in members advocating monetary policy tightening this year.
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| Stores can track where you go, using your phone Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:06 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Should shoppers turn off their smartphones when they hit the mall, or does leaving them on lead to better sales or shorter lines at the cash register?
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| Obama warns of 'consequences' over Ukraine violence Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:06 PM PST  Toluca (Mexico) (AFP) - US President Barack Obama called on Ukraine's government on Wednesday to avoid resorting to violence to deal with peaceful protesters, warning of "consequences if people step over the line." Obama made his remarks during a visit to Mexico as the European Union scheduled urgent talks to mull sanctions in the wake of clashes between police and anti-government protesters in Kiev that left at least 26 people dead. The White House also warned that it was considering possible sanctions against those behind the unrest. "We hold the Ukrainian government primarily responsible for making sure that it is dealing with peaceful protesters in an appropriate way, that the Ukrainian people are able to assemble and speak freely about their interests without fear of repression," Obama said.
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| Timeline of key events in Ukraine protests Posted: 19 Feb 2014 01:02 PM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Kiev exploded in deadly violence about three months after anti-government protests began peacefully. Here are key events that have shaped the unrest.
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| Obama in Mexico for less friendly 'three amigos' talks Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:57 PM PST  Toluca (Mexico) (AFP) - US President Barack Obama joined the Mexican and Canadian leaders Wednesday for a North American summit focused on trade but marked by friction between the "three amigos." Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto shook hands with Obama in an ornate state government palace in Toluca, near Mexico City, for private one-on-one talks before Prime Minister Stephen Harper joined them later. The partners of the 20-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are locked in several thorny disputes likely to surface in the talks and at a joint closing news conference.
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| Investigation into NC coal ash spill widens Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:57 PM PST RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal prosecutors widened their investigation triggered by a massive coal ash spill in North Carolina, demanding reams of documents and ordering nearly 20 state environmental agency employees to testify before a grand jury. |
| Saving dying lake is priority for Iranian leader Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:51 PM PST  OROUMIEH, Iran (AP) — The first cabinet decision made under Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, wasn't about how to resolve his country's nuclear dispute with world powers. It was about how to keep the nation's largest lake from disappearing.
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| Russia crash out of ice hockey, Kim glides towards gold Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:50 PM PST  Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - Russia crashed out of the Olympic ice hockey event to a chorus of jeers and recriminations Wednesday while Kim Yu-Na swept majestically closer to a successful defence of her figure skating crown. With many fans believing the Olympics begin and end with Russia's vaunted hockey team, things looked good when the hosts took the lead in their quarter-final against Finland. Russian coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov knows the reaction from the Russian media and fans to another embarrassment will be swift and scathing. Russia's highest profile star Alex Ovechkin, one of the faces of the Sochi Games, moaned: "It sucks."
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| Pussy Riot 'whipped and beaten' during Sochi action Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:50 PM PST  Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - The two best-known members of Pussy Riot on Wednesday said they had been beaten and attacked with horsewhips during an action hostile to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Winter Olympics host city Sochi. The scuffles came a day after the protest punk band's members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were detained by police in the Russian Black Sea resort for several hours on Tuesday in connection with a theft case. The latest fracas over their stay in Sochi came as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned the girls that it would be "wholly inappropriate" to stage actions outside the Olympic venues. The clash took place as Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and one other Pussy Riot member sought to stage an action in the centre of Sochi, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the main Olympic Park.
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| Russian security forces attack Pussy Riot members Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:48 PM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Cossack militia attacked Russia's Pussy Riot punk group with horsewhips on Wednesday as the artists — who have feuded with Vladimir Putin's government for years — tried to perform under a sign advertising the Sochi Olympics.
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| Soldier suspended for defending empty casket photo Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:48 PM PST  MILWAUKEE (AP) — A second Wisconsin National Guard member has been suspended in an investigation stemming from a photograph showing soldiers clowning around by an empty flag-draped casket, a Guard spokesman said Wednesday.
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| Cleaning woman in Italy throws out artworks Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:48 PM PST ROME (AP) — A cleaning woman in southern Italy has unwittingly thrown away contemporary artworks that were supposed to be part of an exhibition. |
| Venezuela braces for demos over jailed opposition leader Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:46 PM PST  Hundreds of supporters of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez rallied Wednesday outside a Caracas court where he was expected to hear charges blaming him for a deadly episode of violence. Lopez's dramatic surrender to national guard troops at a protest rally Tuesday was the culmination of two weeks of tension-filled protests in the oil-rich country against the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro, successor of the late Hugo Chavez, is under fire over what protesters say is rampant crime, runaway inflation, high unemployment and other economic problems. Political scientist Angel Oropeza said the government is walking a tightrope.
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| Nas documentary to open Tribeca Film Festival Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:42 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — The Tribeca Film Festival will again kick off with music, opening its 13th annual edition with a documentary on Nas and a performance by the rapper.
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| A canal across Nicaragua: is this for real? Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:42 PM PST  It would be an engineering feat of gargantuan proportions -- a $40 billion Chinese-built canal across Nicaragua to boost the flow of ships between the Caribbean and the Pacific. But as feasibility studies and other preparations gather pace, Nicaraguans are divided between optimists and those who dismiss the plan as a pipe dream. The price tag alone is nearly four times Nicaragua's economic output. President Daniel Ortega and Wang Jing, chairman of HKND, the Chinese company hired last year to build and operate the waterway for a century, have said work will get under way towards the end of 2014.
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| Fed minutes point to continued paring of stimulus Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:41 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials agreed at their January meeting that further gradual reductions in their stimulus would be appropriate as long as the economy keeps improving. |
| Canada rallies past US for women's bobsled gold Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:38 PM PST  KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — They called it the Battle Royale. Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers spent part of the summer training alongside one another, getting ready to spend this winter battling each other.
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| Los Angeles bishop kept altar boy list from police Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:38 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Los Angeles police were investigating allegations of child abuse by a Roman Catholic priest in 1988, they asked for a list of altar boys at the last parish where the priest worked.
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| Pa. couple sent to prison for 2nd prayer death Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:37 PM PST  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A couple who believed in faith-healing were sentenced Wednesday to 3½ to seven years in prison in the death of a second child who never saw a doctor despite being stricken with pneumonia.
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| US stocks slip as investors react to Fed minutes Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:34 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks turned lower in the last hour of trading Wednesday as investors worked through the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting. Energy stocks were among the few sectors to rise as the price of natural gas surged 11 percent.
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| 'Mockingbird' author settles museum lawsuit Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:22 PM PST  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee has settled the federal lawsuit she filed against a museum in her south Alabama hometown over its sale of souvenirs featuring her name and the title of her book, court documents show.
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| Woman who faked cancer sentenced to 1-year term Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:21 PM PST  SANDUSKY, Mich. (AP) — A judge sentenced a Michigan woman to a year behind bars Wednesday in an "almost mind-boggling" scam that tricked an insurance company and swindled big-hearted people in small communities who believed she was dying of cancer.
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| FBI confirms activist was killed in SD in 1973 Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:19 PM PST  SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The FBI says a black civil rights activist was killed during the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, and it suspects militant members of the American Indian Movement are responsible, according to recently released documents.
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| Kim wins short program, Lipnitskaia falls to 5th Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:15 PM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Nerves almost got the best of Yuna Kim.
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| US, Europe considering sanctions on Kiev leaders Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:14 PM PST  BRUSSELS (AP) — Following the deadly clashes in Ukraine's capital, the Obama administration and European governments are talking about imposing punitive sanctions, the Kremlin has blamed the West for stirring up trouble and the pope has issued a special appeal for peace. A roundup of Wednesday's international reactions:
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| 2 US security officers found dead in Seychelles Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:14 PM PST  NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Two American security officers have been found dead on a ship made famous when it was hijacked by Somali pirates, according to a statement by Seychelles police on Wednesday.
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| Wenger springs Sanogo surprise Posted: 19 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST  London (AFP) - Arsene Wenger took a major selection gamble as he handed novice French striker Yaya Sanogo a shock start in the Champions League last 16 first leg clash against holders Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
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| Body found believed to be missing Missouri girl's Posted: 19 Feb 2014 11:59 AM PST  ST. LOUIS (AP) — A middle-school football coach has been jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder in the abduction and death of a 10-year-old girl in southwest Missouri, police said Wednesday.
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| Russia loses shot at Olympic hockey gold Posted: 19 Feb 2014 11:56 AM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — A Russian hockey team with immense expectations lost its shot at an Olympic title Wednesday at a Winter Games tempered by violence both in the host city and in nearby Ukraine.
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| Russia crash, Canada set-up USA semi-final clash Posted: 19 Feb 2014 11:55 AM PST  Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - Russia crashed out of the Olympic Games hockey tournament Wednesday, slumping to a 3-1 defeat to Finland in a dismal quarter-final performance that prompted jeers from their shell-shocked fans. Despite taking the lead, Russia were rocked by a Finnish side that had also humiliated them 4-0 the last time they met in the Olympics at Turin in 2006. There is no more I can say," admitted Russia's highest profile star Alex Ovechkin, one of the faces of the Sochi Games, after his country's second successive Olympic quarter-final exit. The USA easily beat the Czechs 5-2 in their quarter-final and will face defending champions Canada who survived a scare before easing past Latvia 2-1 on a late goal in the third.
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| Ukraine leader names new army chief after clashes Posted: 19 Feb 2014 11:52 AM PST KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — As fires burned at the barricades in central Kiev for a second straight night, Ukraine's embattled president replaced the army chief Wednesday and the military said it would take part in a national anti-terrorist operation to restore order. |
| Salvadoran sea survivor returns to hometown Posted: 19 Feb 2014 11:51 AM PST  GARITA PALMERA, El Salvador (AP) — The Salvadoran fisherman who says he spent 13 months adrift at sea surviving on raw turtles, fish and birds returned Wednesday to his coastal hometown, where he was warmly welcomed by friends and family.
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