| Syria 'failure' looms, mediator seeks U.S., Russian help Posted: 13 Feb 2014 01:06 PM PST  By Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Warning that "failure" was staring him in the face, the Syria peace talks mediator said on Thursday that the United States and Russia had promised renewed support to keep their rival Syrian allies talking. U.N. diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi met senior diplomats from Washington and Moscow in Geneva, hoping the co-sponsors of the three-week-old negotiating process could bury their own deep differences over Syria and prevail respectively on the opposition and government to move ahead and compromise. Asked after his two-hour meeting with U.S. Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov whether the whole process had failed, he said: "Failure is always staring at us in the face.
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| NY pregnant woman killed by plow, baby delivered Posted: 13 Feb 2014 01:06 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A pregnant woman who was loading groceries into the trunk of her car with her husband was struck and killed by a mini-snowplow in New York City on Thursday morning, and her baby boy was successfully delivered by emergency cesarean section, authorities said. |
| More talking, longer sentences help babies' brains Posted: 13 Feb 2014 01:08 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The sooner you start explaining the world to your baby, the better. |
| UN targeted: Car bomb blast kills 6 in Somalia Posted: 13 Feb 2014 01:01 PM PST  MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A car bomb exploded close to a convoy of United Nations vehicles near Mogadishu's international airport on Thursday, killing six Somalis on the street, officials said. Al-Qaida-linked militants claimed responsibility.
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| 'Snowmaggedon' takes aim at winter-weary US east Posted: 13 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST  A deadly storm packing heavy snow and ice plowed into the eastern United States Thursday, triggering widespread road accidents and flight cancellations as hundreds of thousands of people were left without power. The storm enveloped the capital Washington in a deep, white blanket, closing much of the federal government, and blotted visibility in New York City, where several more inches of snow were expected later Thursday. Thousands of travelers were stranded as flights, including at major air hubs in Atlanta and New York, were canceled, and nearly 800,000 homes and businesses lost power, mainly in Georgia and North and South Carolina.
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| Former manager, All-Star Fregosi suffers stroke Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:59 PM PST MIAMI (AP) — Former major league manager and All-Star Jim Fregosi is hospitalized in Miami after suffering an apparent stroke while on a cruise for baseball fans. |
| Lily Rabe returning to Central Park this summer Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:59 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Lily Rabe, John Lithgow and Hamish Linklater are all returning to Central Park's Delacorte Theatre this summer for another round of Shakespeare in the Park.
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| Italian PM Letta to resign, opening way for Renzi Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:56 PM PST  Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta announced his resignation on Thursday after his own party voted against his leadership, with 39-year-old leftist Matteo Renzi now expected to replace him. Letta said he will submit his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano on Friday after less than a year at the head of an uneasy left-right coalition and just as Italy is beginning to emerge from a painful recession. Members of the centre-left Democratic Party's governing directorate voted 136 in favour and 16 against a motion requesting a change of government submitted by Renzi in a dramatic climax to a weeks-long feud with Letta. Renzi called on the Democratic Party to back a new "radical programme" and a government that could last until the end of the legislature in 2018.
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| Tapes: No deaths, injuries from NJ bridge traffic Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:55 PM PST  EDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — A traffic jam deliberately orchestrated by members of Gov. Chris Christie's staff that caused days of gridlock in northern New Jersey appeared not to lead to anyone's death or seriously compromise their medical care, according to a comprehensive review by The Associated Press of five hours of emergency dispatch audio, interviews and dozens of pages of call logs.
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| Belgian lawmakers extend euthanasia to children Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:55 PM PST  BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to extend the country's euthanasia law to children under 18.
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| UK: Crude bombs sent to army recruitment offices Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:54 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — The British government said Thursday that crude but viable package bombs sent to seven British army recruitment offices appear to be the work of Northern Ireland militants.
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| Teen in skydiving mishap says she blacked out Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:54 PM PST  DALLAS (AP) — A 16-year-old Texas girl who plummeted more than 3,000 feet to the ground in a skydiving accident last month in Oklahoma said Thursday that she remembers screaming and then blacking out when she was unable to correct a malfunction with her parachute.
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| White House sees longer wait for Afghan agreement Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:53 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is dropping its insistence that Afghanistan sign a crucial security pact within weeks, suggesting it could be willing to wait and see whether Afghan President Hamid Karzai's successor might be easier to work with in deciding how many U.S. and international troops remain in Afghanistan when combat concludes at the end of the year.
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| Karzai rejects U.S. warnings over freed Afghan detainees Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:53 PM PST  By Humeyra Pamuk and Hamid Shalizi ANKARA/KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday rejected criticism of his government's release of 65 detainees viewed by Washington as dangerous militants, further fanning tensions with the United States as the international mission in Afghanistan winds down. Afghan officials described the release as justice for its own citizens who had faced unfounded U.S. accusations. But the United States expressed deep concern over the decision and NATO, which runs the 12-year-old foreign military operation supporting the Karzai government, denounced it as "a major step backward". "If Afghan judicial authorities decide to release a prisoner, it is of no concern to the U.S.," Karzai told a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara after talks with Turkey's president and Pakistan's prime minister.
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| Hanyu wins short program, Plushenko retires Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:53 PM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu made figure skating history, and now can chase even more of it.
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| Russia, US vow to help unblock Syria talks Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:51 PM PST  Washington and Moscow promised Thursday to help unblock stagnant Syrian peace talks, as Western countries demanded that Damascus keep its promise to release males detained during the evacuation from Homs. The United States and Russia have "promised that they will help both here and in their capitals and elsewhere to unblock the situation for us," UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Geneva after meeting high-level diplomats from the two countries. The meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov and US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman came after Syria's warring sides spent days in Geneva trading blame for the violence ravaging their country.
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| Veteran Republican US Rep. Doc Hastings to retire Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:51 PM PST SEATTLE (AP) — Veteran Republican U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, who represented central Washington for two decades and was a key voice in public lands and energy policy, announced Thursday he'll retire at the end of the year. |
| Motorola chief departs for Dropbox Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:51 PM PST  The head of Google-owned maker Motorola, Dennis Woodside, announced Thursday he is leaving the smartphone maker to become chief operating officer at the online storage firm Dropbox. The news comes just two weeks after Google said it was selling the Motorola unit to China's Lenovo for $2.9 billion. Google senior vice president Jonathan Rosenberg will take up the post of Motorola chief operating officer on April 1.
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| Officials asking how bobsled crashed into worker Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:49 PM PST  KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Olympic officials are trying to determine why a worker on the track used for sliding sports at the Sochi Games was in the path of a speeding bobsled that crashed into him, causing leg injuries and a concussion.
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| 'Oh, not again': Northeast is hit by another storm Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:47 PM PST  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Yet another storm paralyzed the Northeast with heavy snow and sleet Thursday, giving the winter-weary that oh-no-not-again feeling, while hundreds of thousands across the ice-encrusted South waited in the cold for the electricity to come back on.
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| Salvadoran castaway now terrified of the sea Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:47 PM PST The Salvadoran fisherman who survived 13 months in the Pacific is now terrified of his once-beloved sea and too mentally drained to leave his hospital for now, a psychiatrist said Thursday. Doctors who have seen Jose Salvador Alvarenga since he returned to El Salvador on Tuesday say he is in remarkable physical shape but that he needs psychological attention following his ordeal. Alvarenga, 37, returned to El Salvador on Tuesday, two weeks after emerging in the Marshall Islands following a 12,500-kilometer (8,000-mile) journey in a seven-meter (24-foot) fiberglass boat. He told Salvadoran officials that several passing ships ignored his pleas for help, with one vessel coming close to hitting his boat and another's crew waving back at him. |
| Drake: Done with interviews after Rolling Stone Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:46 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Drake says he won't do interviews with magazines following a recent story in Rolling Stone magazine.
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| A glance at the top pay TV providers Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:41 PM PST Comcast Corp. announced Thursday that it is buying Time Warner Cable Inc. for $45.2 billion in stock. The deal combines two of the nation's top pay TV and Internet service companies and makes Comcast, which also owns NBCUniversal, a dominant force in both creating and delivering entertainment to U.S. homes. |
| Man gets life for killing, burying body in cement Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:34 PM PST PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A fantasy game enthusiast was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for beating a former Pensacola newspaper reporter to death with a hammer and burying his body in a concrete-covered pit in Georgia. |
| Putin backs Egypt army chief's run for president Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:33 PM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday wished Egypt's military chief victory in the nation's presidential vote, even though he has yet to announce his bid — a strong endorsement signaling Moscow's desire to expand its military and other ties with a key U.S. ally in the Middle East.
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| John Lithgow to play 'King Lear' in Central Park Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:33 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — John Lithgow, Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater are all returning to Central Park's Delacorte Theatre this summer for another round of Shakespeare in the Park. |
| Russia, Canada win Sochi hockey openers Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:28 PM PST  Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - Defending champions Canada and host Russia swept aside battling opponents while the USA steamrolled Slovakia on the second day of the men's ice hockey tournament at the Sochi Olympics Thursday. Shea Weber and Jamie Benn scored second period goals as Canada got its gold medal defence off to a solid start in the preliminary round by edging Norway 3-1 in front of a crowd of 10,261 at the Bolshoi Ice Dome. Russian star Alex Ovechkin scored with his first shot of the Games as the host nation survived a scare to beat Slovenia 5-2, and the United States -- who won the silver four years ago in Vancouver -- scored six goals in the second period as they thumped hapless Slovakia 7-1. Benn made it 2-0 on a shot from the left side nine minutes later for Canada, who are seeking to win their first Olympic gold outside of North America in 62 years, since 1952 in Oslo.
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| APNewsBreak: New gender options for Facebook users Posted: 13 Feb 2014 01:08 PM PST  MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — You don't have to be just male or female on Facebook anymore. The social media giant has added a customizable option with about 50 different terms people can use to identify their gender as well as three preferred pronoun choices: him, her or them.
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| AP PHOTOS: Fun in the sun for Sochi athletes Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:25 PM PST  An Olympic skier competes wearing a tank top. Bare-chested spectators cheer on Canada during the men's ski slopestyle qualifier. Construction workers dress after taking a dip in the Black Sea. Is this Sochi or SoCal?
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| Highest temps yet forecast for Sochi Games Friday Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:21 PM PST SOCHI, Russia (AP) — The warm temperatures at the Sochi Winter Olympics are forecast to get even warmer Friday. |
| Comcast takeover of Time Warner Cable to reshape U.S. pay TV Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:21 PM PST  Comcast Corp's proposed $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc could face close scrutiny from U.S. antitrust regulators because of the deal's potential to reshape the country's pay TV and broadband markets. The all-stock deal, announced on Thursday, would put Comcast in 19 of the 20 largest U.S. TV markets, and could give it unprecedented leverage in negotiations with content providers and advertisers. The friendly takeover came as a surprise after months of public pursuit of Time Warner Cable by smaller rival Charter Communications Inc, and immediately raised questions as to whether it would be blocked by the Department of Justice or the Federal Communications Commission. Time Warner Cable shares jumped 6.8 percent to $144.50, still substantially short of the $158.82 per share value that Comcast put on its offer, indicating investors' worries about regulatory clearance.
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| Syria strikes kill 400 so far this month in Aleppo Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:20 PM PST  GENEVA (AP) — The United States and Russia promised to try to break the stalemate in Syria peace talks, a U.N. mediator said Thursday, as Syrian activists said government shelling and airstrikes with makeshift barrel bombs killed about 400 people in the country's largest city so far this month.
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| Stocks rise as investors assess earnings Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:14 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose Thursday as investors assessed the latest corporate earnings. Goodyear Tire & Rubber and CBS rose after reporting strong earnings gains. That helped offset weak economic reports on the job market and retail sales.
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| GAO recommends changes for student debit cards Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:12 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Small fees add up for college students using college-issued debit and prepaid cards, which are often used to draw financial aid, and congressional investigators on Thursday urged greater oversight of their use. |
| Yemen: militants attack prison, killing 7 people Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:09 PM PST  SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Heavily armed militants attacked Yemen's main prison in central Sanaa on Thursday, killing seven people and helping a number of inmates to escape, the country's state news agency reported.
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| Methane leaks far higher than US estimates Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:08 PM PST  The natural gas system in the United States is leaking far more methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, into the air than official estimates say, according to research released Thursday. The report by researchers at seven major universities reviewed some 200 studies from the past two decades and found that the Environmental Protection Agency is missing leakage from various sources in North America, including faulty pipelines, wetlands, natural seepage from the Earth's crust and other sources. However, a single culprit was not easily found, and not enough evidence exists to point the finger solely at the booming hydraulic fracturing industry, experts said. Methane is a potent source of pollution, some 30 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, and the latest study adds to a suite of recent reports about excess leakage that have raised worldwide concerns about how natural gas, a fuel touted for its benefits over coal, may be speeding up the process of global warming.
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| Plushenko retires in Sochi stunner, Bjoerndalen flops Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:07 PM PST  Sochi (Russia) (AFP) - Russian skating icon Yevgeny Plushenko dramatically announced his retirement on Thursday after withdrawing from the Winter Olympics with a back injury, leaving a nation stunned and questions asked over his original selection. The two-time gold medallist had warmed up at the Iceberg arena for the men's short programme as he began his campaign for a fifth medal and the accolade of the most successful ever Olympic figure skater. But I leave with a gold medal, that is also great," he told Russia's Channel One. Plushenko had already won gold in Sochi in the new team event for his second Olympic title after taking the men's honours at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
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| Comcast strikes deal to buy Time Warner Cable Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:06 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — With a single behemoth purchase, Comcast is creating a dominant force in American entertainment and presenting federal regulators with an equally outsized quandary: How should they handle a conglomerate that promises to improve cable TV and Internet service to millions of homes but also consolidates unprecedented control of what viewers watch and download?
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| Facebook opens to new gender definitions Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:01 PM PST  Facebook on Thursday freed members from the bonds of being either male or female, letting people opt for custom genders such as transsexual or "intersex" at the social network. Along with adding scores of "custom gender" options on profile pages, Facebook is letting members select which pronouns they wish used when referring to them in posts or messages. "While to many this change may not mean much, for those it affects it means a great deal," Facebook said in a post at its Diversity page that included a picture of a rainbow flag on display on the company's campus in the Silicon Valley city of Menlo Park. "We see this as one more way we can make Facebook a place where people can express their authentic identity."
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| Wildlife meeting calls for end to ivory stockpiles Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:01 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Representatives of world governments meeting in London vowed Thursday to put stockpiles of ivory "beyond use" and extend a ban on its trade in a bid to save African elephants from extinction.
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