| Court: NYC can ban church service in public school Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:53 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — In the latest chapter of a long-running legal fight over separation of church and state, a federal appeals court again ruled on Thursday that New York City school officials can ban a small Christian congregation from holding weekend services in a grade school. |
| Lebanon registers 1 million Syrian refugees Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:53 PM PDT  TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — Yahya was trapped in his hometown for two years by Syria's civil war, moving from house to house to avoid shells and bullets. His father was killed by a sniper. His family then fled to another town that came under a fierce government offensive.
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| Timberwolves F Dante Cunningham arrested Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:52 PM PDT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves forward Dante Cunningham was arrested early Thursday on allegations of domestic assault and was being held without bail pending charges while his team left for a two-game road trip in Florida. |
| Novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 87, hospitalized Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:21 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez has been hospitalized in Mexico City with lung and urinary tract infections that are responding to treatment, federal health officials and the author's son said Thursday.
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| Afghan election could reset US-Kabul relations Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:49 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Afghanistan's presidential election on Saturday gives the U.S. a new chance to fix relations with Kabul, which are in deep discord after more than 12 years of war and repeated fallings-out between the White House and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
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| Marshals take custody of Brown for Washington case Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:10 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Brown has been taken into custody by U.S. marshals and will be transported to Washington, D.C., for an upcoming misdemeanor assault trial, an official said Thursday.
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| Mickelson in the mix at Houston Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:42 PM PDT  Phil Mickelson got his Masters warm-up at the Houston Open off to a solid start on Thursday, firing a first-round 68 that left him two shots off the early first-round lead. Mickelson said the injury to his right oblique muscle, which had forced him to withdraw from the Texas Open last week, had responded well to treatment. "I feel a lot better four or five days later," Mickelson said. Mickelson enjoyed his day at the Golf Club of Houston, where playing partner Keegan Bradley fired a 66 to share the early lead with fellow Americans Matt Kuchar and J.B. Holmes.
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| Anadarko payment will cover environmental costs: U.S. official Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:41 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp's $5.15 billion settlement with the U.S. government will more than cover the past environmental damage caused by its Kerr-McGee unit, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole said on Thursday. At a news conference, Cole, the No. 2 Justice Department official, said that the amount of the settlement was in line with a bankruptcy court ruling about liability. "It provides us with recovery now, as opposed to years and years down the road," Cole said. (Reporting by David Ingram) |
| Bill extends tax breaks for wind farms, filmmakers Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:41 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Wind farms, NASCAR tracks and filmmakers would keep their treasured tax breaks as part of an $85 billion package of temporary tax cuts passed by a key Senate committee Thursday. |
| AP Coach of Year: Wichita State's Gregg Marshall Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:41 PM PDT  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Gregg Marshall, whose Wichita State team was the first to reach the NCAA tournament undefeated in 33 years, has been selected The Associated Press' coach of the year.
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| Ukraine blames Russian agents for Kiev carnage Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:41 PM PDT  Ukraine's Western-backed leaders on Thursday blamed Russian agents and the country's ousted president for organising two days of bloodshed during February protests that claimed nearly 90 lives. The explosive allegations were levelled only moments before Russia responded to the new course taken by the ex-Soviet neighbour by hiking the price it must pay for gas shipments to what Ukrainian officials say is the highest rate for any European state. Washington reacted by warning Russia that "a country should not use supply and pricing terms as tools of coercion to interfere in Ukraine or elsewhere," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. Moscow also lashed out at its old Cold War nemesis NATO for building up the defences of ex-Communist and Soviet nations that have felt threatened by Russia's recent annexation of Crimea and massive buildup of forces near Ukraine.
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| Stocks fall back from record ahead of jobs report Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:39 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks dropped for the first time in five days Thursday, pulling back from an all-time high as traders refrained from making any big bets ahead of Friday's monthly job report.
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| Senators vote to declassify CIA interrogation report Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:38 PM PDT  The US Senate's intelligence panel voted 11-3 Thursday to declassify hundreds of pages of its detailed report on the CIA's controversial Bush-era interrogation program. The move allows Senator Dianne Feinstein, the powerful chair of the Intelligence Committee, to send the 400-page executive summary as well as key conclusions and recommendations to the White House for review. Senator Saxby Chambliss, the committee's top Republican, said he opposed the exhaustive investigation in the first place, but reluctantly voted to declassify parts of it so that the American people can assess the program's legacy for themselves. If President Barack Obama gives the green light, as he is expected to do, intelligence agencies would embark on a process of redacting certain details they determine should remain classified.
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| AP Player of Year: Creighton's Doug McDermott Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:37 PM PDT  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Doug McDermott, who finished his career at Creighton as college basketball's fifth-leading scorer, is a near-unanimous selection as The Associated Press' player of the year.
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| Israel stops Palestinian prisoner release amid talks crisis Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:37 PM PDT  Israel has told the Palestinians that a planned release of 26 prisoners cannot proceed, placing already embattled peace talks in further jeopardy after both sides took steps Washington called "unhelpful". Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians has told them that the planned release cannot go ahead, a source close to the embattled talks told AFP on Thursday. A frustrated US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier demanded that recalcitrant Israeli and Palestinian leaders demonstrate leadership in the crisis-hit peace process. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told a meeting with her counterparts on Wednesday that the prisoner release could not happen because the Palestinians had resumed a diplomatic campaign meant to challenge Israel more fully in the international arena.
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| US seniors see slow migration to tech: study Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:34 PM PDT  American senior citizens are gradually finding their way to the Internet, but lagging the overall population in online usage, a survey showed Thursday. The Pew Research Center report showed that 59 percent of US adults age 65 or older use the Internet -- up six percentage points from a year ago. "We've been reporting on tech use among older adults for more than a decade, but this particular study is unique because it was based on a large survey that allows us to look at seniors in a more detailed way than we have in the past," researcher Aaron Smith said. "Although technology use among older adults overall remains low, there is actually quite a bit of diversity within the senior population."
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| Jobless benefits bill set to pass Senate on Monday Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:33 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation to restore jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed has cleared a final Senate hurdle before a vote on passage set for Monday. |
| Fed board member Stein announces resignation Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:31 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeremy Stein, a member of the Federal Reserve Board, announced Thursday that he plans to resign next month to return to Harvard University, creating more turnover on the seven-member board. |
| Doctor optimistic no more Fort Hood fatalities Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:31 PM PDT TEMPLE, Texas (AP) — A hospital official expressed optimism Thursday that nobody else would die from injuries following a shooting at Fort Hood that left four dead, including the gunman, and 16 others wounded. |
| Ralph Wilson's widow takes team control Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:09 PM PDT BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Mary Wilson is taking over as the Buffalo Bills' controlling owner after the death last week of her husband, Ralph Wilson. |
| Sandy Grossman, acclaimed sports TV director, dies Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:26 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Sandy Grossman, who directed a record 10 Super Bowl broadcasts and spent more than two decades in the TV truck working with announcers Pat Summerall and John Madden, has died. He was 78.
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| Exclusive: U.S. states probing security breach at Experian unit Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:27 PM PDT  By Jim Finkle and Karen Freifeld BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. attorneys general have launched a multi-state investigation into a breach in which criminals gained access to a repository of some 200 million social security numbers through a unit of data provider Experian Plc. "We are investigating," said Maura Possley, a spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. "It's part of a multistate investigation." Jaclyn Falkowski, spokeswoman for Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, said that Connecticut is looking into the matter also. A spokesman for Experian declined comment on the probe, saying the company does not comment on such investigations as a matter of policy. Vietnamese national Hieu Minh Ngo last month pleaded guilty in New Hampshire federal court to running an underground website that offered clients access to personal data of Americans including social security numbers, which could be used for identity theft and other types of financial fraud.
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| Kerry: Israeli and Palestinian leaders must 'lead' Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:24 PM PDT  RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Frustrated by a virtually moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry exhorted leaders on both sides Thursday to "lead" and to do so now to prevent the negotiations from collapsing.
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| BC hires former Ohio U coach Jim Christian Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:24 PM PDT BOSTON (AP) — Boston College has hired former Ohio University coach Jim Christian to lead its men's basketball team. |
| FDA approves easy-to-use heroin overdose antidote Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:22 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Friends and family will be able to take the first step to save a loved one from an overdose of heroin or powerful painkillers called opioids. |
| Risks of violence and fraud haunt landmark Afghan election Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:19 PM PDT  By Maria Golovnina and John Chalmers KABUL (Reuters) - Even if the Taliban fail to hobble the Afghan presidential election on Saturday, it could take months for a winner to be declared at a time when the country desperately needs a leader to stem rising violence as foreign troops prepare to leave. Most people expect the election will be better run than the chaotic 2009 vote that handed President Hamid Karzai a second term amid massive fraud and ballot stuffing. And, despite a crescendo of attacks by the Islamist militant Taliban group in recent weeks, millions of Afghans are eager for a say in their country's future. Any delay would leave little time to complete a pact between Kabul and Washington to keep up to 10,000 U.S. troops in the country beyond 2014, after the bulk of the American force, which currently stands at around 23,500, has pulled out.
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| Fort Hood gunman showed no prior sign of violence Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:06 PM PDT  FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — The soldier who killed three people at Fort Hood never saw combat during a deployment to Iraq and had shown no apparent risk of violence before gunning down fellow service members on the same military base that was the scene of an infamous 2009 mass shooting, authorities said Thursday.
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| US reaches $5.15 billion environmental settlement Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government on Thursday reached a $5.15 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the largest ever for environmental contamination, to settle claims related to the cleanup of thousands of sites tainted with hazardous chemicals for decades. |
| Appeals court overturns $920M award to DuPont Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:15 PM PDT DOVER, Del. (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a jury decision awarding $920 million in damages to the DuPont Co. in a trade-secrets lawsuit involving high-strength synthetic fibers used in products such as Kevlar body armor. |
| Russian envoy urges US officials to 'do yoga' Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:09 PM PDT  MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Russian diplomat says U.S. officials should do yoga and watch TV comedy series to ease what he calls their irrational fixation on punishing Russia over Ukraine.
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| Queen gives honey to pope, who has gift for George Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:08 PM PDT  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II — bearing a basket of honey, whiskey and other goodies from the royal estates — paid a visit to Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday. The pontiff returned the courtesy with a gift for Prince George, Elizabeth's great-grandson.
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| New book highlights work of Art Deco muralist Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:03 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Hildreth Meiere was a prolific Art Deco muralist whose highly stylized figures and geometric patterns adorn New York's Radio City Music Hall, Nebraska's Capitol, the National Academy of Sciences and many other noted buildings.
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| US army probes mental health of new Fort Hood shooter Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:05 PM PDT  The shooting at Fort Hood revived memories of a 2009 attack by a US officer turned Islamist extremist, but Pentagon officials said this week's shooter was not a terrorist but a troubled individual. The soldier, a 34-year-old private, had served in Iraq and was being evaluated for possible Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but his superiors said they had seen no sign he posed any danger. "At this moment, we have no indication... there were any signs of likely violence either to himself or to others," Army Secretary John McHugh, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. The violence raises fresh questions about security at US bases and the mental health of America's soldiers, many of whom have served repeated dangerous deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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| Israel says it won't release Palestinian prisoners Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:04 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Thursday abruptly called off a release of Palestinian prisoners, sending U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's troubled Mideast peace efforts further into a tailspin.
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| Afghan girl who lost arm paints with prosthetic Posted: 03 Apr 2014 12:02 PM PDT  BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) — She had always loved to paint and draw, something it appeared the little girl from Afghanistan might never do again after she mistakenly picked up a grenade outside her war-torn home last year and it blew off much of her right arm.
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| Anadarko Petroleum settles pollution clean-up claims for $5.15 billion Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:26 PM PDT  Global energy company Anadarko Petroleum Corp will pay $5.15 billion to end years of litigation over cancer and other health problems across the United States caused by pollution from uranium deposits, wood creosote and rocket fuel processing. The agreement announced on Thursday, the biggest environmental bankruptcy settlement on record, resolves environmental cleanup claims stemming from the 2009 bankruptcy of paint materials maker Tronox brought by a trust for governments, Indian tribes and individuals. Anadarko's potential liability has weighed on its shares since December, when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper of New York said Kerr-McGee, which Anadarko bought in 2006, knew that the spin off of titanium dioxide unit Tronox would harm the business. At the time, Gropper said Anadarko should pay from $5.15 billion to more than $14 billion in cleanup costs.
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| Supreme Court to decide Texas execution drug case Posted: 03 Apr 2014 11:59 AM PDT  HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Attorneys for a serial killer asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution set for Thursday in Texas as they challenge that state's refusal to release information about where it gets its lethal injection drug.
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| Producers add Thursday matinees on Broadway Posted: 03 Apr 2014 11:56 AM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Catching a Wednesday matinee on Broadway is so last year. The hot thing now is Thursday afternoon shows.
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| Dad guilty of murder in tot's creek-tossing death Posted: 03 Apr 2014 11:56 AM PDT  FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — A man who tossed his 2-year-old daughter into a creek while she was still strapped into her car seat was convicted Thursday of her murder and smirked as he was led out of court in handcuffs to spend what will probably be the rest of his life behind bars.
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| Senate panel votes to release CIA torture report Posted: 03 Apr 2014 01:20 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to release parts of a hotly contested, secret report that harshly criticizes CIA terror interrogations after 9/11, and the White House said it would instruct intelligence officials to cooperate fully.
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