General news

• Lawmaker reimburses private plane expenses for football game

  02-03-2015 23:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock has reimbursed the U.S. government for more than $1,200 to travel to a Chicago Bears football game last November.
  
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• US intelligence chief warns Congress of danger of failing to renew Patriot Act

  02-03-2015 23:58
  
  Congress must accept responsibility if ‘untoward incident’ occursJames Clapper also discusses Syria, Russia and North KoreaIf Congress fails to renew a controversial provision of the Patriot Act by June, the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, says opponents of the bill on Capitol Hill should bear the blame if an otherwise preventable terrorist attack happens afterwards.In a question-and answer-session at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Clapper reiterated his supp
  
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• New chief to oversee DC fire dept. after Metro accident

  02-03-2015 23:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington, D.C.'s mayor has named a new fire chief to take control of a department roundly criticized for poor service, including its response to a fatal subway accident in January.
  
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• $4.8M in gold bars stolen in armored truck heist on highway

  02-03-2015 23:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Shortly after dusk along a lonely stretch of Interstate 95, armed robbers hijacked an armored truck, tied up the two guards and disappeared into the night with 275 pounds of gold bars.
  
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• Juventus tighten grip on Serie A top spot

  02-03-2015 23:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Seydou Keita salvaged a point for 10-man Roma in a 1-1 draw with Juventus on Monday that saw the champions retain their nine-point lead at the top of Serie A. Carlos Tevez curled a free-kick over the Roma wall for his 15th league goal of the season that took him top of the Serie A scoring charts. Rudi Garcia's men had drawn six of their last seven league games but had never drawn six times consecutively at home, until Monday. Garcia told Sky Sport: his side had shown "character" t
  
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• Cleveland leaders apologize over blaming boy for own death

  02-03-2015 23:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland's mayor apologized on Monday after the city's lawyers suggested in court documents that a 12-year-old boy who had a pellet gun when he was shot by police died as a result of his own actions.
  
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• Heavy snow hits Arizona, hail turns California beach white

  02-03-2015 23:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A winter storm has brought snow and rain to Arizona, with heavy snow forcing schools, government offices in the northern part of the state and the Grand Canyon's visitor centers to close Monday.
  
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• Keita salvages point but Juve tighten grip

  02-03-2015 23:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Seydou Keita salvaged a share of the points for 10-man Roma in a 1-1 draw with Juventus that saw the champions retain their nine-point lead at the top of Serie A on Monday. Carlos Tevez curled a free-kick over a Roma wall for his 15th goal of the season that took him top of the Serie A scoring charts. Rudi Garcia's men had drawn six of their last seven league games but had never drawn six times consecutively at home, until Monday. Roma started with influential midfielders Radja Nainggolan a
  
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• Obama: Nemtsov killing 'sign of worsening climate in Russia'

  02-03-2015 23:47
  
  US president calls for full investigation into murder and says civil rights and liberties in Russia ‘in worse shape than 10 years ago’
  Barack Obama said on Monday that the killing of opposition figure Boris Nemtsov is a sign of a worsening climate in Russia where civil rights and media freedoms have been rolled back in the last several years. Nemtsov was gunned down near the Kremlin on Friday night in a gangland-style murder. “This is an indication of a climate at least inside of Russia in
  
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• Barack Obama calls on Iran to agree to 10-year freeze on nuclear activity

  02-03-2015 23:42
  
  Obama says Israel PM has been wrong before at Iran’s nuclear programmePresident plays down lasting effect of row over Netanyahu’s Congress speechPresident Barack Obama said on Monday that Iran should commit to a verifiable freeze of at least 10 years on its nuclear activity for a landmark atomic deal to be reached, but said the odds were still against sealing a final agreement. In an interview with Reuters at the White House, Obama said that a rift over Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netany
  
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• Armed trio in $4 mn US highway robbery

  02-03-2015 23:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Police were investigating Monday after three armed men made off with gold bars worth more than $4 million in an audacious highway heist, US media said. About 275 pounds (125 kilos) of gold was taken from a truck on Sunday in Wilson County, North Carolina, after the vehicle pulled over because of mechanical problems, local news reports said. Two armed security guards from Trans Value, in Miami, were transporting a shipment of silver and gold to Massachusetts when they stopped, The Wilson Times re
  
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• Nasdaq 5,000: index passes dot-com milestone after 15 years

  02-03-2015 23:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time since its dot-com era peak nearly 15 years ago, the Nasdaq composite has closed above 5,000.
  
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• Russia, Ukraine reach gas deal to avoid cuts this month

  02-03-2015 23:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement late Monday to ensure natural gas supplies to war-torn Ukraine for the month of March, averting possible cuts that could have hit supplies to the European Union.
  
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• Nemtsov murder witness heads to Kiev after leaving Moscow: Ukrainian official

  02-03-2015 23:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Kiev (AFP) - The chief witness in the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who had complained of being kept under guard in Moscow, was able to leave Russia and is now on her way to Kiev, Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman said late Monday.
  
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• Exclusive: Full text of Reuters interview with Obama

  02-03-2015 23:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Reuters White House Correspondent Jeff Mason interviewed President Barack Obama on Monday on topics including U.S.-Israel relations, Iran, China and Russia. OBAMA - Good to see you. Your administration has described Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plans to address Congress tomorrow on Iran as destructive. OBAMA - Well, first of all, I think it’s important to realize the depth of the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
  
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• Monica Lewinksky’s blue dress can be seen in portrait of Bill Clinton

  02-03-2015 23:33
  
  Another week, another dress controversy on the internet.
  
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• Bill Clinton portrait features Monica Lewinsky reference, artist admits

  02-03-2015 23:33
  
  Another week, another dress controversy on the internet.
  
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• Bill Clinton portrait features Monica Lewinksky reference, artist admits

  02-03-2015 23:33
  
  Another week, another dress controversy on the internet.
  
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• Google selling wireless plans to get more people online

  02-03-2015 23:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Search giant, self-driving car developer, smartphone and tablet maker. Turned data plan provider?
  
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• Georgia woman nears execution for husband's murder

  02-03-2015 23:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — The only woman on Georgia's death row will become the first female to be executed in 70 years in the state Monday unless the U.S. Supreme Court or the state parole board steps in with a last-minute reprieve.
  
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• FA wants Team GB sides at Rio 2016

  02-03-2015 23:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Football Association is planning to enter men's and women's Great Britain teams at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
  
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• For ex-Guantánamo inmates freedom in Uruguay brings new challenges

  02-03-2015 23:27
  
  The six detainees accepted by President José Mujica are struggling with a new language in a strange country as well as health problems from their captivity Continue reading...
  
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• 5 things about China's 'Inconvenient Truth'

  02-03-2015 23:24 via edition.cnn.com
  
  If you live in China and haven't watched -- or at least heard about -- "Under the Dome," you must have been living under a rock.
  
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• What to expect from Costco's new deal with Visa and Citi

  02-03-2015 23:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — If you're shopping at Costco, you'll need a new credit card to pay for those family-sized packs of chicken breasts or toilet paper.
  
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• Countdown on as baseball readies for pace of play rules

  02-03-2015 23:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — During his playing career, Mike Hargrove's unique routine at the plate went something like this: step into the batter's box, adjust gloves, brush lip, tap cleats with bat to remove dirt, check helmet, tug at jersey sleeve, hitch up pants, check right thumb protector. Repeat.
  
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• At 27-3, Florida State looking like postseason threat

  02-03-2015 23:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The seats at Florida State's home arena are now the same color, no longer the hideous palette that made Sue Semrau cringe for 17 years.
  
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• Exclusive: Obama defends lack of 'Plan B' for Obamacare court case

  02-03-2015 23:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday said he thinks there is no "plausible legal basis" for the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a key plank of Obamacare, defending his administration's lack of a contingency plan. Obama touched on two main domestic policy issues during an interview with Reuters. On the Affordable Care Act, his signature policy achievement commonly referred to as Obamacare, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on We
  
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• Exclusive: Nemtsov killing sign of worsening climate in Russia - Obama

  02-03-2015 23:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that the killing of opposition figure Boris Nemtsov is a sign of a worsening climate in Russia where civil rights and media freedoms have been rolled back in the last several years. Nemtsov was gunned down near the Kremlin on Friday night in a gangland-style murder. "This is an indication of a climate at least inside of Russia in which civil society, independent journalists, people trying to communicate on the Intern
  
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• Dating app Tinder premium plan aims at under-30 crowd

  02-03-2015 23:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Smartphone dating app Tinder launched a premium paid subscription version on Monday, but drew criticism over a pricing system that charges older users more. Tinder Plus, which has been tested since late last year, has subscription fees varying by age and country.
  
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• Venezuela sets deadline to US to slash embassy staff

  02-03-2015 23:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela has given the U.S. two weeks to slash its diplomatic mission here to less than 20 percent of its current size as tensions between the two nations rise.
  
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• Muslim group sues FBI in death of Boston bomb suspect's friend

  02-03-2015 23:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A civil rights group for Muslims said Monday it will sue the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the 2013 shooting death of a friend of a Boston Marathon bombings suspect. Ibragim Todashev, 27, was killed after a violent altercation with investigators following lengthy questioning at his apartment in Orlando, Florida in May 2013. The FBI said Todashev had pulled a knife on investigators and tried to grab an agent's gun following questioning on his role in the Boston bombings. Todashev was
  
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• Watchdog: Air traffic control system is a hacking risk

  02-03-2015 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's system for guiding planes and other aircraft is at "increased and unnecessary risk" of being hacked, according to a report by government watchdog released Monday.
  
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• ISIS hostage release -- why now?

  02-03-2015 23:05 via edition.cnn.com
  
  Igniting a live man in a cage; severing the heads of dozens; kidnapping, raping and selling women and children -- ISIS' shocking maltreatment of its captives has become regrettably predictable.
  
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• Pakistan anti-vaccine parents held

  02-03-2015 23:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hundreds of parents are arrested in north-west Pakistan for refusing to allow their children to be vaccinated against polio.
  
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• Amish jailed in beard-cutting attacks win lower sentences

  02-03-2015 22:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CLEVELAND (AP) — A judge reduced the prison terms Monday for the leader of a breakaway Amish group and seven of his followers who chopped off the hair and beards of Amish people with whom they disagreed.
  
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• VIDEO: BBC retraces Selma rights march

  02-03-2015 22:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  America is closing in on the 50th anniversary of one of the seminal moments of the country's civil rights movement, the march from Selma to Montgomery.
  
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• LA police chief defends officers over fatal shooting

  02-03-2015 22:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Los Angeles police chief defended Monday officers who fatally shot a man in the Skid Row homeless district, after a video of the killing went viral and triggered widespread condemnation. Under intense pressure over the incident -- just the latest to put police tactics in the United States under the spotlight -- Charlie Beck said video evidence showed the victim reached for one of the police officers' guns immediately prior to the fatal shots being fired Sunday.
  
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• Varoufakis says confident Greece will repay March obligations

  02-03-2015 22:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Monday he was certain Athens would repay a 1.5 billion euro loan to the International Monetary Fund in March and secure enough liquidity to see it through April. "We are confident that the repayments will be made in full, particularly to the IMF, and there will be liquidity to get us through the end of the four-month period will be ensured," Varoufakis said in an interview on Greek TV. Athens struck a deal with the euro zone in February to extend i
  
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• Russia, Ukraine agree gas delivery deal until end March: EU

  02-03-2015 22:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Moscow and Kiev agreed a gas delivery deal until the end of March after EU-brokered talks in Brussels Monday, securing supplies to Europe after a row over supplies to rebel-held eastern Ukraine, the EU said. "I am satisfied that we managed to safeguard the full application of the Winter Package for the supply needs in Ukraine," said Maros Sefcovic, European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union, referring to a contract expiring on March 31 that Russia had threatened to scrap. The
  
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• Google, Facebook update contrasting plans to connect world

  02-03-2015 22:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Sci-fi solutions or making friends one at a time? Google and Facebook are taking different routes to expanding Internet use and access among the unconnected in developing countries.
  
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• Australia expected to announce more troops to be sent to Iraq to train Iraqi security forces

  02-03-2015 22:45 via feeds.foxnews.com
  
  Australia is expected to confirm an increase in troop numbers to be sent to Iraq to help train Iraqi security forces to fight the Islamic State group.
  
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• Nasdaq 5,000: index passes milestone number

  02-03-2015 22:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Nasdaq composite closed above 5,000 for the first time since its dot-com era peak nearly 15 years ago after merger news and an encouraging economic report helped push U.S. stocks broadly higher on Monday.
  
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• New Mexico students join others in nation against new tests

  02-03-2015 22:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New assessment tests that have angered parents and teachers across the nation prompted walkouts Monday by hundreds of high school students in New Mexico who had been set to take the exams.
  
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• Cuba signals readiness to fast-track U.S. diplomatic ties

  02-03-2015 22:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Adams and Daniel Trotta MIAMI/HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba is willing to restore diplomatic relations with the United States as soon as the Obama administration declares its intent to take the country off a list of state sponsors of terrorism, according to a senior Cuban official. It is the first time Cuba has said publicly it is willing to restore relations before it is removed from the list. Delinking the opening of embassies could make it easier for diplomatic relations - broken 54 years
  
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• Bright spotlight on Ceres mission

  02-03-2015 22:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As Nasa's Dawn satellite prepares to enter into orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres, scientists say they are excited to learn more about the two bright spots on its surface.
  
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• Jordan, other NBA owners join Forbes' billionaire list

  02-03-2015 22:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Jordan and some other NBA owners have reached new heights, landing on Forbes world list of billionaires.
  
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• Box office top 20: Will Smith's 'Focus' on top with $18.7M

  02-03-2015 22:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Will Smith's crime caper "Focus" debuted with $18.7 million, according to final figures Monday, while the previous North American box office leader, "Fifty Shades of Grey," sunk to fourth place.
  
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• Julianne and Derek Hough to hit the road again this summer

  02-03-2015 22:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Sibling performers Derek and Julianne Hough have a busy summer ahead.
  
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• Tinder to charge over-28s more

  02-03-2015 22:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dating app Tinder announces it will charge the over-28s nearly four times as much for its premium features as it does younger users in the UK.
  
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• Police chief: Man killed on Skid Row reached for gun

  02-03-2015 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police fatally shot a homeless man on Skid Row during a "brutal" videotaped struggle in which a rookie officer cried out that the man had hold of his gun before three other officers opened fire, the Los Angeles police chief said Monday.
  
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