General news

• Plant from 130 million years ago is among 'first flowers': study

  17-08-2015 23:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  An ancient plant that grew underwater in what is modern day Europe, had no petals and bore one single seed may have been the world's first known flowering plant, a study said Monday. More than 1,000 fossils of the plant, called Montsechia vidalii, were pored over for the new study, which seems to oust a Chinese plant that has also been considered among the first. "A 'first flower' is technically a myth, like the 'first human,'" said paleobotanist David Dilcher, lead author of the study published
  
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• Security scare at U.S. nuclear site

  17-08-2015 23:38 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Authorities triggered an emergency response on Monday -- including barring all incoming traffic -- at a South Carolina nuclear site because of what was described as "a potential security event."
  
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• Chelsea Manning 'denied access to legal library' days before hearing over allegations including possessing Caitlyn Jenner issue of Vanity Fair

  17-08-2015 22:59
  Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has allegedly been denied access to a prison legal library, days before she will defend herself against charges including possessing an expired tube of toothpaste and unapproved reading materials, for which she could face indefinite solitary confinement.
  
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• Mangled bikes and bodies

  17-08-2015 22:53 via rss.cnn.com
  
  A person thrown 60 feet up the road. A body torn in two. Bikes burned to a crisp outside of a popular Hindu shrine.
  
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• Baltimore activists walk 35 miles to Washington DC to protest violent crime

  17-08-2015 22:49
  
  More than 40 men marched from Baltimore, Maryland to Washington DC on Monday to protest violent crime.
  
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• Pentagon plans to increase drone flights by 50 percent

  17-08-2015 22:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (AP) — The Pentagon is planning to increase its use of drones by about 50 percent over the next several years, using the Army and civilian contractors to put more of the unmanned aircraft in the air, in part to help counter escalating aggression from Russia and China.
  
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• Mayweather, Pacquiao lawsuits sent to California court

  17-08-2015 22:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Plaintiffs who say the May 2 Las Vegas fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. was a fraud and they deserve their pay-per-view money back will argue their cases in front of a federal judge in California.
  
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• Pentagon studies transfer of Guantanamo inmates to US sites

  17-08-2015 22:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Pentagon said Monday it is studying the cost of moving inmates from Guantanamo to military jails in South Carolina and Kansas, as the White House seeks to close the controversial facility. President Barack Obama made shuttering the Cuba-based prison a priority when he took office in 2009, but Congress has opposed measures to transfer detainees to the US mainland. The White House is currently putting finishing touches on a new plan to close Guantanamo, which will be presented to lawmakers for
  
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• Why 'Chili Peppers' Flea loves bees

  17-08-2015 22:39 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Flea is buggin' out.
  
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• Trump takes a detour off the trail, reports for jury duty

  17-08-2015 22:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump pulled up in a long black limousine and gave a very presidential wave as he made his way into the building. Then the billionaire promptly found himself seated next to ordinary, wage-earning, subway-riding New Yorkers, forced to wait — and wait some more — for the wheels of justice to turn.
  
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• White House concerns at Biden run

  17-08-2015 22:36 via rss.cnn.com
  
  As Joe Biden might say, it would be a big deal if he runs for president. A "BFD."
  
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• U.N. aid chief urges greater access in Syria after first visit

  17-08-2015 22:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Damascus should allow greater humanitarian access to people in need inside Syria, the United Nations' aid chief said on Monday after his first visit to the country. Stephen O'Brien, who took up his post in May, also condemned Syrian air strikes that killed nearly 100 people outside the capital during his visit, saying actions by all sides fighting in the four-year conflict were "unacceptable". "The dire catastrophe, which is the humanitarian situation in Syria... is worsening," he told Reuters i
  
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• Syrian army bombards Douma as air raid toll rises: monitor

  17-08-2015 22:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Syrian military bombarded an area northeast of Damascus on Monday, keeping up its attack on a rebel-held district where around 100 people were killed on Sunday in an air strike on a market, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Sunday's air strike on Douma, 10 miles (15 km) northeast of Damascus, was one of the bloodiest attacks of its type in the four-year-long war that has killed an estimated quarter of a million people and driven 10 million from their homes. The U.N. envoy for Syr
  
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• Is it safe to travel to Thailand after the Bangkok bombing?

  17-08-2015 22:32
  
  On a warm August evening, carnage came to the streets of Bangkok. As news of the shocking devastation spread, it became clear that tourists were the targets of the murderous attack. These are some of the questions posed by readers in the aftermath of the atrocity.
  
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• Bangkok bombing Q&A: How many British travellers are in Thailand? Is it safe to travel to the country?

  17-08-2015 22:32
  
  On a warm August evening, carnage came to the streets of Bangkok. As news of the shocking devastation spread, it became clear that tourists were the targets of the murderous attack. These are some of the questions posed by readers in the aftermath of the atrocity.
  
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• EPA watchdog investigating toxic mine spill in Colorado

  17-08-2015 22:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The inspector general for the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the cause of a massive spill from an abandoned Colorado gold mine that unleashed 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater into rivers that supply water to at least three states.
  
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• Injury-plagued Oden heading to China

  17-08-2015 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Los Angeles (AFP) - Injury-plagued former No.1 NBA draft pick Greg Oden will try to relaunch his career in China after signing for the Jiangsu Dragons, US reports said Monday.
  
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• Actor Emile Hirsch pleads guilty to assault on studio exec

  17-08-2015 22:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Actor Emile Hirsch has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after being accused of putting a female studio executive in a chokehold at a Utah nightclub during the Sundance Film Festival.
  
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• Health officials say they won't change HPV vaccine mandate

  17-08-2015 22:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — State health officials say there are no plans to change a new requirement that middle school students in Rhode Island get the HPV vaccine even though some parents, and now some lawmakers, have expressed concerns.
  
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• Actor Emile Hirsch pleads guilty to misdemeanor assault in attack on studio executive in Utah

  17-08-2015 22:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Actor Emile Hirsch pleads guilty to misdemeanor assault in attack on studio executive in Utah.
  
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• Stocks end higher as investors weigh mixed news on economy

  17-08-2015 22:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing slightly higher as investors weigh mixed news on the U.S economy.
  
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• Foreign holdings of US Treasury securities up in June

  17-08-2015 22:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rebounded in June following two straight months of declines.
  
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• More money, fewer cures: US medical research faces hurdles

  17-08-2015 22:15 via news.yahoo.com
  
  More money is being spent on medical research but fewer new drugs are being approved and people are not living much longer than they did in the 1960s, said a US study on Monday. Among the multiple reasons suspected for the stall in medical progress: too much focus on getting published in prestigious journals and excessive red tape and regulation, said the findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "We are spending more money now just to get the same results we always have a
  
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• Mountain biker dies during grueling Leadville 100 race

  17-08-2015 22:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LEADVILLE, Colo. (AP) — An experienced mountain biker died Saturday while participating in the grueling Leadville 100 race in Colorado's mountains.
  
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• NHL players among those fans watching Blue Jays take flight

  17-08-2015 22:08 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TORONTO (AP) — Logan Couture was just a preschooler when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series titles in 1992 and 1993. Wearing his team logo pajamas, the San Jose Sharks forward fought to stay awake to watch the games.
  
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• State renames Confederate holiday

  17-08-2015 22:06 via rss.cnn.com
  
  For years, Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E. Lee's birthday have been on Georgia's official state holiday calendar.
  
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• Rush-hour Bangkok bombing at busy shrine kills 18, hurts 117

  17-08-2015 22:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BANGKOK (AP) — A bomb exploded Monday within a central Bangkok shrine that is among the city's most popular tourist spots, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 100 across a hectic intersection surrounded by five-star hotels and upscale shopping malls.
  
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• GOP hopeful Kasich files for 1st-in-the-South primary

  17-08-2015 22:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Monday landed the endorsement of fellow governor Robert Bentley of Alabama, as the presidential hopeful seeks to build support for his White House bid and courts voters in the South.
  
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• Day triumph, Spieth's rise seal golf's changing of guard

  17-08-2015 22:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  With the 20-something trio of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and newly crowned PGA Champion Jason Day atop the world rankings, golf's changing of the guard is complete. The triumvirate have now won five of the past six majors -- and they're just part of a talented crop of young players that also includes Players Championship winner Rickie Fowler and 23-year-old Japanese Hideki Matsuyama -- winner of the Memorial this year. It has taken over now," said Day, and there was no cause to argue the point
  
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• 'Symbolic maneuver' doesn't erase racism

  17-08-2015 22:00 via rss.cnn.com
  
  As the Confederate flag came down amid fanfare at the South Carolina State House in Columbia on Friday morning, Willi Glee, 74, stood outside his church -- unimpressed.
  
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• Military contractor names employees killed in midair crash

  17-08-2015 22:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Military contractor BAE Systems has released the names of its three employees who died when their plane collided midair with another aircraft over Southern California this weekend.
  
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• Embattled lawmakers' ex-aide: I confronted them about affair

  17-08-2015 22:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — A former aide to embattled Michigan state Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat says he was rebuffed when he confronted them about having an "inappropriate physical relationship."
  
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• UN Security Council backs new Syria peace plan

  17-08-2015 21:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The United Nations Security Council on Monday backed a new push for peace talks in Syria adopted by Russia and the other 14 member states, despite reservations from Venezuela. Venezuela, which has friendly relations with Syria, said it was disassociating itself from parts of the statement calling for a political transition to end the four-year war.
  
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• Obama golfs, reads and enjoys private beach on vacation

  17-08-2015 21:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CHILMARK, Mass. (AP) — Lots of golf, a family outing on a private beach and a stack of books. President Barack Obama's two-week vacation on Martha's Vineyard is shaping up as a pretty low-key retreat.
  
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• Feds allow Shell to drill for oil in Arctic Ocean off Alaska

  17-08-2015 21:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The federal government on Monday gave Royal Dutch Shell the final permit it needs to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's northwest coast for the first time in more than two decades.
  
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• Rivers: Commitment from Chargers outweighs uncertainty

  17-08-2015 21:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Philip Rivers says the commitment by the San Diego Chargers in giving him a four-year contract extension outweighs the uncertainty caused by the team's apparent desire to move to Los Angeles.
  
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• IRS: Computer breach bigger than first thought; 334K victims

  17-08-2015 21:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A computer breach at the IRS in which thieves stole tax information from thousands of taxpayers is much bigger than the agency originally disclosed.
  
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• Big wildfire threatens resort town in Washington

  17-08-2015 21:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Big wildfires burning Monday near the central Washington resort town of Chelan were taking a toll on the region's main economic engines — tourism and the apple industry.
  
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• Palestinian hunger striker tests Israeli force-feeding law

  17-08-2015 21:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  EINABOS, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian hunger striker Mohammed Allan spent his college years as an activist and leader in the student wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group at a West Bank university. Now unconscious and shackled to a hospital bed, the lawyer accused of affiliating with terrorists has focused attention on Israel's controversial detention and force-feeding policies.
  
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• Pentagon eyes sharp increase in drone flights by 2019: official

  17-08-2015 21:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Pentagon is planning a sharp increase in daily drone flights over conflict zones around the globe in the next four years as it tries to meet the reconnaissance and air strike needs of combatant commanders, a spokesman said on Monday. Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Defense Department spokesman, said the number of unmanned drone flights, known as combat air patrols, would be increased by about 50 percent by 2019 - from between 60 and 65 a day to about 90. "We've seen a steady demand signal from al
  
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• College student lives in 96-square-foot solar-powered house

  17-08-2015 21:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  POULTNEY, Vt. (AP) — A college student in Vermont is living in a 96-square-foot house he built to reduce his carbon footprint — and save money.
  
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• US: Up to 305 Clinton emails might have classified data

  17-08-2015 21:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says that the review of Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails have found as many as 305 of the messages could contain classified information requiring further review by federal agencies.
  
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• Murray dedicates win to new mom

  17-08-2015 21:27 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Andy Murray dedicated his Montreal Masters victory over Novak Djokovic Sunday to his coach Amelie Mauresmo, after the Frenchwoman became a mother for the first time.
  
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• Dashcam footage shows blast

  17-08-2015 21:26 via rss.cnn.com
  
  CNN's Saima Moshin joins Ana Cabrera to discuss the latest developments in the Bangkok explosion that has left at least 18 dead.
  
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• Bomb site more than a shrine

  17-08-2015 21:26 via rss.cnn.com
  
  The Erawan Shrine apparently targeted in Monday's bombing is the best known of the many Hindu shrines in Bangkok.
  
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• Bangkok bombing: Thailand's junta seeks answers following an attack that targeted tourists 'with cruel precision'

  17-08-2015 21:18
  
  The pipe bomb that exploded inside an open-air shrine in the heart of tourist Bangkok had been planted, said authorities, with cruel precision. Streets thick with tourists, shoppers, office workers and devotees ran with blood. Body parts were strewn far and wide. 
  
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• Bangkok bombing: Thailand seeks answers following an attack that targeted tourists 'with cruel precision', leaving at least 19 dead

  17-08-2015 21:18
  
  The pipe bomb that exploded inside an open-air shrine in the heart of tourist Bangkok had been planted, said authorities, with cruel precision. Streets thick with tourists, shoppers, office workers and devotees ran with blood. Body parts were strewn far and wide. 
  
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• Bangkok bomb: Thailand seeks answers following an attack that targeted tourists 'with cruel precision', leaving at least 19 dead

  17-08-2015 21:18
  
  The pipe bomb that exploded inside an open-air shrine in the heart of tourist Bangkok had been planted, said authorities, with cruel precision. Streets thick with tourists, shoppers, office workers and devotees ran with blood. Body parts were strewn far and wide. 
  
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• Murder trial begins for white supremacist Frazier Glenn Cross charged with fatally shooting three at Jewish centers

  17-08-2015 21:14
  The trial of a Missouri white supremacist began on Monday after he was charged with killing three people in a shooting spree.
  
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• 'Batman' dies in Batmobile crash

  17-08-2015 20:39 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Lenny B. Robinson, the Good Samaritan who visited children in hospitals dressed as Batman and became a viral sensation after police pulled him over in costume, died Sunday after a car hit his custom Batmobile on a Maryland interstate.
  
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