General news

• Cruz campaign pulls US ad featuring softcore porn actress

  12-02-2016 23:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has pulled a campaign ad after it turned out the clip, which attacked rival Marco Rubio, featured a softcore porn actress. The commercial for Cruz, a champion of the religious right who won the Iowa caucus last week, seemed rather innocuous as far as vicious campaign ads can sometimes go. It showed disappointed members of what was supposed to be a support group calmly discussing how they had been betrayed by conservative candidates who become moderate o
  
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• Activists say officer's shooting conviction no bellwether

  12-02-2016 23:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Police-reform activists, who have come to expect disappointment any time an officer is accused in a killing, expressed surprise Friday over the conviction of a patrolman who shot an unarmed man in a housing project stairwell but said they don't necessarily see the case as a turning point in the national debate over police accountability.
  
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• US, European stocks rebound to end brutal week

  12-02-2016 23:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  US and European stocks rallied strongly Friday, ending a painful week on a positive note following solid US and German economic data and a surge in oil prices. London jumped 3.1 percent and Frankfurt and Paris gained 2.5 percent, brushing off another slump in Asia.
  
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• The Latest: Pope sends Mexico condolences over prison riot

  12-02-2016 23:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HAVANA (AP) — The latest on Pope Francis's historic meeting in Cuba with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and his subsequent trip to Mexico (all times local):
  
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• Roma clinch fourth successive win

  12-02-2016 23:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Roma claimed a fourth successive win to move into third spot in Serie A on Friday with a 3-1 triumph at relegation-haunted Carpi. Roma have 47 points and well-placed for a Champions League spot next season but they are nine points behind leaders Napoli and seven back from Juventus in second place. French star Lucas Digne opened the scoring for Roma in the 56th minute with a fine drive from the left for his second Serie A goal -- both have come against Carpi.
  
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• Cameron defends Britain's desire for sovereignty before EU summit

  12-02-2016 23:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Michael Hogan HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron defended Britain's desire to protect its sovereignty on Friday, appealing for understanding from the European Union in his talks for better membership terms that could be decided next week. At a dinner in German city of Hamburg with Chancellor Angela Merkel and civic and business leaders, Cameron said he knew some may see Britain as "argumentative and rather strong-minded" by trying to renegotiate its terms with the 28-me
  
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• Woman's body found in California parking lot months after death

  12-02-2016 23:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The body of a missing California woman has been found inside her car in the parking lot of a Walmart store -- months after she had died, police said. Lauren Jessie, 22, went missing on November 13, shortly after she left a drug rehabilitation center. Employees at a Walmart store in the town of Salinas, in northern California, discovered her badly decomposed body inside her car last week.
  
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• U.S. sailors were quizzed by Iran

  12-02-2016 23:21 via rss.cnn.com
  
  The U.S. sailors captured and briefly held by Iranian forces last month told the U.S. Navy that they underwent "steady questioning" by their captors, according to a U.S. defense official familiar with the latest information.
  
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• Russian, U.S. military at war -- on Twitter

  12-02-2016 23:21 via rss.cnn.com
  
  U.S. and Russian military leaders clashed on social media Thursday after Moscow claimed the U.S. struck Aleppo in Syria on Wednesday and the U.S. firmly denied the charge.
  
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• They meet for 1st time in 962 years

  12-02-2016 23:20 via rss.cnn.com
  
  It's a meeting nearly a millennium in the making.
  
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• Where did El Nino go? Heat, dry spell stoke drought worry

  12-02-2016 23:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — Where did El Nino go?
  
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• Experts identify cases of Syria chemical attacks to probe

  12-02-2016 23:15 via feeds.foxnews.com
  
  The international body charged with establishing who is responsible for chemical attacks in Syria says it has identified at least five potential cases for investigation — four where chlorine gas was allegedly used against rebel-held areas and one where insurgents allegedly used mustard gas against a rebel stronghold.
  
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• Dominican police kill suspect in attack on German tourist

  12-02-2016 23:15 via feeds.foxnews.com
  
  Police in the Dominican Republic say they have killed one of two men suspected in the slaying of an elderly German tourist during a robbery.
  
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• Autopsy: Slain New Jersey sex worker possibly strangled

  12-02-2016 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MILLER PLACE, N.Y. (AP) — A sex worker who disappeared near a remote stretch of Long Island beach highway that was later revealed to be a suspected serial killer's dumping ground for bodies might have been strangled, according to a new autopsy.
  
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• US stocks end a down week on an up note

  12-02-2016 23:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks ended a down week on a high note Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak on the strength of energy and financial companies.
  
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• Teen arrested in Britain linked to hack of US spy chiefs

  12-02-2016 23:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  British police said Friday they had arrested a teenager on hacking charges, as media reports said the youth was suspected of cracking the personal accounts of top US intelligence officials. The news followed a series of bold hacking attacks for which credit was claimed by someone with the screen name "Cracka" who targeted top officials at the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, the White House and other federal agencies. FBI officials declined to comment on the reports.
  
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• Former Virginia Gov. Gilmore ends bid for the White House

  12-02-2016 23:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore says he is dropping out of the race for the White House.
  
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• Veto override drawing vitriol from constituents in Maryland

  12-02-2016 23:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland's Senate president called for civility Friday after Democrats received what he called "the most vicious hate mail you can possibly imagine" in the aftermath of overriding the Republican governor's veto. One caller expressed the hope a senator's wife would be raped and killed.
  
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• Cosby's lawyers try again to get his sex assault case tossed

  12-02-2016 23:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawyers for Bill Cosby are trying again to have the comedian's sex assault case in Pennsylvania dismissed.
  
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• After Oregon standoff, some say: Right fight; wrong tactics

  12-02-2016 23:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Right fight; wrong strategy.
  
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• Manhole cover crashes into SUV's windshield, killing driver

  12-02-2016 22:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BOSTON (AP) — A dislodged manhole cover weighing more than 200 pounds went airborne and crashed through an SUV's windshield on a major highway, killing a woman as she drove during the Friday morning commute, authorities said.
  
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• Presses to fall silent at Independent as paper goes online-only

  12-02-2016 22:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Kate Holton and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Independent is to disappear from news stands next month after its owner took the left-leaning title online only, one of the first national newspapers in the world to buckle under pressure from the internet. While other titles splashed popular fare like weddings, births and deaths of the royal family, the Independent focused on wars in the middle east and developments in science. In its 1990s heyday it briefly sold more copies than Ruper
  
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• The Latest: Pope, patriarch sign declaration on unity

  12-02-2016 22:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HAVANA (AP) — The latest on Pope Francis's historic meeting in Cuba with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and his subsequent trip to Mexico (all times local):
  
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• Argentina, 'vulture funds' still at odds over repayment

  12-02-2016 22:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Argentina's toughest "holdout" creditors have not accepted its repayment offer despite intense marathon negotiations this week, a US mediator said Friday. Daniel Pollack, the court-appointed mediator in the negotiations, said that although two of the six main hedge fund creditors had accepted the "landmark" $6.5 billion offer, the other four had yet to accept. "Intensive discussions between and among high-ranking Argentine government officials, principals of those four firms and me have continue
  
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• Germany's Merkel says getting confident about UK deal with EU

  12-02-2016 22:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday she is becoming more confident a deal to keep Britain in the European Union will be reached, but she warned more compromises may be needed on both sides. Speaking at an event in Hamburg attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Merkel said issues such as changes to social security systems needed to be placed in a European context, not only a British concern. Cameron has said he hopes to come to an agreement with EU leaders over his plans to
  
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• Angle mulls US Senate bid; testing waters for money, support

  12-02-2016 22:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada conservative Sharron Angle says she's trying to determine if she could raise enough money to run for the U.S. Senate again, a move that could throw a wrench in Republicans' hopes to claim Democratic Sen. Harry Reid's soon-to-be-vacant seat.
  
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• Concert postponements for Barry Manilow after surgery

  12-02-2016 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Barry Manilow has been forced to postpone two concerts following a rough week of oral surgery.
  
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• AP Source: Bosh out of NBA All-Star Game due to calf injury

  12-02-2016 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TORONTO (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says that Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat will miss Sunday's All-Star Game with a calf injury, and has been replaced on the Eastern Conference roster by Atlanta's Al Horford.
  
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• FBI: No rigged explosives found at site of Oregon standoff

  12-02-2016 22:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BURNS, Ore. (AP) — FBI officials said Friday they haven't found any rigged explosives or booby traps at the national wildlife refuge in Oregon that had been seized by an armed group.
  
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• Police officer fatally shot while on patrol in Haiti capital

  12-02-2016 22:30 via feeds.foxnews.com
  
  A Haitian police officer has been killed by multiple gunshots as he patrolled a rough section of the country's capital on a motorcycle.
  
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• US, Cuba to sign agreement on restarting commercial flights

  12-02-2016 22:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HAVANA (AP) — U.S. officials say the United States and Cuba will sign an agreement next week to restart commercial air traffic for the first time in five decades.
  
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• The Latest: Curry says get ready, ads on uniform coming

  12-02-2016 22:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TORONTO (AP) — The Latest on Friday's events at the NBA's All-Star Weekend in Toronto (all times local):
  
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• Rubio family stars in South Carolina comeback attempt

  12-02-2016 22:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Just for a moment, Marco Rubio stops trying to explain what went wrong in New Hampshire. He needs to find out why Dominick is crying.
  
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• Shaq, Iverson named among 14 Hall of Fame finalists

  12-02-2016 22:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal and four-time NBA scoring champion Allen Iverson were among 14 finalists for 2016 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday in Toronto. "Shaq" and Iverson were among seven first-time nominees from the women's and North American selection committees for consideration for the 2016 Hall of Fame group to be announced April 4 in Houston and enshrined in September at the sporting shrine in Springfield, Massachusetts. Retired Chinese star Yao Mi
  
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• Drug cartel ruled in Mexico prison hit by riot

  12-02-2016 22:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Authorities found dozens of knives, cocaine and flat-screen televisions at the Mexican prison where a brawl killed 49 inmates, officials said Friday, highlighting the control drug cartels hold over many penitentiaries. The battle at the Topo Chico prison in the northern industrial city of Monterrey was triggered by a power struggle between rival leaders of the Zetas gang, authorities said. After reclaiming control following Thursday's pre-dawn riot, authorities found half a kilogram of marijuana
  
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• Pope, Russian patriarch kiss at historic meeting

  12-02-2016 22:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill kissed each other and sat down Friday for the first meeting between heads of the Eastern and Western churches in nearly a thousand years. The 79-year-old Francis, in white robes and a skullcap, and Kirill, 69, in black robes and a white headdress, exchanged kisses and embraced before sitting down smiling for the historic meeting at Havana airport. Francis, 79, stepped off a plane in the sunshine and shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro o
  
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• Lourdes is for lovers, gays included, French 'miracle' town says

  12-02-2016 22:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Married or not, straight or gay, you and your sweetheart will be welcome in Lourdes, the town in southwestern France that has attracted "miracle" seekers for a century and a half, officials said Friday. "Come to Lourdes to say I love you," beckons a flyer put out by the Lourdes diocese, touting a "couples weekend" as part of efforts to boost dwindling visitor numbers. "The miracle of Lourdes is that of the encounter," said the rector, Reverend Andre Cabes, recalling the town's founding "meeting"
  
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• 'Finally:' Pope meets Russian Orthodox leader

  12-02-2016 22:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HAVANA (AP) — With a hug and an exclamation of "Finally!" Pope Francis met Friday with Patriarch Kirill in the first ever meeting between a pontiff and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a historic development in the 1,000-year schism that has divided Christianity.
  
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• Broncos basking in glory of first title since '99

  12-02-2016 22:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — While general manager John Elway maps out plans to keep his team intact, the Denver Broncos are enjoying the spoils of their Super Bowl victory.
  
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• Tougher lending standards pose risk to outlook for Fed

  12-02-2016 22:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A recent tightening of credit for U.S. companies is threatening to undermine economic growth, making it less likely the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates anytime soon. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said this week it was still too soon for the central bank to change its view that rate hikes are needed, a position supported by a still-robust pace of hiring that is helping consumers borrow more readily. "Financial conditions are tightening the Fed's belt," Deutsche Bank, which expects one rate inc
  
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• The Latest: Rubio says he doesn't support women's draft

  12-02-2016 21:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on campaign 2016. (all times local):
  
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• The Pope, Trump, and his wall

  12-02-2016 21:53 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Imagine this split screen: On one side is Donald Trump, repeating his campaign pledge to build a big wall between the United States and Mexico. On the other is Pope Francis, kneeling to pray for the thousands of undocumented immigrants who have died trying to cross the border.
  
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• The Latest: Pope, patriarch exchange symbolic gifts

  12-02-2016 21:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HAVANA (AP) — The Latest on Pope Francis's historic meeting in Cuba with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and his subsequent trip to Mexico (all times local):
  
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• 'You are not human billboards,' caddies told

  12-02-2016 21:52 via rss.cnn.com
  
  It was said they were treated like "dogs" and denied a share of $50 million a year in advertising revenue.
  
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• The strange world of 'love motels'

  12-02-2016 21:51 via rss.cnn.com
  
  An illuminated replica of the Venus de Milo drew the attention of photographer Francesco Giusti as he visited the city of Cali, Colombia.
  
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• Black Democrats question Sanders' commitment to Obama

  12-02-2016 21:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign enlisted the support of black Democrats on Friday to undermine Bernie Sanders' push to claim a piece of President Barack Obama's legacy, arguing she is the rightful heir to the nation's first black president.
  
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• Pope meets Russian Orthodox leader 1,000 years after Christianity split

  12-02-2016 21:30 via feeds.foxnews.com
  
  Pope Francis met Friday with Patriarch Kirill in the first-ever papal meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, an historic development in the 1,000-year schism that divided Christianity that may, however, be more about Russia asserting itself than any new ecumenical progress.
  
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• Michigan officials knew of Legionnaires' outbreak long before warning

  12-02-2016 21:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) - State government officials knew about an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease and its suspected link to contaminated water in impoverished Flint, Michigan, at least 10 months before a public announcement was made, documents released on Friday showed. The disclosure of the documents, among thousands of pages of emails and other material released, comes as Michigan's Republican Governor Rick Snyder faces pressure to resign over his administration's handling of the F
  
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• US inspectors ensure no nasty surprises on Valentine's Day

  12-02-2016 21:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  When -- or if -- that bunch of flowers arrives on Sunday for Valentine's Day, spare a thought for Edward Putland. Putland, an agent specializing in agriculture at US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has been busy scouring roses, carnations and all other manner of flowers and plants imported through Miami's international airport, mainly from Latin America. For Putland and his fellow inspectors the first half of February presents a daunting challenge: about a billion flowers and plants pour in
  
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• Syria rebels say get more missiles from Assad's enemies

  12-02-2016 21:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's foreign enemies have sent rebels new supplies of ground-to-ground missiles to confront a Russian-backed offensive by the government near Aleppo, stepping up support in response to the attack, two rebel commanders said. The commanders told Reuters the missiles with a range of 20 km (12 miles) had been provided in "excellent quantities" in response to the attack that has cut rebel supply lines from the Turkish border to opposition-
  
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