Governors express frustration with Washington gridlock, sequestration

The nation’s governors had a message Saturday for Americans frustrated that Washington’s persistent partisan gridlock appears likely to trigger an across-the-board budget cut March 1 that could delay airline travel and result in hundreds of thousands of layoffs: They’re frustrated too. Meeting in Washington for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, state chief executives...

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'Citizen tide' of protests swamps Spain

MADRID: Fuming Spaniards massed in cities across the country on Saturday in a "citizens' tide" of protests.Tens of thousands converged in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities to the din of drums and whistles and yells of "Resign!" directed at Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his government."We have come because of it all -- unemployment, corrupt politicians, the young people who have no...

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'Dabas is not the only rotten apple'

NEW DELHI: The illegal attempt to procure the call details of BJP leader Arun Jaitley has brought to fore the unholy nexus among police, detectives and city's bigwigs, including politicians and industrialists. The subversion of official procedure to procure Jaitely's CDR (call details records) has attracted an angry response from the BJP, and led many to marvel at conspirators' audacity to target...

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Elderly Abandoned at World's Largest Religious Festival

Every 12 years, the northern Indian city of Allahabad plays host to a vast gathering of Hindu pilgrims called the Maha Kumbh Mela. This year, Allahabad is expected to host an estimated 80 million pilgrims between January and March. (See Kumbh Mela: Pictures From the Hindu Holy Festival)People come to Allahabad to wash away their sins in the sacred River Ganges. For many it's the realization...

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Jessica Ridgeway Murder Suspect to Stand Trial

The teenage suspect in the murder and dismemberment of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway will stand trial after a judge ruled there is enough evidence, including an alleged 911 confession, to move forward with the case.Prosecutors played the 911 recording on Friday at a preliminary hearing for Austin Sigg, 18, in which the teen confessed to murdering the fifth grader and trying to...

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Tennis: Kvitova beats another champion to reach Dubai final

DUBAI: Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, showing her best form for more than a year, beat her second champion in a row to reach the Dubai Open final here on Friday.Kvitova, who ended the title defence of Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday, beat the 2011 titleholder Caroline Wozniacki, breaking serve in the opening game and rarely looking back in a 6-3, 6-4 win.In her first final in...

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UK, Canada, Australia issue travel advisories

NEW DELHI: The UK, Canada and Australia have issued travel advisories asking their citizens to exercise caution within hours of the twin blasts in Hyderabad. The Australian advisory is significant as it comes a week before the second Test match between India and Australia scheduled to be played in Hyderabad on March 2. Though officials have said that the match will be held as scheduled, tour operators...

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Jodi Arias' Friends Believe in Her Innocence

Accused murderer Jodi Arias believes she should be punished, but hopes she will not be sentenced to death, two of her closest friends told ABC News in an exclusive interview.Ann Campbell and Donavan Bering have been a constant presence for Arias wth at least one of them sitting in the Phoenix, Ariz., courtroom along with Arias' family for almost every day of her murder trial....

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Pictures: Best News Photos from 2013 World Photo Press Contest

Photograph courtesy Maika Elan, Most, via WPP    In Da Nang, Vietnam, Phan Thi Thuy and her partner, Dang Thi Bich Bay, relax after studying at school.The couple, who has been together for a year, lives in a country that has historically been hostile to same-sex relations, but could also become the first Asian country to recognize gay marriage, despite past human rights issue and a long-standing...

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Group releases list of 90 medical ‘don’ts’

Don’t use feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia. Don’t use drugs to aggressively treat diabetes in those older than 65. Don’t automati­cally use imaging technology for minor head injuries in children and headaches in adults. And don’t give antacids to babies with reflux. Those are among the 90 medical “don’ts” on a list being released Thursday by a coalition of doctor and consumer...

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Tennis: Anger drives Wozniacki into Dubai semi-finals

DUBAI: Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki reached the Dubai Open semi-finals on Thursday with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Marion Bartoli, shrugging off a code violation in the process.Wozniacki was warned for illegal coaching as the match boiled up to a thrilling finish, apparently because she was talking to her father Piotr."I'm not sure if it's coaching if I talk to the coach, but...

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Rajnath condemns Hyderabad blast, condoles deaths

NEW DELHI: BJP president Rajnath Singh on Thursday condoled the loss of lives in Hyderabad blasts and demanded that the government conduct a thorough probe into the incident."I express my condolences to the family members of those killed in the blast. This is a condemnable incident. I hope the government will take appropriate action to provide immediate and adequate relief to those injured in the...

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Peterson Sentenced to 38 Years for 3rd Wife's Murder

Former Illinois cop Drew Peterson yelled, "I did not kill Kathleen!" during the sentencing phase of his trial today -- and then a judge sentenced him to 38 years in jail for killing her.The sentence came after Will County Judge Edward Burmila denied Peterson a re-trial in the killing of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004.Peterson had faced as many as 60 years in prison.At his...

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Pictures: Artifacts Provide Clues to Life in Early Christchurch

Photograph courtesy Jaden Harris, Underground Overground Archaeology      A tiny container for Holloway's ointment, less than two inches (five centimeters) wide, came from what was probably a brick-lined basement on Madras Street under a multistory modern commercial building.British patent medicine entrepreneur Thomas Holloway began to advertise his ointment in 1837, claiming it would...

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Adam Laxalt: A look at the secret son of former Sen. Pete Domenici

Adam Laxalt has some serious political genes: Grandfather Paul Laxalt is a former senator and governor of Nevada, not to mention a best friend of Ronald Reagan; mother Michelle a high-profile Washington lobbyist. Former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) on Capitol Hill last week. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) Now we know there’s more to the story: Retired New Mexico senator Pete Domenici,...

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Football: Jones strike earns Schalke draw at Galatasaray

ISTANBUL: Schalke 04 brushed off poor recent form to earn a 1-1 draw at Galatasaray in the Champions League last 16, first-leg clash on Wednesday despite the hosts fielding Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder.After Turkey striker Burak Yilmaz gave Galatasaray an early lead at the Turk Telekom Arena, US midfielder Jermaine Jones equalised on the stroke of half-time to give Schalke a slim...

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Abhilash Tomy hits Indian Ocean on his solo voyage around the world

NEW DELHI: Lt-Commander Abhilash Tomy, the naval officer who embarked on a solo "non-stop" circumnavigation of the globe on a sail boat last November, is now back in the Indian Ocean after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope on Tuesday."It's an amazing story... the last time he had any human contact was when he was flagged off from Mumbai on November 1. He manages to sleep only a couple of hours...

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Arias Can't Remember Gory Death of Ex-Boyfriend

Accused murderer Jodi Arias told an Arizona jury today that her ex-boyfriend became enraged when she dropped his new camera, body slammed her to a tile floor and threatened to kill her, and in the frantic struggle that followed she remembers a gun being fired accidentally but does not remember stabbing him.Her version of Travis Alexander's death was the culmination of more than...

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Florida Python Hunt Captures 68 Invasive Snakes

It's a wrap—the 2013 Python Challenge has nabbed 68 invasive Burmese pythons in Florida, organizers say. And experts are surprised so many of the elusive giants were caught.Nearly 1,600 people from 38 states—most of them inexperienced hunters—registered for the chance to track down one of the animals, many of which descend from snakes that either escaped or were dumped into the wild.Since...

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US oil rallies on upbeat Seaway pipeline reports

NEW YORK: US oil prices gained Tuesday as traders digested news of an easing chokepoint on the key Seaway pipeline serving Gulf Coast refineries.A barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled at $96.66 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 80 cents.In London, a barrel of European benchmark Brent crude settled at $117.52 on the Intercontinental Exchange, 14 cents higher.The New York...

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Meghalaya 'fastest growing state', Sonia parrots PM

JOWAI: A stunning bit of 'news', which the people of this remote and impoverished northeastern state were hitherto unaware of, has been broken twice by the Congress leaders. First it was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who at an election rally in Shillong Friday last said Meghalaya was one of the "fastest growing" states in the country, followed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi parroting the same...

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New Study Analyzes Heavy Metal Dancing

Parents may never understand their rock 'n' roll loving children, but scientists might. A study published online in arXiv this week seeks to explain the "mosh pit"—using physics.To most scientists, heavy metal refers to elements on the lower end of the periodic table. But to Jesse Silverberg and Matt Bierbaum, doctoral students at Cornell University's department of Condensed Matter Physics,...

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Jodi Arias Emails Claim Ex Threatened 'Revenge'

Accused killer Jodi Arias described today a barrage of threatening text messages sent by her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in which he told her he would exact "revenge" on her soon.The messages show a growing discord between the pair in April 2008, less than two months before Arias killed Alexander in a bloody attack that she claims was self-defense."Do not call back," Alexander...

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British PM seeks to deepen India ties amid graft scandal

NEW DELHI: British Prime Minister David Cameron was due to hold talks with Indian leaders Tuesday in pursuit of deeper trade ties as a widening corruption scandal threatened to overshadow his visit.Cameron arrived Monday accompanied by the biggest-ever British overseas business delegation in the midst of a political storm over India's purchase of helicopters from Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.The...

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Govt moves to block 55 Facebook pages on Afzal Guru

NEW DELHI: The government has asked internet service providers to block 55 Facebook pages related to Afzal Guru. The notice by the Department of Telecom was issued a day before internet services were restored in Kashmir Valley after remaining suspended for a week following Afzal's hanging. It was on the same day, February 14, that the notice ordering ISPs to block 73 web pages with content relating...

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ChristianMingle Date Rape Victims Sought by Cops

A suspected rapist accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met on ChristianMingle.com may have used the dating site to prey on women while he traveled across the country, California police said today.Sean Patrick Banks, 37, a former Navy sailor, used a fake name to contact a woman who he allegedly raped in November, cops in La Mesa, Calif., said. Investigators believe that he...

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Confirmed: Dogs Sneak Food When People Aren't Looking

Many dog owners will swear their pups are up to something when out of view of watchful eyes. Shoes go missing, couches have mysterious teeth marks, and food disappears. They seem to disregard the word "no."Now, a new study suggests dogs might understand people even better than we thought. (Related: "Animal Minds.")The research shows that domestic dogs, when told not to snatch a piece of...

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Athletics: Pistorius cancels all future races to face murder charge

JOHANNESBURG: Oscar Pistorius has formally called off the races that were due in coming months in the face of charges of murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day, his manager said Sunday.The Olympic and Paralympic athlete was charged on Friday with the premeditated murder of 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot dead at his luxury Pretoria home.He had been contracted to compete...

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