Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s 2012 Christmas card: Fiscal cliff, Gretzky in heaven

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen — your Rep. Loretta Sanchez Christmas card for 2012! (Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez) Over the past decade, the California Democrat’s wacky holiday greetings have drawn a cult following. “I’ve seen them being sold on eBay,” the congresswoman told us. (Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez) Nice topical theme this...

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Tehran hosts UN nuclear team talks with Iran on Jan 16

TEHRAN: Iran and the UN atomic watchdog, following a day of discussions on the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear programme, agreed on Thursday to resume negotiations in Tehran on January 16 , a senior Iranian official said."We agreed to have the next round of talks on January 16 in Tehran," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency...

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Railways cuts plan outlay by Rs 4,000 crore for 2012-13

NEW DELHI: Cash-strapped Railways has scaled down its plan outlay by around Rs 4,000 crore for the current fiscal, following failure to raise the funds internally. In its budget for 2012-13, Railways had proposed its highest ever plan outlay of Rs 60,100 crore. It was planning to generate Rs 18,050 crore through internal resources."In view of the shortfall in generation of targeted internal resources,...

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Rice Withdraws From Sec. of State Consideration

Image Credit: Evan Vucci/AP PhotoUN Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration for Secretary of State, saying the criticism surrounding her comments on Benghazi had become an “irresponsible distraction.”“I am fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama today. “However, if nominated, I am now...

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Global Checkup: Most People Living Longer, But Sicker

If the world's entire population went in for a collective checkup, would the doctor's prognosis be good or bad? Both, according to new studies published in The Lancet medical journal.The vast collaborative effort, called the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010, includes papers by nearly 500 authors in 50 countries. Spanning four decades of data, it represents...

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Fed sets inflation, jobless targets for hiking rates

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve laid out target levels on unemployment and inflation for raising interest rates for the first time Wednesday, surprising analysts who expected such a move would wait until next year.In an effort to better signal its policy path, after its benchmark rate has been locked at 0-0.25 percent for four years, the Fed said it would not lift rates as long as the...

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What women's empowerment when competent ones dropped from govt panel: Indira Jaising

NEW DELHI: India's first woman additional solicitor general Indira Jaising criticized the Centre's decision to drop several "competent" women lawyers from its panel for handling government litigation in the Supreme Court and asked law minister Ashwani Kumar whether they needed a 'godfather' to succeed in the legal profession.Recent changes in the panel of lawyers made Jaising, who is among a handful...

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Why Mass Shooters Often Wear Masks

The Oregon mall shooter was dressed all in black and his face was covered by a white hockey mask.The mask, the black clothes, the age of the gunman and a weapon are becoming a familiar and deadly pattern.The gunman, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts of Portland, is one of a string of killers before him, including Aurora shooter James Holmes, who chose to wear black and cover...

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Who’s Watching? Privacy Concerns Persist as Smart Meters Roll Out

Energy consultant Craig Miller, who spends much of his time working to make the smart grid a reality, got a jolt when he mentioned his work to a new acquaintance. The man, who happened to be a lineman at a Pennsylvania utility, responded earnestly:  "Smart meters are a plot by Obama to spy on us."The encounter was a disheartening sign of the challenge ahead for proponents of the smart...

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Cardin looks ahead to busy 2nd Senate term

Now that Maryland voters have handed him six more years in office, Sen. Benjamin Cardin has the freedom to do something many of his colleagues don’t amid the ongoing “fiscal cliff” negotiations. Keep an open mind. As President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) work to strike a deficit-reduction deal, the Maryland Democrat has his own priorities. And he won’t rule anything out...

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