Obama Clings to Shotgun in WH Photo

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)After a week of speculation over the authenticity of claims by President Obama that he regularly participated in skeet shooting at Camp David, the White House released a photograph today showing him firing a shotgun.The photo shows Obama targeting clay pigeons at the presidential retreat last August, according to the White House. In an interview published...

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VA study finds more veterans committing suicide

Every day about 22 veterans in the United States kill themselves, a rate that is about 20 percent higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2007 estimate, according to a two-year study by a VA researcher. The VA study indicates that more than two-thirds of the veterans who commit suicide are 50 or older, suggesting that the increase in veterans’ suicides is not primarily driven by...

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Oil prices rise after upbeat US, China data

NEW YORK: Oil prices finished higher Friday in New York, buoyed by greater optimism about global growth following encouraging indicators from the US and China.A barrel of West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, settled 28 cents higher at US$97.77 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Even stronger was the price of European oil benchmark Brent futures, which closed at US$116.76 a barrel...

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India irked as China gets Pakistan's strategic Gwadar port

NEW DELHI: Pakistan's cabinet formally agreed to hand over the operation of its strategically located Gwadar port to China on Wednesday. This puts in place China's famed "string of pearls" strategy which may have significant implications for India. On Wednesday, the Pakistan cabinet, in one of its last decisions, transferred the operations responsibility of the Gwadar port from Singapore's PSA (Port...

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Secret Video Shows Bomb Dogs Failing Tests

A new government investigation suggests that the Transportation Security Administration is not collecting enough detailed information to know if its bomb dogs are well trained and capable of finding bombs at the nation's airports, and includes secret video that shows the dogs failing tests to detect explosives.TSA has been testing bomb dogs in Miami and Oklahoma City and will...

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Pictures: Super Bowl Caps Banner Season in NFL Green Drive

Multiple-exposure photograph by Gerard Lodriguss, Getty ImagesWhen the Ravens and 49ers face off Sunday in Super Bowl XLVII, it will be in a city—and stadium—that have spent more than six years battling back from natural and ecological disaster.So it's no surprise that New Orleans aims to set a new mark for environmental sustainability in its ninth turn at hosting the NFL's marquee event, reflecting...

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Judge to US government: stop censoring 9/11 hearings

GUANTANAMO BAY: A military judge overseeing September 11 pre-trial hearings revealed Thursday the government had censored discussion of secret CIA prisons from outside the courtroom, and angrily ordered such censorship not happen again.The proceedings at the high-security courtroom where five alleged 9/11 plotters are to be tried are heard in the press gallery and in a room where human...

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Ensure our states aren’t hit by your Brahmaputra dams: India to China

NEW DELHI: India took an unusually sharp stand against China's unilateral moves to dam the Brahmaputra, saying it had "established user rights" to the river. Asserting itself for the first time, India asked China "to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas". In its new blueprint for the energy sector for 2011-2015, China announced it would...

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Beyonce Admits to Singing With Pre-Recorded Track

Jan 31, 2013 3:52pm Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images. Beyonce proved the critics wrong at a press conference for the Super Bowl.As the singer walked on stage, she asked the audience to please stand. She then kicked off the press conference with a show-stopping, live performance of the national anthem.RELATED: 7 Revelations From Beyonce“I am a perfectionist...

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Opinion: Sizing Up Google’s New North Korea Map

Editor's note: Juan José Valdés is National Geographic's geographer and director of editorial and research for National Geographic Maps.Google this week unveiled its first detailed maps of North Korea.Where most of the reclusive police state had formerly appeared as white space, the new maps include street names in the capital, government buildings and businesses, and four sites that Google...

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