Washington’s a hard place to leave

Marine One takes off Feb. 6 from the South Lawn of the White House (Mandel Ngan - AFP/Getty Images) We kept hearing back in 2009 that Jake Sullivan, deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and before that on the Clinton primary campaign — was leaving after a couple years to return to his home state of Minnesota and run for office.Sullivan, a Yale law...

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Vatican says Benedict XVI will have title 'pope emeritus'

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "pope emeritus" and can continue to wear the white papal cassock after he steps down this week, the Vatican said Tuesday, revealing details about the final moments surrounding the historic resignation.The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics can still be referred to as "His Holiness Benedict XVI" and will have the additional title...

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Rail Budget 2013: Coach PM gets Bansal to keep it on track

NEW DELHI: Pawan Bansal's induction in the railway ministry last year was ascribed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Fed up with hemorrhaging of railway finances under successive regional chieftains who lorded over the crucial infrastructure ministry, the PM was keen on bringing in someone more in league with his own reformist instincts. Tuesday's rail budget, marked by a focus on restoring fiscal...

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Tempers Flare at Jodi Arias Murder Trial

Tempers flared between accused murderer Jodi Arias and prosecutor Juan Martinez today as Martinez tried to detail Arias' history of spying on her boyfriends, but Arias complained that his aggressive style of questioning made her "brain scramble."Arias and Martinez, who have sparred throughout two prior days of cross-examination in Arias' murder case, spent more than 10 minutes...

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A History of Balloon Crashes

A hot-air balloon exploded in Egypt yesterday as it carried 19 people over ancient ruins near Luxor. The cause is believed to be a torn gas hose. In Egypt as in many other countries, balloon rides are a popular way to sightsee.The sport of hot-air ballooning dates to 1783, when a French balloon took to the skies with a sheep, a rooster, and a duck. Apparently, they landed safely. But throughout...

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BP accused of greed, lax safety at US oil spill trial

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana: Prosecutors accused BP of letting greed triumph over safety Monday in the opening of a multi-billion dollar trial over the devastating 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.A federal judge in New Orleans is tasked with determining how much BP and its subcontractors should pay for the worst environmental disaster in US history.US prosecutors are determined to prove that...

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Punjab and Haryana high court quashes policy depriving judges of leave travel concession benefits

CHANDIGARH: In a respite to over 400 judicial officers working in various subordinate courts of Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana high court has quashed the instructions issued by the state government depriving the officers of leave travel concession (LTC) benefits. Directing the state to consider the judges of subordinate courts at par with the other employees of the state government in the matter...

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Arias Had No Remorse: Prosecutor

Prosecutor Juan Martinez hammered alleged murderer Jodi Arias today with accusations that she felt no remorse when she lied over and over again about killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander."Ma'am you have a problem with telling the truth don't you?" Martinez asked as his first question today, the 11th day Arias has been on the stand explaining her role in Alexander's death."Not...

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Lost Continent Found in Indian Ocean

Evidence of a drowned "microcontinent" has been found in sand grains from the beaches of a small Indian Ocean island, scientists say. A well-known tourist destination, Mauritius (map) is located about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) off the coast of Africa, east of Madagascar. Scientists think the tiny island formed some nine million years ago from cooling lava spewed by undersea volcanoes.But...

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Obama’s legacy likely to be determined by upcoming battles

President Obama’s legacy ultimately could be determined over the next few months by a series of showdowns — both with Republicans, and, potentially, with fellow Democrats — slated to take place. Guns. Immigration. Climate change. Debt and spending. The matters that Obama is either moving on or has promised to move on are the sorts of big issues that the two parties (and their presidents)...

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