Feb
28

Oil prices fall as US sequester cuts loom

NEW YORK: Oil prices fell late in the session Thursday after trading slightly higher much of the day, with traders blaming portfolio adjustment on the final day of the month.But prices were also soft as the United States appeared headed for slower economic growth due to mandated spending cuts that kick in beginning Friday.New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for April...
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6 Bihar cops get 3-year jail term for assaulting judge

BHAGALPUR: A Bhagalpur court on Thursday awarded three years' imprisonment to six police officers for assaulting an additional district judge (ADJ) inside the court premises more than 15 years ago. The incident took place on November 18, 1997 when a group of policemen went on the rampage after ADJ D N Barai ordered inspector Joku Ram to be sent in judicial custody. A non-bailable warrant of arrest...
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Obama Admin to File Brief on Gay Marriage

Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, plans to file a brief today with the Supreme Court regarding Prop 8, according to an administration source.It would mark the first time that the Obama administration has come out in court with an opinion on the California ballot initiative that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.As far back as 2008, the president said that he thought...
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How Green Was the 'Green Pope'?

As the world's one billion Catholics wait for white smoke to rise above the Vatican, signaling the election of a new pontiff, it's how clear the air is elsewhere that will go a long way toward shaping the legacy of retiring Pope Benedict XVI. Among the many titles Benedict has been given over his eight-year reign, the "Green Pope" is certainly one of the most unexpected. But to Vatican...
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Feb
27

Boehner cuts House members’ greatest perk

House speaker John Boehner speaking to reporters Tuesday (J. Scott Applewhite - AP) House Speaker John Boehner, citing the impending sequester cuts to the federal budget, Wednesday canceled all House congressional delegation (codel) travel on military jets, our colleague Paul Kane reported, citing GOP sources in the roomMembers may still be able to fly commercially however.Of...
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Football: Robben strikes as Bayern dump Dortmund out of cup

MUNICH, Germany: Bayern Munich ended their three-year wait for a competitive win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday as Arjen Robben's first-half strike sealed a 1-0 German Cup quarter-final victory.February 2010 had been the occasion of Bayern's last league or cup win over Dortmund -- a six-game stretch -- but Robben's thunderbolt two minutes before the break at the Allianz Arena was...
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Varun Gandhi acquitted in hate speech case

LUCKNOW: Bringing some relief to Varun Gandhi, a Pilibhit court on Wednesday acquitted the BJP MP in one of the two 'hate speech' cases registered against him in the run-up to 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP leader faced charges under IPC and Representation of People Act for promoting enmity among people and supporting acts prejudicial to communal harmony while making allegedly inflammatory speeches....
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Megadam Project Galvanizes Native Opposition in Malaysia

Most villages along the Baram River in Malaysia cannot count on round-the-clock electricity. Diesel generators hum at night near longhouses in the northwestern corner of the island of Borneo. Mobile and Internet coverage are almost nonexistent.A plan to dam the Baram River would generate power far in excess of current demand in the rainforest state: At 1,000 megawatts, the hydropower project...
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Newtown Dad's Tearful Plea at Senate Gun Hearing

A father who lost his son in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School sobbed as he testified at a Senate hearing today in favor of an assault weapons ban.Across town Vice President Biden alluded to untold horror of the Newtown tragedy in an appeal for help from the nation's attorneys general.Despite their emotional appeals, the push for gun reforms championed by the White...
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Feb
26

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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