Climate skeptic group works to reverse renewable energy mandates

The Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank skeptical of climate change science, has joined with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to write model legislation aimed at reversing state renewable energy mandates across the country. The Electricity Freedom Act, adopted by the council’s board of directors in October, would repeal state standards requiring utilities...

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13 killed as Bangladesh flyover collapses

DHAKA: At least 13 people were killed and dozens are feared missing after a flyover under construction collapsed in Bangladesh's southeastern port city of Chittagong, police said Sunday."So far 13 dead bodies have been recovered," sub-inspector Mohammad Alauddin told AFP, adding that military rescue teams had been called in to help with the search for victims.The number of missing could...

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Corporation related to IT works in Haryana gets fourth head in 6 months

CHANDIGARH: After shifting whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka from Hartron, a corporation to handle IT-related projects, two months after his posting, the Haryana government on Friday transferred his successor Nitin Yadav just four months after he took charge. A Haryana civil services officer, Vivek Atrey, will be the next managing director of the corporation. With this appointment, the corporation...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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Sandy-Hit Stores Seek Small Business Saturday Boost

Nov 24, 2012 3:35pm                                                                                       (Image Credit: Associated Press)Superstorm Sandy...

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Patty Murray likely to be a key voice in Senate on budget deal

One of the biggest winners in the sweeping Democratic victories in Senate races this month was a woman whose name appeared on no ballot: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). With a low-key style that contrasts with some of the Senate’s camera hogs, Murray may be the most powerful senator a whole lot of people have never heard of outside of the two Washingtons where she lives and works....

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Large explosion reported in Massachusetts city

WASHINGTON: An explosion thought to have been triggered by a gas leak levelled a bar in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts on Friday, moments after dancers were warned to flee, local media reported.WWLP TV quoted police as saying several people were taken to local hospitals by ambulance after the Friday afternoon explosion, which blew out windows two blocks away and knocked people to...

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Cash transfer: PM to play UPA-2's trump card on Monday

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister is expected to formally kick off cash transfer of subsidies and entitlements, one of the most ambitious policy initiatives of UPA-2, on Monday. The scheme for cash transfers is visualized as a game-changer for UPA-2, like NREGA was for UPA-1, and is expected to give rich dividends at the elections.Manmohan Singh is expected to set January 1, 2013 as the launch date...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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Black Friday: Bargains, Brawls and Gunfire

Two people were shot outside a Walmart in Florida today, one of a rash of fights, robberies and other incidents that have cropped up on one of the most ballyhooed shopping days of the year.The shooting took place at a Walmart in Tallahassee about 12:30 p.m., said Dave Northway, public information officer for the Tallahassee Police Department.Investigators believe a scuffle over...

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Polls offer little guidance for politicians tackling ‘fiscal cliff’

Politicians tasked with negotiating a deal next month to avoid the “fiscal cliff” can be thankful that their talks are taking place immediately after a clarifying national election that laid out exactly how the public wants Washington to deal with debt and deficits. Or n...

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Argentina to appeal US order to pay defaulted debt

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina said on Thursday it will appeal a US judge's ruling ordering it to pay US$1.33 billion to investment funds holding bonds that the country defaulted on in 2001."We will file an appeal on Monday before the court," Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino said at a news conference. "We do not think it is right or legitimate to pay vulture funds."On Wednesday, US District...

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Six T-Cong MPs boycott Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Defying the directive issued by the party, six Congress MPs from Telangana boycotted the Parliamentary proceedings on Thursday, the first day of the winter session, and staged a protest in support of their demand for a separate state. The Congress had asked its MPs to be present in the House on the grounds that important business was scheduled to come up for discussion. However, demanding...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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2 Dead, Dozens to Hospital After 100-Car Pileup

At least two people died and more than 80 were injured after a 100-plus car pileup in Texas today, according the Department of Public Safety.A man and a woman died from their injuries, ABC News affiliate KBMT-TV reported. Their names were not immediately available.The DPS said it won't know the exact number of cars involved in the pileup until officials finish untangling the...

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Survey: Federal workers’ morale dropping

Salary freezes, tight budgets and a dim view of federal work held by many Americans have soured the motivation and commitment of many government employees, a survey released Wednesday found. Federal employees still think that their jobs are important, and many are passionate and dedicated to their agency’s mission. But increasing threats to their pay and benefits and criticism of their...

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Rice hits out at "unfounded" attacks over Libya killings

UNITED NATIONS: Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations, said on Wednesday she has been the victim of "unfounded" Republican attacks over her account of a militant assault on the US embassy in Libya.Rice is a frontrunner to be the next US secretary of state but Senator John McCain and other Republicans have said they would block her confirmation by the US Senate because of the...

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Kasab hanged day after UN vote on penalty

NEW DELHI: As chance would have it, India hanged Ajmal Kasab a day after opposing a UN resolution on abolition of the death penalty. On Tuesday, India joined 38 other countries to vote against a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution, calling for the removal of the death penalty, saying every nation had the "sovereign right" to determine its own legal system. The resolution called for a moratorium...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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White House: Cease-Fire Is 'Tenuous'

Bernat Armangue/AP PhotoThe Israel-Hamas cease-fire brokered by the Obama administration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, and announced today is fragile, White House officials acknowledged.“The way we view this is that it’s an important step,” a senior White House official said, “but our concerns are Egypt can’t control all of Hamas,” the ruling...

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Blazing a legal trail to help improve health care

Ariane Tschumi has spent more than a year in government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), taking on challenging assignments at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designed to develop her leadership skills and give her a window into how government operates. She has worked alongside health-care experts designing model programs intended to better health care and lower...

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Imelda Marcos' ex-aide charged for conspiracy

NEW YORK: The former personal secretary to Imelda Marcos, wife of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, was charged on Tuesday in New York in an alleged conspiracy to sell a Monet painting that had belonged to the first lady.Vilma Bautista, 74, was one of three people accused of "illegally conspiring to possess and sell valuable works of art acquired by" Imelda Marcos, and "keeping...

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Cyclists set out for green GDP

SILIGURI: A group of environmental activists set out from here on a 2,000km awareness yatra on Tuesday to press for the introduction of what they are calling gross environmental product (GEP), a measure similar to GDP for monitoring India's natural resources.The 11-member team will travel on bicycles from Siliguri in north Bengal to Dehradun in Uttarakhand, covering the distance in 40 days. They...

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Thanksgiving 2012 Myths and Facts

Before the big dinner, debunk the myths—for starters, the first "real" U.S. Thanksgiving wasn't until the 1800s—and get to the roots of Thanksgiving 2012.Thanksgiving Dinner: Recipe for Food Coma?Key to any Thanksgiving Day menu are a fat turkey and cranberry sauce.An estimated 254 million turkeys will be raised for slaughter in the U.S. during 2012, up 2 percent from 2011's total, according...

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Clinton Pledges to 'De-Escalate' Gaza Conflict

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met for more than two hours today behind closed doors with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, saying she sought to "de-escalate the situation in Gaza."Clinton, who flew to Israel today, appeared with Netanyahu ahead of their 4 p.m. ET meeting to discuss a possible ceasefire to the fighting between Israel...

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Conservative Republicans fight back after Romney loss

Evangelical leaders and conservative activists have a simple message for establishment Republicans about Mitt Romney’s failed presidential bid: We told you so. After nearly two weeks of listening to GOP officials pledge to assert greater control over the party and its most strident voices in the wake of Romney’s loss, grass-roots activists have begun to fight back, saying that they are...

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Olam International to halt trading of shares

SINGAPORE: Singapore commodity trading firm Olam International has asked for its shares to be halted from trading.This is after media reports quoted short-seller Muddy Waters' Carson Block as saying he was betting against the company after questioning its accounting practices.An external spokeswoman for Olam said the company was preparing a response to the media reports.Last week, Olam...

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Guj Parsis being cremated as vultures dwindle

VADODARA: When Dara Hakim, 89, a former Indian Navy deep-sea diver and prominent member of Vadodara's Parsi community passed away recently, his family chose cremation for his last rites. Though he did not leave any specific instructions, his wife Roda Hakim arranged for a cremation instead of the traditional Tower of Silence. According to Zoroastrian beliefs, the best way to dispose of a body is...

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Cuba's Oil Quest to Continue, Despite Deepwater Disappointment

An unusual high-tech oil-drilling rig that's been at work off the coast of Cuba departed last week, headed for either Africa or Brazil. With it went the island nation's best hope, at least in the short term, for reaping a share of the energy treasure beneath the sea that separates it from its longtime ideological foe.For many Floridians, especially in the Cuban-American community, it was...

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Indy Home Blast Intentional? Now a Homicide Probe

The probe into a massive explosion earlier this month in Indianapolis that killed two people and damaged dozens of homes is now an active criminal homicide investigation, with authorities saying they believe the blast was caused intentionally, ABC News has learned.At a meeting this evening at the Southport Presbyterian Church to update residents of the Richmond Hill subdivision...

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Forget creativity: Can lobbying be taught?

It’s been almost 30 years since Steve Billet, a then newly minted lobbyist for AT&T, pulled up behind a car at a red light in Washington and noticed the bumper sticker: “Don’t tell my mother I’m a lobbyist. She thinks I play piano in a whorehouse.” Since then, things have only gotten worse, at least reputationally, for what may be the most remunerative of the world’s more beleaguered...

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Obama to make history with Myanmar visit

YANGON: US President Barack Obama heads to Myanmar on Monday for a historic visit aimed at encouraging a string of dramatic political reforms in the long-isolated state.Obama will be the first serving US president to set foot in the country also known as Burma, in the starkest illustration yet of its emergence from a long period of isolation and repression.He is expected to praise President...

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Badal justifies meddling in DSGMC affairs

JALANDHAR: The showdown between Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and her Punjab counterpart over the affairs of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) continues to rage and got shriller on Sunday. On Friday, Badal had sought putting a "leash" on Dikshit-led Delhi government and action against those who had attacked the SAD(B) leaders at Rakabganj gurdwara. A day later, Dikshit asked...

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Lonesome George Not the Last of His Kind, After All?

The tide may be turning for the rare subspecies of giant tortoise thought to have gone extinct when its last known member, the beloved Lonesome George, died in June.A new study by Yale University researchers reveals that DNA from George's ancestors lives on—and that more of his kind may still be alive in a remote area of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands. This isn't the first time Chelonoidis...

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Officials: Israeli Strike Kills 11 Civilians in Gaza

An Israeli missile ripped through a two-story home in a residential area of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, including four young children and an 81-year-old woman, in the single deadliest attack of Israel's offensive against Islamic militants.The bloodshed was likely to raise pressure on Israel to end the fighting, even as it pledged to intensify the offensive...

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