After ‘fiscal cliff,’ Obama finishes recharging on Hawaiian holiday

HONOLULU — The place where President Obama vacations each winter is farther from Washington than almost any other place in the United States. So, it is not terribly surprising that less than 45 minutes after Congress passed a bill averting the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1, Obama was racing back here. The president’s vacation with his family and friends had already been cut short by the protracted,...

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Football: Messi targets record fourth Ballon d'Or

ZURICH: Record-breaking Lionel Messi is poised to become the first player to win four successive Ballon d'Or awards on Monday, sealing his status as the greatest player of his generation.The 25-year-old is the overwhelming favourite to see off the challenge of Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta and great Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the prize.It will crown another landmark year...

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Minor girl raped repeatedly, pregnant

SHIMLA: A 13-year-old pregnant rape victim's life is at risk as doctors have ruled out abortion in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district. The orphaned girl was allegedly raped repeatedly by her maternal uncle and medical examination found she is 29-week pregnant. The elder sister of the girl had approached the Manali police on December 25 after she found out her sister was raped. After the death of...

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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City Answers Gang-Rape Cover-Up Allegations

As Steubenville, Ohio, prepares for the high-profile rape trial of two high school football players, officials, battling allegations of a cover-up, announced the creation of a new website today to debunk rumors and create what they said would be a transparent resource for the community."This site is not designed to be a forum for how the Juvenile Court ought to rule in this matter,"...

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Microsoft, AT&T help fund inauguration

President Obama will have some major corporations such as Microsoft and AT&T to thank for the festivities surrounding his inauguration later this month, according to a list of event donors released Friday evening. Obama banned corporate donations for his 2009 inauguration and the Democratic convention last year in Charlotte, N.C., but the president announced after his reelection in...

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Football: Perth Glory in talks with Owen

SYDNEY: Perth Glory are in talks with the management of Michael Owen about bringing the former England player to Australia's A-League, reports said Saturday.Owen, 33, who scored 40 goals in 89 internationals for England and had stints at Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United, is currently playing for Stoke City in the English Premier League.Glory have one spare position in their...

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Himachal: 2 brothers of murder-accused MLA booked for harbouring him

PANCHKULA: Himachal police on Friday booked two brothers of HP Congress MLA, Ram Kumar Chaudhary, a suspect in the murder case of 24-year-old Jyoti, for allegedly harboring him with the motive of avoiding his arrest.Panchkula police have failed to arrest Chaudhary and 3 others during the 14-day validity of arrest warrant against them. The warrants were issued on December 20.The case was registered...

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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Obama Poised to Name New Defense, Treasury Chiefs

With the "fiscal cliff" crisis behind him, President Obama is poised to name two new key players to his cabinet, with both announcements expected to come next week.Obama will name the replacement for outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as soon as Monday, sources told ABC News. Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is the likely nominee, they said.Meanwhile, the president is...

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Federal agencies bracing for cuts after ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

The fiscal pact Congress reached hours into the new year will delay $109 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts for two months. But it will make a down payment on those reductions that will affect federal operations this year and next. The eleventh-hour agreement to avoid a “fiscal cliff” of higher taxes put off the major cuts known as a sequester until March 1,...

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Football: Lampard braced for season-end Chelsea exit, says agent

LONDON: Frank Lampard will definitely leave Chelsea at the end of the season, the England international's agent confirmed Thursday, but he will not be tempted to see out his career in China.The 34-year-old Lampard is into the final months of his contract with the European champions and a new deal has yet to be agreed."At the moment, Frank is only thinking of the present. As far as the...

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1 pilot, 3 airhostesses found drunk since Christmas

NEW DELHI: The fear of losing their flying licence led to pilots celebrating Yuletide and ushering in the New Year on a sober note this year. Authorities caught only one pilot — but three airhostesses — reporting to work in an inebriated state during breathalyser (BA) tests done at airports from Christmas to Wednesday.All four flight personnel were from Jet Airways. "We have a zero tolerance policy...

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Pictures We Love: Best of 2012

Photograph by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/APPowder-splattered, and powder-splattering, runners cross the finish line of The Color Run 5K in Irvine, California, on April 22. Each kilometer (0.6 mile) of the event features a color-pelting station dedicated to a single hue, culminating in the Pollock-esque riot at kilometer 5.The "magical color dust" is completely safe, organizers say, though...

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James Holmes Defense: Was He Insane?

Jan 3, 2013 5:30pm James Holmes appears in court, Centennial, Colo., July 23, 2012. RJ Sangosti/AP Images.ABC’s Clayton Sandell and Carol McKinley report:A judge ruled Thursday that public defenders for accused Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes can call two unidentified witnesses at next week’s preliminary hearing to testify about the defendant’s “mental...

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Al-Jazeera acquires Gore-founded TV group: report

SAN FRANCISCO: Al-Jazeera has acquired Current TV, a struggling cable channel that will give the Qatar-based broadcaster the access to millions of US homes it has long sought, it was confirmed Wednesday.Terms of the deal for Current, which was founded by US former vice president Al Gore, were not immediately disclosed, but Forbes reported that a possible value of $400 million could net...

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Pictures: Errant Shell Oil Rig Runs Aground Off Alaska, Prompts Massive Response

Photograph courtesy Jonathan Klingenberg, U.S. Coast GuardWaves lash at the sides of the Shell* drilling rig Kulluk, which ran aground off the rocky southern coast of Alaska on New Year's Eve in a violent storm.The rig, seen above Tuesday afternoon, was "stable," with no signs of spilled oil products, authorities said. But continued high winds and savage seas hampered efforts to secure the vessel...

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Tax Deal Done - but How Can Obama Sign It?

Jan 2, 2013 6:29pm AP Photo/Charles DharapakCongress officially delivered the bill to avert the fiscal cliff to the White House this afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner’s office told ABC News.Now the question is when will the President sign it?The bill, passed late on New Year’s Day, expires tomorrow at 11:59 a.m. when the current session of Congress concludes....

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Helping VA rehabilitate those with multiple wounds of war

Micaela Cornis-Pop oversees more than 110 rehabilitation facilities around the country, helping the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) stay at the forefront of developments in treating traumatic brain injury and other medical injuries and issues facing injured veterans and military service members. With the increase in battlefield survival rates of military personnel serving in Iraq and...

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US House to vote to avert fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON: After a day of twisting political drama, the US Congress was Tuesday expected to finally endorse a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" budget crisis that had threatened to unleash a new recession.Hours before many major global financial markets make their 2013 debut, the House of Representatives was to vote on a bid to raise taxes on the rich and put off a $109 billion dollar...

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NHAI slams GMR for termination notice for biggest highway project

NEW DELHI: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has hit back at infrastructure major GMR on its termination notice for the country's biggest highway project worth at least Rs 6,000 crore. The Authority in its reply to GMR has said that the company did not give 90-day cure period (to rectify and address the deficiencies), and how it is in violation of the norms laid down in the concession...

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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House Plans Up-or-Down Vote on 'Cliff' Deal

House Republicans have agreed to have an up-or-down vote on the bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," rather than trying to amend the Senate bill with more spending cuts before voting, according to a senior GOP leadership aide.The vote will likely come tonight despite top House Republicans' earlier opposition to the deal, which the Senate passed in the wee hours...

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Obama, Republicans reach deal on fiscal cliff; Senate vote expected tonight

President Obama and Senate Republicans reached a sweeping deal late Monday that would let income taxes rise significantly for the first time in more than two decades, fulfilling Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and averting the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.” Vice President Biden arrived at the Capitol just after 9 p.m. to explain the details of the pact he negotiated with...

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Despite emerging deal, US to miss fiscal cliff deadline

WASHINGTON: US lawmakers missed a deadline to avoid the "fiscal cliff" budget crunch Monday but inched towards a deal to ease the worst impact of the crisis by heading off economy-busting tax hikes.In dramatic New Year's Eve brinkmanship, Republicans and the White House reached an agreement that means only the richest Americans will pay more tax, but were still deadlocked on how to avert...

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Global rights bodies slam India for 'weak' rape laws

NEW DELHI: The Indian government has come under attack from global human rights bodies for its inadequate laws against sexual violence or treatment of survivors.Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, "The government needs to act now to prevent sexual assault, aggressively investigate and prosecute perpetrators, and ensure the dignified treatment of survivors."The US embassy,...

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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