Senate’s pragmatic ranks depleted by one with Chambliss’s departure

The trio of Southern gentlemen came to the Senate together in 2003, the leading edge of a renegade Republican class set on shaking up the chamber’s staid ways and aggressively promoting the Bush White House’s conservative agenda. Ten years later, Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) are now establishment dealmakers and elder statesmen — roles...

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French-led forces retake key north Mali town

BAMAKO: French-led troops recaptured the Islamist stronghold of Gao on Saturday, in a major boost to their 16-day-old offensive against Al Qaeda-linked rebels holding Mali's vast desert north.France's Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the nation's troops were also advancing on Timbuktu, another key northern town held by the insurgents.The seizure of Gao, the most populated town in...

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Freedom of expression finds voices at literature festival

JAIPUR: To the Kashmiri, the British, the Scot and the Indian, freedom of speech and expression mean different things. Yet, on Saturday, their contexts coalesced at the Jaipur Literature Festival, where the debate circled around the ways in which governments and private interests reacted to free expression, especially on the World Wide Web. In a well-debated session panelists and the audience also...

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Pictures: The Story Behind Sun Dogs, Penitent Ice, and More

Photograph by Art Wolfe, Getty ImagesIf you want the beauty of winter without having to brave the bone-chilling temperatures blasting much of the United States this week, snuggle into a soft blanket, grab a warm beverage, and curl up with some of these natural frozen wonders. Nieve penitente, or penitent snow, are collections of spires that resemble robed monks—or penitents. They are flattened columns...

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Newtown Families March for Gun Control in DC

Jan 26, 2013 4:59pm (YURI GRIPAS/AFP/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, D.C. — Near-freezing temperatures didn’t stop several thousand gun-control activists from bearing their pickets today, carrying signs emblazoned with “Ban Assault Weapons Now” and the names of gun violence victims in a demonstration organized as a response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. last month.Walking...

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Apple co-founder says Steve Jobs film inaccurate

LOS ANGELES: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said on Friday that a new film about the late Steve Jobs is factually "wrong," while the movie's makers countered it is meant as entertainment -- not a literal retelling of the computer pioneer's life.Wozniak said the movie "jOBS -- which premiers Friday at the Sundance Film Festival -- erred in its depiction of the characters as well as the...

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Bihar 'imports' babus as IAS shortfall hits work

PATNA: Bihar's IAS cadre strength is 326, but only 198 IAS officials are there in the state of over 100 million people as 95 posts are vacant while 30 officials are on central deputation and three on interstate deputation. To overcome the crisis, the state government through ads a few years ago invited officials of other cadres to work in Bihar. Quite a few came, and some of these "outsiders" ended...

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Pictures: The Story Behind Sun Dogs, Penitent Ice, and More

Photograph by Art Wolfe, Getty ImagesIf you want the beauty of winter without having to brave the bone-chilling temperatures blasting much of the United States this week, snuggle into a soft blanket, grab a warm beverage, and curl up with some of these natural frozen wonders. Nieve penitente, or penitent snow, are collections of spires that resemble robed monks—or penitents. They are flattened columns...

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'Hot' Guns Fueling Crime, US Study Says

Christmas is the one day of the year that Wal-Mart is closed, but for a group of four New Mexico burglars, it was the perfect time to stop in for some firearms.Video surveillance cameras caught the masked burglars red-handed, stealing rifle after rifle. Police arrested the four men, and were able to recover the guns. But all too often, stolen weapons end up in the hands of criminals.The...

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OPM plans to shake up charity program raise concerns about reduced donations

The Office of Personnel Management wants to shake up the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the charitable-giving system for federal employees, but in the process the agency could risk losing donors and reducing contributions. One rule under review by the Obama administration would “eliminate the use of cash, check and money order contributions. Instead, all donations will be required to...

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COV of flats in popular estates remain high in Q4

  SINGAPORE: The cash premiums for HDB resale flats continued to hover in the high range in the fourth quarter of 2012 in some popular estates.Data released by the Housing and Development Board on Friday showed that the median Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) for a three-room flat in Queenstown stood at S$30,000 and S$65,900 for a four-room flat.In Bishan, the median COV for a four-room...

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NRI initiative raises millions for educating India’s children

NEW DELHI: A group of Indian-Americans in New York attended an unusual black-tie dinner gala one November evening last year. Over a video link they chatted with students of a Pune slum school. This was one of many fundraisers hosted by voluntary organization Pratham USA. Its mission: Mobilize Indians in the US to get involved in its work.The dinner was a success. More than 400, mostly those of Indian...

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Deformed Dolphin Accepted Into New Family

In 2011, behavioral ecologists Alexander Wilson and Jens Krause of the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Germany were surprised to discover that a group of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)—animals not usually known for forging bonds with other species—had taken in an adult bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The researchers observed the group in...

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Will Women Register for Selective Service?

Jan 24, 2013 5:53pm Defense Secretary Leon Panetta today lifted the ban on women serving in combat positions, opening the door to more than 200,000  new military posts and raising a number of important questions, including: Will women eventually be eligible for the draft?By law, all male U.S. citizens and permanent residents must register with the Selective...

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Football: Real Madrid, Sevilla into Spanish Cup semis

MADRID: Real Madrid advanced to the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup on Wednesday after a 1-1 draw at Valencia saw Jose Mourinho's side progress 3-1 on aggregate.Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Madrid, Karim Benzema gave Real the lead a minute before half-time but Tino Costa levelled for the home side on 52 minutes following Fabio Coentrao's dismissal.Real also saw Angel di Maria dismissed...

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Is Akbaruddin Owaisi in a bad way?

HYDERABAD: In a development which could give the government sleepless nights, doctors attending on Akbaruddin Owaisi, the jailed MIM legislator, said his health was failing and the 41-year-old leader should be moved, at least, to a prison facility which is close to a multi-speciality hospital.Owaisi junior is being treated at the Adilabad district hospital, which doctors said did not have modern...

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Deformed Dolphin Accepted Into New Family

In 2011, behavioral ecologists Alexander Wilson and Jens Krause of the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Germany were surprised to discover that a group of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)—animals not usually known for forging bonds with other species—had taken in an adult bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The researchers observed the group in...

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Clinton on Benghazi: Afghanistan Diverted Resources

House Republicans slammed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today for her lack of awareness of State Department cables warning of security threats in Benghazi, Libya, prior to the Sept. 11 attack that killed four Americans, including Amb. Chris Stevens.In the second congressional hearing of the day reviewing a report by the Accountability Review Board on the State Department's...

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Va. Republicans’ move on redistricting draws criticism

RICHMOND — The secret plan began unfolding about two weeks ago. Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. came to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling with a way to redraw Senate districts and make them more favorable to Republicans. But Bolling rejected the idea, fearing that it would set a bad precedent, according to two people familiar with the meeting but not authorized to discuss it publicly....

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Veteran BBC presenter Stuart Hall charged with rape

LONDON: British police on Tuesday charged veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall with one offence of rape and 14 of indecent assault committed between 1967 and 1986.The assaults involve 10 girls aged between nine and 16-years-old and the rape charge concerns a woman aged 22 when the alleged offence took place in 1976.Lancashire Police arrested Hall earlier Tuesday after he attended a police...

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ADR empowers public with financial and criminal data on candidates

NEW DELHI: How many candidates from your constituency were history sheeters in the last election? How many had rape or murder charges against them? Were any of them crorepatis and did any make it to college? If voters today have the answers to these questions, it can be attributed to the work of the Association for Democratic Reforms. This organization is behind the event that's now routine before...

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Teen Planned to Attack Walmart After Killing Family

The New Mexico teenager who used an assault rifle to kill his mother, father and younger siblings told police he hoped to shoot up a Walmart after the family rampage and cause "mass destruction."Police said they are also considering charging the shooter's 12-year-old girlfriend.According to new information released by police today, Nehemiah Griego, the 15-year-old son of an...

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President Obama takes second oath of office at inauguration

A self-assured President Obama on Monday used his second inaugural address to lay out a bold liberal vision of the American future, drawing direct links between the origins of the republic and some of the most vexing political issues of the day. The usual inauguration choreography of prayers and poems and crowds became a powerful demonstration of history’s arc: The first African American...

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DPM Teo urges Punggol East voters to do comparisons

SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has urged voters of Punggol East to compare what the People's Action Party's (PAP's) candidate has to offer against what the other candidates in the by-election have for the ward.Mr Teo said PAP's Dr Koh Poh Koon will work hard for residents and deliver the plans he has in mind to make Punggol East a better place.Mr Teo, who was speaking to...

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Tasar spins new work for tribals

PATNA: From soil to silk, tribals engaged in tasar sericulture now tread the full spectrum towards building sustainable livelihoods in Bihar's Banka and Jamui districts, hotbeds of naxal activity. The Central Silk Board (CSB) has been working with marginalized communities in these regions to draw women and young people into silk production, helping them make a better life for themselves.Non-profit...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Obama's 2nd Term: Whose Time Is 'Our Time'?

Jan 21, 2013 12:50pm Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty ImagesANALYSIS By RICK KLEINPresident Obama used a brief pause in the partisan warfare that’s scarred his time in office to return to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, with his own declaration of urgency and a call to action that reflects shared sacrifice and responsibility.This was no centrist conciliator. It...

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Employers challenging health law contraceptive provision

Enjoy the festivities, President Obama, and while you’re on the grand stage Monday, it might be wise to make nice with the assembled Supreme Court justices. The next legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act is moving quickly to the high court, and bringing potent questions about religious freedom, gender equality and corporate “personhood.” The issue is the health-care law’s requirement...

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SDA's Lim to launch online rally at 6pm

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Democratic Alliance's (SDA's) candidate for Punggol East, Mr Desmond Lim, will start his online rally at 6pm on Monday.Mr Lim told reporters after meeting residents at Kangkar LRT Station in the morning that he will start with two video clips.Each clip will be between seven and 10 minutes long.Mr Lim said he will produce at least 10 clips during his by-election...

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Murder-accused MLA sent in judicial custody

PANCHKULA: A local court on Sunday refused cops' request to extend the police remand of Himachal Pradesh Congress MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary and sent him in judicial remand to Ambala Central Jail.The court also directed Panchkula police to file a reply on the request made by Chaudhary during the previous hearing, seeking permission to take oath as MLA on January 22.During the hearing, representatives...

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