Many 2011 federal budget cuts had little real-world effect

Late on the night of April 8, 2011, Washington’s leaders announced they’d just done something extraordinary. They had agreed to cut the federal budget — and cut it big. “The largest annual spending cut in our history,” President Obama called it in a televised speech. To prevent a government shutdown, the parties had agreed to slash $37.8 billion: more than the budgets of the Labor and...

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Golf: Snedeker, Hahn share lead at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, California: Brandt Snedeker, runner-up to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the past two weeks, fired a four-under par 68 Saturday to share the lead after 54 holes at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.Snedeker, a 32-year-old American who won last year's PGA playoff crown, stood alongside Korean-American PGA rookie James Hahn on 12-under 202 through three rounds in quest of...

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Conspiracy theory: Was due process flouted to deny Afzal Guru a bid to escape hangman?

NEW DELHI: Although both have been executed in a hush-hush manner citing security reasons, the dilution of due process was greater in Mohammad Afzal Guru's hanging than in Ajmal Kasab's.The denial of an opportunity to challenge the President's decision on the mercy petition was more likely to have affected Guru's fate for, unlike Kasab, he was not present at the crime scene when Parliament was attacked...

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Mars Rover Curiosity Completes First Full Drill

For the first time in history, humans have drilled a hole into rock on Mars and are collecting the powdered results for analysis, NASA announced Saturday.After weeks of intensive planning, the Mars rover Curiosity undertook its first full drill on Friday, with NASA receiving images on Saturday showing that the procedure was a success.Curiosity drilled a hole that is a modest 2.5 inches...

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After Blizzard, Northeast Begins to Dig Out

The Northeast began the arduous process of cleaning up after a fierce storm swept through the region leaving behind up to three feet of snow in some areas.By early this morning, 650,000 homes and businesses were without power and at least five deaths were being blamed on the storm: three in Canada, one in New York and one in Connecticut, The Associated Press reported.The storm...

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Obama to propose 1 percent pay raise for federal workers

President Obama will propose a pay raise for federal civilian employees that is less than private-sector wage growth yet more than that favored by many House Republicans, who want to extend an employee pay freeze. Obama will propose a 1 percent pay increase in the administration’s fiscal 2014 budget plan, which is expected in mid-March. At the same time, the House plans to vote...

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Venezuela devalues currency 32% against US dollar

CARACAS: Venezuela said Friday it is devaluing its currency by 32 per cent against the dollar on the orders of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez, in part to trim a bloated budget deficit.The bolivar will go from 4.3 to 6.3 to the dollar at the official exchange rate. The move was announced at a press conference by Planning and Finance Minister Jorge Giordani. He said it will take effect...

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Pressure on Kurien as key witness retracts statement

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOZHIKODE: In a new twist to the Suryanelli rape case, a local BJP leader on Tuesday alleged his statement was wrongly recorded by investigators benefiting Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson P K Kurien, who is facing heat on the issue as protests continued with calls for his exit.BJP leader K S Rajan, a witness in the Sooryanelli rape case, has alleged that investigating officer...

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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Dragon, Celestial Seagull

Solar DragonImage courtesy SDO/NASAResembling a dragon's tail, remnants of a solar filament strain to escape the sun's gravity in an image released this week by NASA's Solar Dynamics...

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'Stay Home': Northeast Shuts Down as Blizzard Hits

A blizzard of possibly historic proportions began battering the Northeast today, and could bring more than two feet of snow and strong winds that could shut down densely populated cities such as Boston and New York City.A storm from the west joined forces with one from the south to form a nor'easter that will sit and spin just off the East Coast, affecting more than 43 million...

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Immigration advocates push Republicans to support path to citizenship

Immigration advocates, backed by the White House, have begun a nationwide lobbying campaign, including rallies in more than a dozen cities and a planned demonstration on the Mall. The loosely coordinated effort is aimed in part at influencing an ongoing debate in the Republican Party over whether to provide a path to citizenship for more than 11 million illegal immigrants, organizers...

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Tennis: No Serena, no Sharapova in tweaked Fed Cup

PARIS: The 2013 Fed Cup World Group gets underway on Saturday with the tournament missing marquee names Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova and with a late format tweak aimed at boosting the event's appeal.Both Williams and Sharapova featured in the 2012 Fed Cup, partly to meet Olympic Games qualifying criteria, but will not be involved when the United States tackle Italy and Russia welcome...

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India, UK armies to hold joint exercise in April

BANGALORE: Great Britain's minster for defence equipment, support and technology, Philip Dune, said on Thursday that a detachment of British army will come to India in April for a joint exercise with the Indian army. "We plan to increase the joint exercises between the two countries in the near future," the 54-year-old British Conservative Party politician said on the sidelines of Aero India 2013....

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Asteroid to Make Closest Flyby in History

Talk about too close for comfort. In a rare cosmic encounter, an asteroid will barnstorm Earth next week, missing our planet by a mere 17,200 miles (27,700 kilometers).Designated 2012 DA14, the space rock is approximately 150 feet (45 meters) across, and astronomers are certain it will zip harmlessly past our planet on February 15—but not before making history. It will pass within...

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Cop Shooting Rampage: Dorner's Truck Found

The truck owned and driven by suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner during his alleged rampage through the Los Angeles area was found deserted and in flames on the side of Bear Mountain, Calif., this afternoon -- with tracks in the snow leading away from the vehicle.Heavily armed SWAT team members descended onto Bear Mountain from a helicopter manned with snipers today to...

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Lobbying down, but advocacy up

Is the lobbying business shrinking or just changing? It’s hard to say. Disclosure reports filed with Congress show that the amount of money spent on lobbying fell for the second year in a row in 2012, according to a tally from the Center for Responsive Politics. Companies and lobbying firms spent $3.3 billion on the influence game last year, down about 1 percent from 2011 — which was itself...

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Canadians protest Tunisian opposition chief's death

MONTREAL: Hundreds of people gathered late Wednesday in Montreal to express their outrage over the shooting death of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid.The protesters, mostly youths, held candles and some wrapped themselves in Tunisian flags under bitterly cold temperatures.The Tunisian Collective of Canada, which backed the Arab Spring movement that triggered the fall of dictator...

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Harish Rawat asks Uttarakhand CM for CBI probe into 2010 Mahakumbh scam

DEHRADUN: Union minister for water resources Harish Rawat on Wednesday asked chief minister of Uttarakhand Vijay Bahuguna to recommend a CBI probe into the alleged misappropriation of Rs.500 crores released by the previous BJP state government for preparations of the 2010 Mahakumbh in Haridwar. Talking to reporters in Haridwar, Rawat said an impartial probe by CBI will help bring the culprits to...

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Humans Swap DNA More Readily Than They Swap Stories

Jane J. Lee Once upon a time, someone in 14th-century Europe told a tale of two girls—a kind one who was rewarded for her manners and willingness to work hard, and an unkind girl who was punished for her greed and selfishness.This version was part of a long line of variations that eventually spread throughout Europe, finding their way into the Brothers Grimm fairytales as Frau Holle, and...

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NTSB to Challenge 787 Battery Tests

The National Transportation Safety Board will publicly question at a news conference planned for Thursday morning in Washington whether the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing adequately tested the lithium batteries that have caught fire on Dreamliners in the U.S. and Japan, ABC News has learned exclusively from a government source.The NTSB will say its investigation...

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Strengthening security at the nation’s airports

Most people think of airport security as their walk through the metal detector and the eyeballing by transportation security officers (TSOs). Dan Liddell, whose job it is to protect the flying public at seven airports in central New York, instead sees 17 zones of worker responsibility and hundreds of different tasks. In pursuit of safeguarding the public, Liddell, a federal security director...

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