Chuck Hagel nomination creates rare partisan fight over Pentagon post

The nomination of former senator Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon has set in motion a highly unusual campaign-style brawl over a Cabinet post long considered above politics. Supporters and opponents are raising money and building political organizations in anticipation of a grueling and contentious Senate confirmation process. The opponents, led by a conservative group called the...

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"17 billion" Earth-sized planets in Milky Way: study

WASHINGTON: The Milky Way contains at least 17 billion planets the size of Earth, and likely many more, according to a study out Monday that raises the chances of discovering a sister planet to ours.Astronomers using NASA's Kepler spacecraft found that about 17 per cent of stars in our galaxy have a planet about the size of Earth in a close orbit.The Milky Way is known to host about 100...

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Yadavinder Singh's anniversary a low key affair

PATIALA: Once celebrated as a big event, the 100th birth anniversary of late Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala on Monday passed off without any grand celebrations. A majority of the city residents were not even aware of the event as the family members of the late ruler preferred to celebrate it at a personal level."There should at least be a small function so that our younger generation knows...

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Primitive and Peculiar Mammal May Be Hiding Out in Australia

It’d be hard to think of a mammal that’s weirder than the long-beaked, egg-laying echidna. Or harder to find.Scientists long thought the animal, which has a spine-covered body, a four-headed penis, and a single hole for reproducing, laying eggs, and excreting waste, lived only in New Guinea. The population of about 10,000 is critically endangered. Now there is tantalizing evidence that...

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Colo. Suspect Bought Ticket 12 Days Before Shooting

Accused Aurora movie theater gunman James Holmes bought his movie ticket 12 days before the shooting, it was revealed in court today during the emotional first day of a preliminary hearing.Aurora Police Department homicide detective Matthew Ingui testified that there is no video surveillance of the actual shooting, but there are several photos of Holmes checking into the theater...

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Obama to nominate Chuck Hagel for defense secretary

President Obama plans to nominate former senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican and Vietnam veteran, to be secretary of defense, according to a person close to the process and a senior administration official. The White House informed the Hagel camp over the weekend that Obama intends to announce the nomination Monday. Hagel’s successful nomination would add a well-known Republican...

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British tourist plunges to death off Australia waterfall

SYDNEY: Police on Monday were attempting to retrieve the body of a British tourist who slipped over the edge of a waterfall in Australia's Blue Mountains and plunged to his death.The 20-year-old man was walking with friends at Wentworth Falls, west of Sydney, on Sunday afternoon when he lost his footing and fell some 80 metres (260 feet).Police said a friend summoned help and while paramedics...

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Faridkot minor dalit girl rape case: Main accused discharged from hospital, arrested

FARIDKOT: The prime accused in the rape case of a minor dalit girl was formally arrested by police on Sunday, after he was discharged from the hospital where he was admitted for consuming poison. Meanwhile, police officials visited the victim's village, where people demanded strict action against the accused.SSP Gurpreet Singh Toor said, "We are investigating why the prime accused had consumed a...

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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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Hagel to Be Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

Jan 6, 2013 4:52pm (Junko Kimura/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama will nominate former senator Chuck Hagel to be his next Secretary of Defense tomorrow.Senior officials within the administration and Capitol Hill confirmed the pick to ABC News today after the Nebraska Republican had emerged as a frontrunner among potential candidates several weeks ago.Hagel,...

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