Arias Claims Innocence on Death Penalty Charge

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was confronted today with a barrage of lies she told after she killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander, but she twice defiantly declared that she was innocent of first degree murder."It's the truth. I'm innocent of that charge," Arias said to prosecutor Juan Martinez, referring to the criminal charge that could carry the threat of the death sentence...

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Legislative branch prepares for spending cuts

Lawmakers will return to work Monday after a week-long break, with $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to take effect in four days. Congressional offices and agencies have remained largely quiet on the issue compared with the executive branch, where top officials — from President Obama to Cabinet members such as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Defense Secretary Leon...

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Japan to nominate ADB president as BoJ chief

TOKYO: The Japanese government of Shinzo Abe is set to nominate Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda as governor of the central bank, reports said on Monday, sending the dollar surging against the yen.The greenback surged past 94 yen in early Asian trade from 93.37 yen in New York on Friday, with investors confident that there will be fresh aggressive easing steps by Abe's...

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Copter deal fixer specializes in India

NEW DELHI: Security services in Algeria, commercial promotions in India, supply of specialized personnel in the Middle East and more. Guido Haschke, the Swiss resident who was allegedly one of the key middlemen in the VVIP helicopter deal with India, almost sounds like a global consortium with several specializations across the globe in the internal documents of Finmeccanica group. Or was he a...

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Picture Archive: Dorothy Lamour and Jiggs, Circa 1938

Dorothy Lamour, most famous for her Road to ... series of movies with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, never won an Oscar. In her 50-plus-year career as an actress, she never even got nominated.Neither did Jiggs the chimpanzee, pictured here with Lamour on the set of Her Jungle Love in a photo published in the 1938 National Geographic story "Monkey Folk."No animal has ever been nominated for...

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Oscars 2013: Live Blog of the Academy Awards

Feb 24, 2013 1:13pm 9:00 p.m. ET: Best Animated Feature Oscar goes to….”Brave.”8: 58 p.m. ET: Paperman wins Best Animated Short.8: 58 p.m. ET: Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy lost us in their intro to animated short film.8: 51 pm. ET: And the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor goes to Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained.”8:49 p.m. ET: Every nominee for Best Supporting Actor already...

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Senators near a deal on background checks for most private gun sales

A bipartisan group of senators is on the verge of a deal that would expand background checks to all private firearms sales with limited exemptions, but significant disagreements remain on the issue of keeping records of private gun sales, according to aides familiar with the talks. An agreement would be a bold first step toward consideration of legislation to limit gun violence in the...

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Britain's top Catholic in 'inappropriate acts' row: report

LONDON: Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, who is due to vote on Pope Benedict XVI's successor, has been reported to the Vatican over claims of inappropriate behaviour, the Observer reported on Sunday.Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, contests allegations by three priests and a former priest which were sent to Rome a week before Pope Benedict's...

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Ramdev trust, govt keep options open over Feb 27 function

SHIMLA: Having taken possession of 28 acres land leased out to Patanjali Yogapeeth at Sadhupul area of Solan district, the Himachal Pradesh government does not want yoga guru Swami Ramdev to hold his function there on February 27. Fearing stiff resistance from supporters of Swami Ramdev, government had planned to impose section 144 in Sadhupul and surrounding areas and had made heavy deployment...

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Elderly Abandoned at World's Largest Religious Festival

Every 12 years, the northern Indian city of Allahabad plays host to a vast gathering of Hindu pilgrims called the Maha Kumbh Mela. This year, Allahabad is expected to host an estimated 80 million pilgrims between January and March. (See Kumbh Mela: Pictures From the Hindu Holy Festival)People come to Allahabad to wash away their sins in the sacred River Ganges. For many it's the realization...

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