Reuters

Local Governments Slashing Retiree Health Benefits

As cash-strapped U.S. cities and states struggle to address gaping budget holes, a long-honored benefit for public-sector workers has come into the cross-hairs of budget cutters: retiree health insurance. A growing number of states and cities are eliminating or reducing health coverage for retirees, a benefit that has long fallen by the wayside for most […]

12y ago

Connecticut Man Arrested In Thanksgiving Murder Of His Mother

A 48-year-old man has been accused of murdering his 74-year-old mother and two others on Thanksgiving Day 2010, police in East Hartford, Connecticut said on Monday. Brett Bednarz was charged with three counts of murder as well as violation of a protective order and burglary in the slaying of his mother, Beverly Thierren, and two […]

12y ago

FDA: More Drugs May Be Linked To Meningitis Outbreak

Two other drugs made by the Massachusetts pharmacy at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak may be linked to the disease, U.S. health regulators said on Monday, potentially widening the scope of the health crisis. The Food and Drug Administration said it was looking into reports of a patient with possible meningitis who received […]

12y ago

Romney Hits Obama On China Policies

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Saturday accused President Barack Obama of failing to “stand up to China” after the U.S. Treasury put off releasing a politically sensitive report on the currency policies of major U.S. trading partners. “Four years after promising to take China ‘to the mat’ for its manipulative currency practices, President Obama […]

12y ago

supreme court

Supreme Court To Decide Arizona Voter Registration Case

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether Arizona can demand that voters show proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. The high court will not hear the case before the November 6 U.S. election, ensuring that the disputed registration requirement in Arizona will not be in effect. The legal […]

12y ago

nasa

NASA’s Mars Rover Finds Rock With Earth-Like Chemistry

When scientists selected a rock to test the Mars rover Curiosity‘s laser, they expected it to contain the same minerals as rocks found elsewhere on the Red Planet, but learned instead it was more similar to a rock found on Earth. The rock was chemically more akin to an unusual type of rock found on […]

12y ago

Moon Rocks, Chunks Of Mars Auctioned In New York

Meteorites from Mars and the biggest piece of the Moon ever offered for sale went on the block on Sunday in New York in what organizers billed as history’s largest meteorite auction, which brought in over $1 million. More than 125 meteorites were offered in the private sale, from gray pockmarked lumps of iron to […]

12y ago

nasa

Scientists Discover Planet Made Out Of Diamond

Forget the diamond as big as the Ritz. This one’s bigger than planet Earth. Orbiting a star that is visible to the naked eye, astronomers have discovered a planet twice the size of our own made largely out of diamond. The rocky planet, called ’55 Cancri e’, orbits a sun-like star in the constellation of […]

12y ago

Fukushima|Japan

Lithuanians Send Nuclear Plant Back To Drawing Board

Lithuanians rejected a plan to build a nuclear plant to cut dependence on imports of Russian energy, in a non-binding referendum that does not kill off the project but leaves a question mark over its future. Support for the plant in Lithuania, one of the European Union states most dependent on imported energy, waned after […]

12y ago

indonesia

Indonesia’s ‘Frankentrees’ Turn Cocoa Dream Into Nightmare

Nurhaedah, a vivacious Indonesian cocoa trader, shakes her head in disappointment as she sifts through a pile of blackened, shriveled beans. Yet another crop from “Frankentrees”: weak, misshapen cocoa trees toppling under their own weight. A $350-million campaign to boost cocoa yields in Indonesia, the world’s third largest producer of the commodity, is turning sour […]

12y ago

OIC: West’s Free Speech Stand Bars Blasphemy Ban

Western opposition has made it impossible for Muslim states to obtain a ban on blasphemy, including anti-Islamic videos and cartoons that have touched off deadly riots, the Islamic world’s top diplomat said. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said his 57-nation body would not try again for United Nations support […]

12y ago

Pussy Riot|russia

Pussy Riot Members Lose Appeal To Stay In Moscow Prison

Two members of punk band Pussy Riot lost their appeal to stay in a Moscow pre-trial detention center on Monday, their lawyer said, and will now serve the remainder of their terms in a remote penal colony where conditions are much tougher. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Maria Alyokhina, 24, had their two-year sentence imposed over […]

12y ago

vatican

Cardinal Causes Uproar With “Muslim Scare” Video At Vatican

A Roman Catholic cardinal has caused an uproar at the Vatican by screening a spurious YouTube video that makes alarmist predictions about the growth of Islam in Europe. The seven-minute clip, called “Muslim Demographics,” was the talk of an international gathering of bishops on Monday, two days after Cardinal Peter Turkson screened it during a […]

12y ago

david cameron|scotland|United Kingdom

Scotland Seals Terms Of Historic Independence Vote

Scotland set up a historic independence referendum on Monday after its leader and Britain’s prime minister finalized arrangements for a vote that could lead to the demise of its three-centuries-old union with England. Scotland’s drive for sovereignty, led by its nationalist leader Alex Salmond, echoes separatist moves by other European regions such as Catalonia and […]

12y ago

U.K. Doctors: Shot Pakistani Girl Can Recover

A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban has every chance of making a “good recovery”, British doctors said on Monday as 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai arrived at a hospital in central England for treatment of her severe wounds. Yousufzai, who was shot for advocating education for girls, was flown from Pakistan to receive […]

12y ago

george w bush|Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush: Party Elder Statesman or 2016 Candidate?

He’s the non-candidate they never stop talking about. Ever since Jeb Bush left the Florida governor’s mansion in 2007 with favorable ratings after two terms, speculation has swirled about his political future. The chatter has only gotten louder this year amid the Republican Party’s “veepstakes” – despite Bush’s repeated insistence that he is not in […]

12y ago

Romney Closing Gap In Ohio As Poll Numbers, Crowds Rise

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is recovering ground in the critical swing state of Ohio as he rises in the polls and crowd numbers swell after his strong debate performance last week against President Barack Obama. Despite pundits and pollsters dismissing Romney’s chances in the state in late September, the Republican is now either tied […]

12y ago

Republicans Hammer Obama Over Libya Attacks

Republicans on Sunday kept the heat on President Barack Obama over the September 11 killing of four Americans in Libya, with a senior senator saying the attack supported the Romney campaign’s claim that Obama’s foreign policy is “unraveling.” Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has seized on the Obama administration’s handling of the deadly attack on […]

12y ago

Barack Obama|Mitt Romney

In Second Debate, Obama Faces Challenges On Key Issues

Losing ground to Republican Mitt Romney on a host of issues, President Barack Obama faces a serious challenge to put his re-election bid back on track when the two men face off on Tuesday in their second debate. Obama’s passive performance in their first debate two weeks ago and Romney’s subsequent surge have raised expectations […]

12y ago

google

Sources: Government Moving Closer To Google Antitrust Suit

The majority of top decision-makers at the Federal Trade Commission believe that an antitrust case should be brought against Google Inc, meaning the search giant could soon be headed into tough negotiations, three people familiar with the matter said. Four of the FTC commissioners have become convinced after more than a year of investigation that […]

12y ago