Advocates fear gun control agenda will divert Obama from immigration reform

President Obama’s pledge to pursue a package of gun control measures next month has immigration advocates concerned whether the effort could delay or distract the White House from moving quickly to fulfill another of his second-term priorities. Latino leaders, disappointed by Obama’s inability to achieve comprehensive immigration reform in his first term, say they understand and support...

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CIA chief decries torture in Osama bin Laden hunt movie

WASHINGTON: Acting CIA director Michael Morell said that "Zero Dark Thirty," the Hollywood take on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, exaggerates the importance of information obtained by harsh interrogations.The movie by Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow tells the story of the decade-long search after September 11, 2001 that climaxed in last year's dramatic and deadly raid in...

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Govt for stricter penalty in ‘rarest of rare’ rape cases

NEW DELHI: Forced on the back foot by unprecedented public fury over the savage gangrape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus last Sunday, the government on Saturday announced its intent to immediately amend the law to provide for death penalty in "rarest of rare" rape cases.Simultaneously, five police personnel found responsible for lapses that led to the gangrape going undetected despite the bus...

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Urban Advocates Say New Gun Control Talk Overdue

For years, voices have cried in the urban wilderness: We need to talk about gun control.Yet the guns blazed on.It took a small-town slaughter for gun control to become a political priority. Now, decades' worth of big-city arguments against easy access to guns are finally being heard, because an unstable young man invaded an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., with a military-style...

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Hagel, under fire as possible nominee, says remarks on gays “do not reflect my views”

President Obama’s leading choice to head the Pentagon, former senator Chuck Hagel, issued an apology Friday for “insensitive” comments he had made about gays, moving to shield his potential nomination from a growing chorus of criticism. Hagel’s apology came a day after the country’s leading gay rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign, described the former Nebraska Republican’s past...

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Hugh Grant wins 'substantial' phone-hacking damages

LONDON: Hugh Grant has accepted a "substantial sum" from Rupert Murdoch's British tabloid publisher over phone hacking by the News of the World, the British actor's lawyer said on Friday.The "Four Weddings and a Funeral" star will donate the damages to the Hacked Off campaign against press intrusion."My aim has always been to ensure that cash is redistributed from Mr Murdoch to help those...

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Sistema, Kudankulam shadow over Putin visit

NEW DELHI: Even as India and Russia are poised to sign almost a dozen agreements during President Vladimir Putin's day-long visit on Monday, Sistema and Kudankulam promise to sour the summit. India has told Russia that it would not intervene in the Sistema imbroglio. The Russian telecom company, which is owned by a close friend of Putin's, had its licence cancelled in the wake of the 2G scam. Sistema...

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Pictures: Fungi Get Into the Holiday Spirit

Photograph courtesy Stephanie Mounaud, J. Craig Venter InstituteMounaud combined different fungi to create a Santa hat and spell out a holiday message.Different fungal grow at different rates, so Mounaud's artwork rarely lasts for long. There's only a short window of time when they actually look like what they're suppose to."You do have to keep that in perspective when you're making these creations,"...

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Critics Slam NRA's Call for Armed School Guards

Gun control advocates slammed the National Rifle Association today for its proposal to create a force of armed security guards at schools across the country as a response to the Connecticut school shooting."It is beyond belief that following the Newtown tragedy, the National Rifle Association's leaders want to fill our communities with guns and arm more Americans," Sen. Frank...

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Britain's Cameron visits troops in Afghanistan

LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday paid a pre-Christmas visit to British troops serving in Afghanistan, insisting that the "high price" paid by servicemen had been worthwhile, his office said.Cameron told reporters that Afghan security forces were "doing better than expected" as he defended plans for the British force to be cut to 5,200 next year, according to his office.The...

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Rajya Sabha passes UAPA amendments amid protest

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Thursday passed a bill that makes economic offences, including circulation of high quality counterfeit currency, a terrorist act. The Rajya Sabha passed Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2012 by voice vote while several parties, including Left, JD(U), RJD and LJP walked out in protest. The bill was already passed by Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, discussion...

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Hollies Get Prickly for a Reason

With shiny evergreen leaves and bright red berries, holly trees are a naturally festive decoration seen throughout the Christmas season.They're famously sharp. But not all holly leaves are prickly, even on the same tree. And scientists now think they know how the plants are able to make sharper leaves, seemingly at will. (Watch a video about how Christmas trees are made.)A new study...

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Obama, Boehner Not Far Apart on 'Cliff'? Not Really

Our audience is comprised of 40M active subscribers to blogs, tweets, Facebook and RSS feeds from top publishers including Inc, MSNBC, Reuters, InformationWeek, TechTarget, CBS Sports, AOL, CNET, ABC News, NBC, Politico and hundreds of others. Learn M...

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Megaupload New Zealand extradition case delayed again

WELLINGTON: A US bid to extradite Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom from New Zealand for alleged online piracy has been delayed for a second time and will not be heard until August next year, his lawyers said on Thursday.The extradition case, launched after Dotcom's arrest in January for alleged online piracy, was originally due to go to court in August, then pushed back to March next year amid...

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Sonia's lunge helps Congress grab promotion quota bill

NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi restored the Congress stamp on 'promotion quota' bill just when BSP chief Mayawati had all but cornered the glory, as she took centrestage in the drama triggered by Samajwadi Party to stall the quota bill in Lok Sabha. SP MP Yashbir Singh snatched the papers from personnel minister V Narayanasamy's hands when the government decided to initiate the discussion in the din....

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Detecting Rabid Bats Before They Bite

A picture is worth a thousand words—or in the case of bats, a rabies diagnosis. A new study reveals that rabid bats have cooler faces compared to uninfected colony-mates. And researchers are hopeful that thermal scans of bat faces could improve rabies surveillance in wild colonies, preventing outbreaks that introduce infections into other animals—including humans.Bats are a major reservoir...

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Scammers Could Profit Off Sandy Hook Tragedy

Scammers may be looking to cash in on the public's generosity following the Sandy Hook massacre, the Better Business Bureau warned."It is a challenge to be on guard because public sympathy and emotions are running high," said Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a group that helps charitable donors make informed decisions.Weiner said it's...

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EPA IG audits administrator’s private e-mail account

Combine your family dog’s name with the name of your old hometown and what do you get? In the case of Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson, you get in trouble with some legislators for having a less-than-obvious e-mail handle. The EPA’s inspector general has begun auditing how Jackson has used this secondary e-mail account, “Richard Windsor,” named for her dog and...

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Euro continues push against dollar

NEW YORK: The euro pushed higher against the dollar Tuesday, helped by improvements in Greece's financial status and a Spanish debt sale, and as Washington continued to battle over the looming fiscal cliff.Meanwhile the yen slipped to its lowest level since April 2011 as Japan's incoming prime minister pressed the central bank for more stimulus.The euro reached its best level since the...

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India lost $123bn in black money in 10 yrs: US think tank report

BEIJING: China is listed as the leading source of global outflows of tainted money with India ranking eighth in the list compiled by a Washington-based think tank, Global Financial Integrity. China lost $2.74 trillion and India $123 billion to international outflows of illicit cash between 2001 and 2010, it said. Some 150 developing countries lost $5.9 trillion by way of illegal outflows in those...

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Pictures: "Beautiful" Geminid Meteor Showers Grace Skies

Over the Dunes Photograph courtesy Jack FuscoA Geminid meteor streaks across the sky above the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey, in a picture taken December 14. The piles come...

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Can Cops Read Shooter's Sabotaged Computer?

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza may have tried to sabotage his own computer before going on a murderous rampage that claimed the lives of 20 children, but experienced investigators said today that law enforcement forensic experts could still recover critical evidence from the damaged drives.Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance revealed Monday that a computer...

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Egypt referendum dispute triggers protest call

CAIRO: Egypt's opposition is calling for mass protests on Tuesday over alleged polling violations after Islamists backing President Mohamed Morsi claimed victory in the first round of a referendum on a new charter.A group of top judges, meanwhile, announced on Monday it would boycott supervision of the second round, and Germany said it has postponed debt relief for Egypt because of concerns...

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Time for mutton feasts in Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: No election victory, and sometimes even a loss, is complete without big mutton feasts in Himachal Pradesh. The forthcoming election results of the HP assembly will be no exception as with only two days left for the D-Day, the contestants of both BJP and Congress have started making arrangements for the mutton feasts in anticipation. In the older days purely vegetarian 'dham' or community...

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Crayfish Harbor Fungus That’s Wiping Out Amphibians

Scientists have found a new culprit in spreading the disease that's been driving the world's frogs to the brink of extinction: crayfish.In the last few decades, the disease caused by the chytrid fungus has been a disaster for frogs and other amphibians. More than 300 species are nearly extinct because of it. Many probably have gone extinct, but it can be difficult to know for sure when...

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Gunman's Computer Damaged, Drive Possibly Ruined

A computer at the Connecticut home where Newtown, Conn., school shooter Adam Lanza lived with his mother was badly damaged, perhaps smashed with a hammer, said police who hope the machine might still yield clues to the gunman's motive.The computer's hard drive appeared to have been badly damaged with a hammer or screw driver, law enforcement authorities told ABC News, complicating...

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