Jay Rockefeller, likely the last of a political dynasty

Uncle Nelson was vice president. Uncle Winthrop a governor. Great-grandfather Nelson a senator. Political bloodlines, he had. But the great American electoral dynasty that abruptly announced its end Friday, or at least signaled what looks to be a long, long pause, always evoked more. That name on the ballot — Rockefeller — meant money. It meant epic-scale success. It meant everything.And...

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British star Savile's victims set to seek damages: lawyer

LONDON: Around 50 victims of sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile are set to seek damages from the late broadcaster's estate and from organisations including the BBC and Britain's health service, their lawyer said on Saturday.A report by British police on Friday said Savile "groomed the nation" over six decades, hiding behind his fame to assault girls, boys and adult women on BBC premises and...

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Govt will not give in to 'wild calls for revenge': Salman Khurshid

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on Saturday the government will not buckle to "wild calls for revenge and reaction" over the killing and beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops.In an interview to a news channel, Khurshid said the heightened border tensions "demands very responsible and sensible and moderate behaviour"."We're not going to be pressurised by wild...

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse CancelmoA fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew...

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Gay Rights: Politicians Move With Public

Like America, politicians have evolved on gay rights since the 1990s.Some -- like Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who as a college student in 1992 admitted to how he once "hated gays" -- did their evolving earlier than others.And some -- like Chuck Hagel, who will have to answer questions about his late-1990s comments about gays in the military -- had a lot more evolving to do.But...

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Bibles used by King, Lincoln to be part of Obama’s second inauguration

Martin Luther King Jr. carried a black leather King James Bible on his journeys as a young pastor starting out in Montgomery, Ala. He turned to this “traveling Bible” for inspiration, his family says, as he fought for freedom and equality. President Obama will put his hand over King’s well-worn Bible at his public swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, the holiday celebrating the...

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SIA firms up order for another 25 widebody aircraft from Airbus

SINGAPORE : Singapore Airlines (SIA) has firmed up an order for 25 more widebody aircraft from Airbus.Five of the aircraft are the A380.SIA has placed three consecutive orders for the A380, making it the second largest customer of the A380, and now has 19 such aircraft in service.The remaining 20 aircraft are in the mid-size category - the A350-900s, which will be used on medium- and long-haul...

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Owaisi hate speech probe: Police issue notice to TV channels

HYDERABAD: Though the   Adilabad   police had arrested   MIM   MLA   Akbaruddin   first in relation to the 'hate speech' he had delivered in   Nirmal, their Hyderabad counterparts, who also booked a case against the   Chandrayangutta   MLA, are a step ahead of them in gathering evidence. On Thursday, the   Osmania   Univesity...

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Google and Twitter Help Track Influenza Outbreaks

This flu season could be the longest and worst in years. So far 18 children have died from flu-related symptoms, and 2,257 people have been hospitalized. Yesterday Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared a citywide public health emergency, with roughly 700 confirmed flu cases—ten times the number the city saw last year."It arrived five weeks early, and it's shaping up to be a pretty bad...

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Judge: Holmes Can Face Trial for Aurora Shooting

Jan 10, 2013 8:45pm (Arapahoe County Sheriff/AP Photo)In a ruling that comes as little surprise, the judge overseeing the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre has ordered that there is enough evidence against James Holmes to proceed to a trial.In an order posted late Thursday, Judge William Sylvester wrote that “the People have carried their burden of proof and have established...

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Bibles used by King, Lincoln to be part of Obama’s second inauguration

Martin Luther King Jr. carried a black leather King James Bible on his journeys as a young pastor starting out in Montgomery, Ala. He turned to this “traveling Bible” for inspiration, his family says, as he fought for freedom and equality. President Obama will put his hand over King’s well-worn Bible at his public swearing-in at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 21, the holiday celebrating the...

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58,000 commuters affected by NEL train disruption

SINGAPORE: Some 58,000 commuters were affected on Thursday when train services between HarbourFront and Dhoby Ghaut stations on the North East Line (NEL) were disrupted for six-and-a-half hours.Rail operator SBS Transit said the disruption was traced to three broken U-shaped bolts between the HarbourFront and Outram Park stations, resulting in a power trip.The fault is similar to one that...

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Increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan in 2012: India

NEW DELHI: Ceasefire violations by Pakistan increased during the past year, national security advisor Shivshankar Menon said here on Thursday, a day after India lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over the killing of two of its soldiers by Pakistani troops."There has been an increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan and in infiltration attempts in 2012 over 2011," Menon said at a media briefing,...

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Embryonic Sharks Freeze to Avoid Detection

Jane J. Lee Although shark pups are born with all the equipment they'll ever need to defend themselves and hunt down food, developing embryos still stuck in their egg cases are vulnerable to predators. But a new study finds that even these baby sharks can detect a potential predator, and play possum to avoid being eaten.Every living thing gives off a weak electrical field. Sharks can sense...

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Seau Suffered Brain Disease From NFL Hits: Study

A team of scientists who analyzed the brain tissue of renowned NFL linebacker Junior Seau after his suicide last year have concluded the football player suffered a debilitating brain disease likely caused by two decades worth of hits to the head, researchers and his family exclusively told ABC News and ESPN.In May, Seau, 43 -- football's monster in the middle, a perennial all-star...

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GAO calls on Postal Service to prefund retiree benefits

U.S. Postal Service officials and postal unions have long pushed Congress to relieve the agency of its obligation to prefund retiree health benefits. It’s a burden other agencies don’t share and one that officials say the Postal Service can’t afford. Defaults on prefunding payments total $11.1 billion. But not everyone agrees that removing or substantially reducing the prefunding requirement...

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S'pore retail investors optimistic about outlook: survey

SINGAPORE: Singapore retail investors are optimistic about their investment outlook for the next six months, according to a survey released on Wednesday by J P Morgan Asset Management. According to the report, the J P Morgan Investor Confidence Index increased by 5 points to 106 in the latest survey, conducted between November 21 to December 7 2012. This is a marked increase from one year...

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Assam: 3 killed, 2 injured in explosion in Digboi

GUWAHATI: Three children were killed and several others injured in an explosion near a primary school in upper Assam's Tinsukia district on Wednesday.The cause of the explosion, which took place at Kharjan pool area of Digboi town in the evening, is yet to be ascertained, police said.Army and police personnel have rushed to the spot and the area has been cordoned off.The injured children have been...

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Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat

Photograph by Jo Giuliani, European Pressphoto AgencySmoke from a wildfire mushrooms over a beach in Forcett, Tasmania, on January 4. (See more wildfire pictures.)Wildfires have engulfed southeastern Australia, including the island state of Tasmania, in recent days, fueled by dry conditions and temperatures as high as 113ºF (45ºC), the Associated Press reported. (Read "Australia's Dry Run" inNational...

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Dead Lotto Winner's Wife Seeks 'Truth'

The wife of a $1 million Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning told ABC News that she was shocked to learn the true cause of his death and is cooperating with an ongoing homicide investigation."I want the truth to come out in the investigation, the sooner the better," said Shabana Ansari, 32, the wife of Urooj Khan, 46. "Who could be that person who hurt him?"It...

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Police fire plastic bullets in Northern Ireland riots

BELFAST, United Kingdom: Police in Northern Ireland fired plastic bullets and water cannon at protesters in the capital Belfast late Monday after coming under a hail of petrol bombs, bricks and stones for a fifth night.Rioters in the east of the city used weapons including hatchets and sledge hammers to attack police and their vehicles, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.Pro-British...

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Pak army violates ceasefire again, kills two Indian soldiers along LoC in Poonch

JAMMU: Two Army jawans were killed by Pakistani troops in an attack on a patrol party along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.During patrolling along Mankote in Poonch along the LoC, a patrol party was attacked by Pakistani troops, Army officials said.Two jawans were killed and another was injured, they said, adding that further details were awaited.There...

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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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Giffords, Kelly Launch Initiative to Curb Gun Violence

After she was gravely wounded by gunfire two years ago in Tucson, Ariz., former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, imagined a life out of the public eye, where she would continue therapy surrounded by the friends, family and the Arizona desert she loves so much.Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly Speak Exclusively to Diane SawyerBut after the slaughter of 20 first-graders...

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Football: Italy vows action on racism after Boateng's walkoff

MILAN: Italy's Interior Minister Annamaria Cancellieri on Monday called for "more incisive" action to be taken to end the abuse of non-white players by racist fans.Cancellieri was speaking after AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng last week responded to racist chants by a small group of fans during a friendly against fourth division side Pro Patria by storming off the pitch.He was followed...

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China does not want to see rise of India in Asia, Mohan Bhagwat says

INDORE: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said China does not want to see rise of India in Asia and take leading position. In order to contain India's increasing influence it is encircling out country from all sides. In a direct reference to assertive policies of China, Bhagwat said, "China does not want India to make progress and grow. It does not want India to take a leading position in Asia. The countries...

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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 Nomination Stirs Bipartisan Opposition

Two weeks before his inauguration, and with more "fiscal cliffs" on the horizon, President Obama is embracing a showdown with Congress over his pick to lead the Pentagon in his second term.Obama will nominate former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense at a formal White House announcement later today, administration officials said.The president will...

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After ‘fiscal cliff,’ Obama finishes recharging on Hawaiian holiday

HONOLULU — The place where President Obama vacations each winter is farther from Washington than almost any other place in the United States. So, it is not terribly surprising that less than 45 minutes after Congress passed a bill averting the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1, Obama was racing back here. The president’s vacation with his family and friends had already been cut short by the protracted,...

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