Rice Withdraws From Sec. of State Consideration

Image Credit: Evan Vucci/AP PhotoUN Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration for Secretary of State, saying the criticism surrounding her comments on Benghazi had become an “irresponsible distraction.”“I am fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama today. “However, if nominated, I am now...

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Russia says Syrian rebels might win

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels are gaining ground and might win, Russia's Middle East envoy said on Thursday, in the starkest such admission from a major ally of President Bashar al-Assad as the 20-month-old civil war closes in on Damascus. Moscow was "finally waking up to reality", the United States said and it called on Russia to withdraw all support for Assad, who NATO and...

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Fed sets inflation, jobless targets for hiking rates

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve laid out target levels on unemployment and inflation for raising interest rates for the first time Wednesday, surprising analysts who expected such a move would wait until next year.In an effort to better signal its policy path, after its benchmark rate has been locked at 0-0.25 percent for four years, the Fed said it would not lift rates as long as the...

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What women's empowerment when competent ones dropped from govt panel: Indira Jaising

NEW DELHI: India's first woman additional solicitor general Indira Jaising criticized the Centre's decision to drop several "competent" women lawyers from its panel for handling government litigation in the Supreme Court and asked law minister Ashwani Kumar whether they needed a 'godfather' to succeed in the legal profession.Recent changes in the panel of lawyers made Jaising, who is among a handful...

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Congress examines science behind HGH test for NFL

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional committee has opened a hearing to examine the science behind a human growth hormone test the NFL wants to start using on its players.Nearly two full seasons have passed since the league and the players' union signed a labor deal that set the stage for HGH testing.The NFL Players Association won't concede the validity of a test that's used by Olympic sports and Major...

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Why Mass Shooters Often Wear Masks

The Oregon mall shooter was dressed all in black and his face was covered by a white hockey mask.The mask, the black clothes, the age of the gunman and a weapon are becoming a familiar and deadly pattern.The gunman, 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts of Portland, is one of a string of killers before him, including Aurora shooter James Holmes, who chose to wear black and cover...

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US blacklists Al-Qaeda-linked rebels in Syria

WASHINGTON: Washington blacklisted an Al-Qaeda-linked rebel group in Syria Tuesday, warning extremists could play no role in building the nation's future as the US readies to recognize the new Syrian alliance.The move against the Al-Nusra Front came ahead of talks in Morocco on Wednesday, when the United States is expected to give full recognition to the Syrian National Coalition as the...

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Disclose Swamy's letter to Kalam after consulting him: CIC

NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the President's Secretariat to make Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy's letter to former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam public after consulting him. Swamy had written to Kalam after the 2004 election which UPA had won.In the letter Swamy had raised doubts on if Congress president Sonia Gandhi's candidature would be accepted by...

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APNewsBreak: DA investigating Texas cancer agency

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas prosecutor responsible for investigating public corruption among state officials said Tuesday that he has opened an investigation into the state's troubled $3 billion cancer-fighting agency.Gregg Cox, director of the Travis County district attorney's public integrity unit, told The Associated Press that an investigation has begun into the Cancer Prevention and Research...

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Serial Killer 'Broke Own Rule,' Lost Control

Serial killer Israel Keyes' capture was his own undoing. It was the meticulous murderer's loss of control and violation of his own careful rules of murder that ended years of traveling to kill for fun.When Keyes, 34, approached an Anchorage coffee stand Feb. 1, he told himself that if the person working inside did not have her own car, he would only rob the place and leave.But...

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