Governors express frustration with Washington gridlock, sequestration

The nation’s governors had a message Saturday for Americans frustrated that Washington’s persistent partisan gridlock appears likely to trigger an across-the-board budget cut March 1 that could delay airline travel and result in hundreds of thousands of layoffs: They’re frustrated too. Meeting in Washington for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, state chief executives...

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Ecuador president vows to push large-scale mining

QUITO: Ecuador's re-elected President Rafael Correa said Saturday he will push large-scale mining projects during his next four years in office, despite opposition from some indigenous groups."The Ecuadoran people have voted to responsibly take advantage of non-renewable resources," said in a weekly address on his administration's activities.Correa, a socialist, said his goal was to use...

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Plaint against Baba Ramdev for slamming Gandhis

BELGAUM: A complaint has been registered against yoga guru Baba Ramdev in the fourth JMF Court for allegedly making derogatory statements against AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Former KPCC member Shankar Munavalli filed the case. In a complaint, he alleged that Baba Ramdev, during his visit to Hubli on February 20, said that corruption had increased in the country...

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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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Fiery Last-Lap Daytona Crash Injures 15 Fans

A fiery last-lap crash at the Daytona International Speedway injured a number of spectators today, who were seen being carried away from the stands on stretchers.Fifteen spectators were taken to the hospital, according to ESPN, with one on the way to surgery with head trauma.The 12-car crash happened moments before the end of the Nationwide race, and on the eve of the Daytona 500,...

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Catholic priests should be able to marry: British cardinal

LONDON: Roman Catholic priests should be able to marry and have children, Britain's most senior cardinal said on Friday.Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who will be part of the conclave tasked with choosing a new pope to replace Benedict XVI, said the church's requirement for priests to be celibate was not of "divine origin" and should be reconsidered."Many priests have found it very difficult...

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Laptops to be Samajwadi Party's anniversary gift to students

LUCKNOW: UP chief minister AkhileshYadav is set to mark his first year in power by distributing free laptops to students who passed their intermediate examination last year during the anniversary week celebrations of his government from March 10 to 15. Free laptops were promised by Akhilesh as a poll sop for the youth. In the first phase, 10,000 laptops will be distributed in Lucknow and Mainpuri...

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Businessman Dennis Tito Financing Manned Mission to Mars

Jane J. Lee An announcement this week that a group led by the world's first space "tourist," Dennis Tito, plans to send a manned mission to flyby Mars in 2018 has lit up the Internet.A press advisory from the new group, the Inspiration Mars Foundation, made no mention about whether there would be humans onboard.But reports from NewSpace Journal say that there will be two crew members making...

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Jodi Arias' Friends Believe in Her Innocence

Accused murderer Jodi Arias believes she should be punished, but hopes she will not be sentenced to death, two of her closest friends told ABC News in an exclusive interview.Ann Campbell and Donavan Bering have been a constant presence for Arias wth at least one of them sitting in the Phoenix, Ariz., courtroom along with Arias' family for almost every day of her murder trial....

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Group releases list of 90 medical ‘don’ts’

Don’t use feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia. Don’t use drugs to aggressively treat diabetes in those older than 65. Don’t automati­cally use imaging technology for minor head injuries in children and headaches in adults. And don’t give antacids to babies with reflux. Those are among the 90 medical “don’ts” on a list being released Thursday by a coalition of doctor and consumer...

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New death from SARS-like virus in Saudi Arabia

GENEVA: Another person suffering from a SARS-like virus has died in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, bringing the worldwide number of fatalities from the mystery illness to seven.The Saudi health ministry informed the UN's health body that the patient had been hospitalised on January 29 and died on February 10, WHO said in a statement.A laboratory had confirmed...

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Now, Jamiat divided over Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: The Jamiat Ulema-Hind, which virtually controls the Islamic seminary Darul-Uloom at Deoband, appears sharply divided over Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.Jamiat president Maulana Arshad Madni said on Thursday that there was no question of accepting the Gujarat strongman as India's prime minister. "Modi was wholly and solely responsible for the 2002 Gujarat riots. He is protecting...

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Pictures: Artifacts Provide Clues to Life in Early Christchurch

Photograph courtesy Jaden Harris, Underground Overground Archaeology      A tiny container for Holloway's ointment, less than two inches (five centimeters) wide, came from what was probably a brick-lined basement on Madras Street under a multistory modern commercial building.British patent medicine entrepreneur Thomas Holloway began to advertise his ointment in 1837, claiming it would...

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Peterson Sentenced to 38 Years for 3rd Wife's Murder

Former Illinois cop Drew Peterson yelled, "I did not kill Kathleen!" during the sentencing phase of his trial today -- and then a judge sentenced him to 38 years in jail for killing her.The sentence came after Will County Judge Edward Burmila denied Peterson a re-trial in the killing of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004.Peterson had faced as many as 60 years in prison.At...

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Kerry makes case for robust foreign aid

CHARLOTTESVILLE — America’s duties and ambitions overseas are too important to shortchange, even in a time of tight budgets, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Wednesday. “In today’s global world, there is no longer anything foreign about foreign policy,” Kerry said in an unusual first address for a U.S. secretary of state. Politicians too easily make a bogeyman of American foreign...

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US stocks dive after Fed minutes

NEW YORK: US stocks piled up losses Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes showed divisions over asset purchases, with some officials suggesting to wind them down before the jobs market picks up.The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 108.13 points (0.77 percent) at 13,927.54.The S&P 500-stock index fell 18.99 points (1.24 percent) to 1,511.95 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite...

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Trade unions' strike: Stick backfires, Mamata Banerjee offers carrot to traders

KOLKATA: Chastened by the widespread outrage among traders—who kept their shutters down despite her brandishing a stick, making Day One of the strike called by central trade unions a partial success—chief minister Mamata Banerjee decided to hand out carrots to the few who answered her call and kept their shops open on Wednesday.Sources said Mamata asked mayor Sovon Chatterjee to work out an incentive...

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Suitcase-size Satellite to Patrol for Dangerous Asteroids

Earth received a wakeup call last week with a double shot of incoming space rocks—the near miss of asteroid DA14 and the Russian meteor explosion. Our planet is in a cosmic shooting gallery and more work needs to be done to survey menacing asteroids, astronomers say.Now the Canadian Space Agency is stepping up to the plate to help do just that with the launch of a new sentinel to detect...

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Armstrong Snubs Offer From Anti-Doping Officials

Lance Armstrong has turned down what may be his last chance at reducing his lifetime sporting ban. Armstrong has already admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey to a career fueled by doping and deceit. But to get a break from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, all he had to do was tell his story to those who police sports doping. The deadline was today, and Armstrong now says he won't...

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Supreme Court to consider limits on individual political contributions

The Supreme Court reentered the controversial field of campaign finance Tuesday, agreeing to consider a Republican challenge to decades-old limits on the total amount a person can contribute to candidates, political parties and political action committees. It is the court’s first major campaign finance case since its 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which...

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BP vows to "vigorously defend" itself at US oil spill trial

CHICAGO: British energy giant BP vowed Tuesday to "vigorously defend" itself in court next week against US government claims for "excessive" fines in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.Prosecutors shot back with a warning that they will be fighting for the stiffest penalties possible at a blockbuster trial which opens Monday with tens of billions of dollars at stake."The United...

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Sukhoi crashes in Rajasthan, pilots eject safely

NEW DELHI: A frontline Sukhoi-30MKI fighter crashed at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan on Tuesday evening. The two experienced pilots, Squadron Leaders G B S Chauhan and A R Tanta, managed to eject safely.While the court of inquiry will establish the exact reason behind the crash, preliminary reports blamed a "technical snag" for the mishap. The aircraft was undertaking night-flying drills as part...

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New Study Analyzes Heavy Metal Dancing

Parents may never understand their rock 'n' roll loving children, but scientists might. A study published online in arXiv this week seeks to explain the "mosh pit"—using physics.To most scientists, heavy metal refers to elements on the lower end of the periodic table. But to Jesse Silverberg and Matt Bierbaum, doctoral students at Cornell University's department of Condensed Matter Physics,...

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Report Fingers Chinese Military Unit in US Hacks

A Virginia-based cyber security firm has released a new report alleging a specific Chinese military unit is likely behind one of the largest cyber espionage and attack campaigns aimed at American infrastructure and corporations.In the report, released today by Mandiant, China's Unit 61398 is blamed for stealing "hundreds of terabytes of data from at least 141 organizations" since...

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Football: Nani propels United into FA Cup quarter-finals

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Nani scored one and made the other as Manchester United beat Reading 2-1 to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals here on Monday.The Portuguese winger was only brought on as a substitute because of a first-half injury to Phil Jones but he certainly made his mark with a powerful second-half strike before setting up Javier Hernandez with a pinpoint cross.United...

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Afzal Guru's hanging: Bring-back-body clamour set to rise in Valley

SRINAGAR: The immediate response to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's hanging may have been relatively lukewarm in the state, but the demand for the return of his mortal remains seems to be galvanizing politicians and separatist groups again.Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rashid, the independent MLA from Langate in north Kashmir, has already filed a resolution in the state assembly asking for a discussion...

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Confirmed: Dogs Sneak Food When People Aren't Looking

Many dog owners will swear their pups are up to something when out of view of watchful eyes. Shoes go missing, couches have mysterious teeth marks, and food disappears. They seem to disregard the word "no."Now, a new study suggests dogs might understand people even better than we thought. (Related: "Animal Minds.")The research shows that domestic dogs, when told not to snatch a piece of...

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ChristianMingle Date Rape Victims Sought by Cops

A suspected rapist accused of sexually assaulting a woman he met on ChristianMingle.com may have used the dating site to prey on women while he traveled across the country, California police said today.Sean Patrick Banks, 37, a former Navy sailor, used a fake name to contact a woman who he allegedly raped in November, cops in La Mesa, Calif., said. Investigators believe that he...

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Football: 10-man Real clinch fourth home win in row

MADRID: Real Madrid recorded their fourth consecutive home league victory with a 2-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday despite playing for 72 minutes with 10 men.Alvaro Morata and Sergio Ramos got the goals in the opening 12 minutes but Ramos' night took a turn for the worse just six minutes later when he saw two harsh yellow cards in quick succession.Despite their numerical advantage...

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Shinde's daughter traces brother-in-law's SUV

MUMBAI: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's daughter tracked down her brother-in-law's vehicle on Saturday night, within 48 hours of it being stolen from Lower Parel on Thursday. A large posse of cops, including those from the crime branch, had been assigned to find the missing SUV, but before they could make a headway, Shinde's daughter, Praniti, suddenly spotted the vehicle in Bandra; following...

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Meet the Meteorite Hunter

Michael Farmer is one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters. Since the 1990s, the 40-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident has been scouring the world for pieces of interstellar rock, racing to be the first one on the scene and selling his finds to museums and private collectors. On Friday, as Russians reportedly scrambled to collect fragments from a passing meteorite that injured...

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