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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WP says its focus is to offer choice to Punggol East voters

SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) has stated categorically that its focus continues to be fulfilling its promise to offer a choice to voters in Punggol East.The party made this point in response to a question from Channel NewsAsia with regards to its response to the latest proposal from the secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).At a news conference on Friday night,...

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High alert, reports of troop build-up on both sides of Indo-Pak border

JAMMU: Tension continued to prevail along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan on Saturday, a day after cross-LoC firing was reported on at least eight border posts. There are also reports of a troop build-up on both sides of the border. Pakistan has so far not responded to requests from India and its army for a flag meeting at the brigade level to de-escalate tension along the...

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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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CDC: Flu Outbreak Could Be Waning

The flu season appears to be waning in some parts of the country, but that doesn't mean it won't make a comeback in the next few weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Five fewer states reported high flu activity levels in the first week of January than the 29 that reported high activity levels in the last week of December, according to the CDC's...

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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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India's industrial output dips 0.1% in November

MUMBAI: India's industrial output dipped marginally by 0.1 percent in November from a year ago, data showed on Friday, raising hopes that the central bank will soon cut interest rates to boost sluggish growth.The figure matched market expectations but was well below the previous month's 8.3 percent growth figure and underlines the challenges the government faces as it seeks to kickstart...

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Pakistan suspends Poonch-Rawalakot bus service

JAMMU: In yet another setback to cross-LoC travel, Pakistan today decided to suspend 'Paigam-e-Aman' bus service between Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Jammu and Kashmir. There would be no bus service on Monday. "Pakistan has suspended the cross-LoC bus service between Chakan-Da-Bagh (J and K) and Rawalakote (PoK) for the time being," Trade Facilitation Officer (TFO), Poonch, Abdul Hamid Sheikh...

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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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I 'liked' NUS law professor 'as a friend' at that time: Ex-student

SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore law student at the centre of the sex-for-grades corruption trial was the first witness who took to the stand on Thursday morning.Ms Darrine Ko told the court that she knew law don, Associate Professor Tey Tsun Hang, well and this was the reason why she bought a Mont Blanc pen worth S$740 and gave it to him.She said that it was a "belated...

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Politics hot up over minor girls' rape in Chhattisgarh, Jogi demands CBI probe

RAIPUR: Incident of sexual assault on minor girls at a tribal hostel in Chhattisgarh is now taking political twists with the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP locking horns over the death of a class four student whose mother had claimed two days ago that she was pregnant and died of related complications in August last year.The minor girl in question was staying in the girls' ashram, being...

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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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Holmes 'Delighted' by Creepy Self-Portraits: Victims

After two days of apparent indifference, accused Aurora shooter James Holmessmiled and smirked at disturbing self-portraits and images of weapons shown in court today, according to the families of victims who watched him."When he sees himself, he gets very excited and his eyes crinkle," Caren Teves said outside of the courthouse, after the hearing. "Your eyes are the window...

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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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Restaurant patrons relieve stress by smashing beer mugs

SINGAPORE: We're only just into the new year.But if you're already stressed out and need some release - you might as well have a smashing good time while you're at it!Over at District 10 restaurant at Star Vista, patrons have the option to booze... and lose some steam.And without having to break the bank either!A glass of beer goes for S$8 dollars - and once it's washed down - just step...

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Planned suburbanization required in India: Kamal Nath

KOCHI: The country requires planned suburbanisation to deal with the pressure of urbanization and subsequent transport requirements, said Kamal Nath, minister for urban development. Addressing the convention of the International Federation of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors' Association (IFAWPCA), the minister said that the suburbanization taking place in the country is by default and not...

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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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Obama’s failure to nominate women for two top Cabinet posts questioned

President Obama brought his top Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency chiefs together Monday with their potential replacements, and some critics noticed one thing that stood out: Each of them was a white man. Obama, who made women’s issues a core of his reelection bid, has nominated men to serve in three of his most prominent national security positions, including secretary of state,...

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C. African government, opposition head for talks with rebels

BANGUI, Central African Republic: Central African Republic government and opposition delegations left on Tuesday to join rebels for talks later in the week in the Gabonese capital Libreville to end the conflict in their volatile nation.A delegation of the rebels who have seized key towns in the impoverished country arrived Monday, while government, opposition and civil society representatives...

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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: Govt determined to turn setbacks into opportunity, PM says

KOCHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said the government was determined to turn any setback into an opportunity to improve legal and regulatory frameworks in the context of a "surge of expectation" from an increasingly empowered and articulate public."There is now a surge of expectation from an increasingly empowered and articulate public, for more responsive, transparent, participative,...

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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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Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.At age 21, Hagel and...

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Historic inauguration on MLK holiday means federal workers lose a quadrennial holiday

Inauguration Day normally entails an extra paid holiday for federal workers in the Washington area, but no such luck applies this year. That’s because the public swearing-in ceremony coincides with another federal holiday — the Jan. 21 observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. That means the historic event — the first African American president taking the oath of office on a...

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Conservancy workers trained to help make estates safer

SINGAPORE: More conservancy workers have been trained to help make the estates safer.About 270 workers in the the east went through a half-day training workshop, named "Workers-on-Watch".They were taught how to look out for suspicious characters and activities.The workshop was organised by Bedok Police Division, with support from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, Singapore Customs and...

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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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Pastor Accused of Killing Wives Faces Trial

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for Pastor Arthur Schirmer, who is accused of killing his second wife and then staging a car accident to hide it.Schirmer, 64, also faces a second trial at a later date for the death of his first wife. He has said he is innocent of all charges.In 2008, the pastor and his wife, Betty, were involved in what appeared at the time to be...

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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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