| UN envoy 'very sorry' as Syria talks break off in failure Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:45 AM PST  The UN's Syria envoy said he was "very, very sorry" Saturday as peace talks in Geneva broke off with no progress made and no date set for a third round. Just weeks after the warring parties sat down for the first time to seek a political settlement to the three-year conflict, a second round ended in acrimony. "I'm very, very sorry," UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Geneva as he announced the break-off in talks. With no guarantee the parties will return to the negotiating table, the death toll continued to mount in Syria where more than 136,000 have died and millions have been driven from their homes.
|
| AP Exclusive: Misconduct forces more soldiers out Posted: 15 Feb 2014 08:17 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of U.S. soldiers forced out of the Army because of crimes or misconduct has soared in the past several years as the military emerges from a decade of war that put a greater focus on battle competence than on character.
|
| President set to nominate Renzi as Italy's youngest premier Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:19 AM PST  By Paolo Biondi and Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Young center-left leader Matteo Renzi was set to be nominated as Italy's youngest prime minister this weekend after a party coup forced Enrico Letta to resign as premier of the euro zone state struggling to pull out of recession. Letta bowed out on Friday after his Democratic Party (PD) forced him to step aside and make way for Renzi, 39, who is promising bold economic reforms and a government than can survive until 2018. President Giorgio Napolitano was expected to complete a round of consultations with parties in the evening and was likely soon afterwards to ask Renzi, the PD secretary and current mayor of Florence, to form a government, party sources said. Renzi, whose PD is the largest party in parliament, would become the youngest leader in Italy's 163-year history as a united country, younger even - by two months - than Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was when he took over in 1922.
|
| Olympics: Earth's most political apolitical event Posted: 15 Feb 2014 05:22 AM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Each time an Olympics approaches, the ideal is articulated once more: The true spirit of the games, those who oversee them say, brings humanity together to promote amity and athletic excellence. It is most certainly not a place for the affairs of nations and vested interests to play out on a global stage.
|
| 'Juno' actress Ellen Page comes out as gay Posted: 15 Feb 2014 04:31 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ellen Page, who won the hearts of moviegoers as the pregnant teenager in the 2007 film "Juno," has come out as gay.
|
| UK taxi driver crushed to death in windstorm Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:19 AM PST  LONDON (AP) — Strong winds that pummeled Britain killed a taxi driver, whose car was crushed by falling chunks of masonry from a building, and an elderly man who died after a "freak wave" struck a cruise ship in the English Channel, officials said Saturday. Another 15 cruise ship passengers were injured.
|
| Gay-marriage foes scrambling after court setbacks Posted: 15 Feb 2014 06:37 AM PST  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Opponents of same-sex marriage are scrambling to find effective responses, in Congress and state legislatures, to a rash of court rulings that would force some of America's most conservative states to accept gay nuptials.
|
| Mob attacks alleged gays in Nigerian capital Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:54 AM PST ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A mob armed with wooden clubs and iron bars, screaming that they were going to "cleanse" their neighborhood of gay people, dragged 14 young men from their beds and assaulted them, human rights activists said Saturday. |
| Federal guidance on pot business leaves banks wary Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:08 AM PST  SEATTLE (AP) — For marijuana dispensaries around the country, the days of doing business in cash — driving around with bill-stuffed envelopes to pay the rent, or showing up at a state revenue office with $20,000 in paper bags for the tax man — can't end soon enough.
|
| Ariz. inmate makes Valentine's escape Posted: 15 Feb 2014 06:15 AM PST  PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona jail inmate who escaped by climbing two walls and crawling through razor wire and was reportedly meeting his sweetheart on Valentine's Day is back in custody.
|
| 5 things to know about the Sochi Olympics Posted: 15 Feb 2014 07:45 AM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Fast Five, Saturday edition: Five things you'll want to know about the 2014 Winter Olympics.
|
| UAW falls 87 votes short of major victory in South Posted: 15 Feb 2014 12:07 AM PST  CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Just 87 votes at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee separated the United Auto Workers union from what would have been its first successful organization of workers at a foreign automaker in the South.
|
| Oshie's shootout goals lead US past Russia 3-2 Posted: 15 Feb 2014 08:37 AM PST  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — T.J. Oshie brainstormed while he skated to center ice, desperately trying to come up with one last move to end an epic shootout. He had already taken five shots at Sergei Bobrovsky, and the Russians were still even.
|
| Obama: Figure out how to satisfy US water needs Posted: 15 Feb 2014 06:54 AM PST  PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — President Barack Obama drew a link between climate change and California's drought, and said the U.S. must do a better job of figuring out how to make sure everyone's water needs are satisfied.
|
| Russian skicross racer has successful surgery Posted: 15 Feb 2014 10:32 AM PST  KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Olympic skicross racer Maria Komissarova of Russia underwent a 6½-hour operation on her fractured spine following a training accident Saturday.
|
| Olympics a test for ambitious developing countries Posted: 15 Feb 2014 01:55 AM PST  BEIJING (AP) — Playing host to the Olympics or World Cup can showcase an ambitious country's rise and cast a harsh light on its weaknesses.
|
| Shift seen in legal battle for gay rights Posted: 14 Feb 2014 03:11 PM PST  Uptick in federal judges' willingness to embrace same-sex marriage could hasten Supreme Court.
|
| Obama: Calif. drought is everyone's concern Posted: 14 Feb 2014 04:51 PM PST  President warns of difficult choices ahead as to how America uses and conserves water.
|
| U.S., China agree to work on climate change Posted: 14 Feb 2014 10:16 PM PST  China and the United States, the world's top emitters of greenhouse gases, pledged on Saturday to work together to attenuate the effects of global climate change. "China and the United States will work together ... to collaborate through enhanced policy dialogue, including the sharing of information regarding their respective post-2020 plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions," according to a U.S.-China joint statement issued at the end of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's whirlwind Beijing visit. International talks to try to agree on a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the first and only international agreement to tackle climate change, are due to be held in Paris next year. The United States never ratified the Kyoto deal.
|
| 7 rejected GOP Valentine’s Day jokes (4 REAL) Posted: 14 Feb 2014 02:14 PM PST  Ahhh, February 14, when a young party official's thoughts turn to the sweetness and light of Valentine's Day-themed political attacks.
|
| Photos of the day Posted: 14 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST  A view of the Pont Des Arts on Valentine's Day on February 14, 2014 in Paris, France. The accumulation of the 'love locks', a phenomenon popular in many European cities, where couples attach a lock to symbolise their love to the mesh panels on the sides of the bridge, is starting to pose safety concerns, due to their mass weight. (Photo by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images) |
| Feds give banks guidance on pot sellers Posted: 14 Feb 2014 11:15 AM PST DOJ and Treasury Dept. action moves U.S. a step closer to legalized marijuana industry. |
