| Strong California quake causes injuries, damage Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:53 AM PDT  A large earthquake caused significant damage in California's northern Bay Area early Sunday, sending at least 70 people to a hospital, igniting fires, knocking out power to tens of thousands and sending residents running out of their homes in the darkness.
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| Ryan says he's weighing possible White House run Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:08 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Paul Ryan was No. 2 on the Republicans' presidential ballot in 2012, and the Wisconsin congressman is thinking about whether he'll try to move to the top of his party's ticket in 2016.
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| Iran says it downs Israeli drone near nuclear site Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:35 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said Sunday its forces shot down an Israeli drone as it approached an Iranian nuclear site, recovering major parts of what it described as an advanced aircraft. Israeli officials could not be immediately reached for comment. |
| Use of military weapons to be reviewed Posted: 23 Aug 2014 04:28 PM PDT  Obama orders a review of the distribution of military hardware to state and local police.
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| White House aides to attend Michael Brown funeral Posted: 24 Aug 2014 02:42 AM PDT  EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — President Barack Obama is sending three White House aides to the funeral of Michael Brown, the young black man whose fatal shooting by a white police officer sparked days of racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
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| The history of devastating earthquakes in the Bay Area Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:31 AM PDT  The Bay area has previously been marred by two major earthquakes in recorded history, striking in 1906 and 1989.
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| DR Congo confirms first cases of Ebola Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:30 AM PDT  Kinshasa (AFP) - The Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday confirmed its first cases of Ebola in the epidemic that has affected four other African nations.
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| Philadelphia to hold parade Wednesday for Taney Dragons Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:25 AM PDT  An adoring crowd cheered and applauded wildly for the returning Taney Dragons at Love Park in Center City Philadelphia.
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| Drama reigns at VMAs before awards show even airs Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:23 AM PDT  Snakes and stage slips: There's drama and the MTV Video Music Awards haven't even begun yet.
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| Roche to buy U.S. biotech firm InterMune for $8.3 billion Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:21 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler and Caroline Copley LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG has agreed to buy U.S. The Swiss drugmaker said on Sunday it would pay $74.00 a share for InterMune, representing a premium of 38 percent to the closing price on Aug. 22. The acquisition, which has been recommended by the boards of both companies, is the largest by Roche since 2009, when it bought out the remaining stake it did not already own in U.S. The sale of InterMune will not come as a huge surprise to investors.
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| 2 small planes collide over Switzerland, 7 injured Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:21 AM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — Police say two small planes have collided over northeastern Switzerland, injuring seven people.
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| Rap mogul Suge Knight hurt in nightclub shooting Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:19 AM PDT  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Death Row Records founder and rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was injured in an early morning shooting Sunday in a packed nightclub but was expected to survive, a Los Angeles County sheriff's sergeant said.
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| Roche to buy US biotech firm InterMune for $8.3B Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:19 AM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche said Sunday it has reached an $8.3 billion deal to buy InterMune Inc., a California-based developer of treatments for lung diseases.
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| Iceland removes ban on air traffic over rumbling volcano Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:18 AM PDT  Iceland removed a ban on air traffic around the nation's largest volcanic system on Sunday after fears of an imminent eruption subsided. The Icelandic Met Office said there had not been a small, subglacial eruption on Saturday, as previously announced, and lowered the alert over the Bardarbunga volcano from red to orange. "Presently there are no signs of ongoing volcanic activity," the IMO said on its website. "All restrictions on aviation have been cancelled," Icelandic police said in a statement.
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| Air strikes pound Gaza as Israel presses offensive Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:17 AM PDT  Israeli air strikes pounded Gaza Sunday, killing at least a dozen people, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the bloody offensive would continue as long as necessary. Israel and Hamas, who have been fighting for 48 days, looked unlikely to end their deadly face-off even after Egypt called for an indefinite ceasefire and new truce talks to end a war that has killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and 68 Israelis, mostly soldiers. One of Sunday's air strikes killed Hamas financial official Mohammed al-Ghul as he was travelling by car in Gaza City, Israel's army said in a statement. Gaza medics confirmed the death.
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| NIMBYS: Judge Rules Against NIMBYs in Chumley's Lawsuit Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:13 AM PDT  Beloved West Village watering hole Chumley's has been closed for over seven years, following a chimney collapse that put the future of the historic speakeasy in question. In that time, Chumley's has weathered a scaffolding hellscape, a barrage of...
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| Bouhanni wins 2nd stage of Vuelta, Valverde leads Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:12 AM PDT  SAN FERNANDO, Spain (AP) — Nacer Bouhanni of France sprinted to victory in the second stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Sunday, while Alejandro Valverde claimed the red leader's jersey after a ride that didn't produce any changes among the race favorites.
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| Rosberg admits deliberate crash ‘to prove a point’ - Hamilton Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:11 AM PDT  Nico Rosberg apparently admitted deliberately crashing into Mercedes team-mate and world championship rival Lewis Hamilton in Sundayâ s Belgian Grand Prix, according to the 29-year-old British driver. Hamilton, who was leading the race when Rosberg drove into him on lap two of the 44-lap race, suffered a puncture to his left rear tyre and, after struggling to recover at the back of the field, retired with four laps remaining. After a team meeting at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the aftermath of their most explosive and controversial clash of a dramatic season, Hamilton said Rosberg had said he hit him â to prove a pointâ . Hamilton said he was "gob-smacked" at Rosbergâ s reaction in their team discussion, held just three days after â clear-the-airâ talks to improve their relationship.
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| Gloves are off as Hamilton-Rosberg feud continues Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:10 AM PDT  SPA, Belgium (AP) — Nico Rosberg extended his Formula One championship lead after finishing second at the Belgian Grand Prix, with his main title rival Lewis Hamilton claiming the German driver later acknowledged he had deliberately crashed into him early in the incident-packed race.
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| Woman who drank toxic tea released from hospital Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:08 AM PDT  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah woman who nearly died after unknowingly drinking iced tea mixed with chemicals has been released from a Salt Lake City hospital.
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| Doctor Who "Deep Breath" Review: No More Waiting (to Exhale) Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:08 AM PDT  Doctor Who S08E01: "Deep Breath" It's probably not wrong to say that Doctor Who is at the height of its popularity right now. Although it isn't and never will be as popular in the U.S. as it is in the U.K., BBC America airing it concurrently with BBC One in the U.K. has definitely given it a boost. But the writers of Doctor Who have received a lot of shit over the years since Russell T. Davies gave the long-running sci-fi series a facelift in 2005. I'm not talking about the increasingly confusing and convoluted storylines that can only be fixed by Moffat Logic, though that's a completely legitimate complaint (and one I fully plan on addressing in a bit), I'm talking about the implied infatuation that several recent companions have had with the time-traveling Doctor. And, look, I get it. He's a madman with a (time-traveling) box. He's clever and he's witty, and he's always rushing in to save the goddamn day with a freaking SCREWDRIVER. He's a hero whether he realizes it or not, and that makes him attractive. I would totally be swept away if a man showed up and offered to show me all of time and space, everywhere and anywhere, every star that ever was. I mean, I'd assume he was on acid, but part of me would be like, "Damn, that's cool." But at the same time, I also acknowledge that part of the Doctor's charm is a result of the fact that as the Doctor was getting older, the actors portraying him were getting younger. When Clara told Vastra, who returned alongside fan-favorites Jenny and Strax in "Deep Breath," that the Doctor didn't look renewed, but that he looked older, she replied, "He looked like your dashing young gentleman friend, your lover even." She then continued, "He looked young, who do you think that was for?" And while it's hard to say what goes into casting the Doctor each time a new actor joins the show, I don't think it's wrong to question whether or not the actors were getting progressively younger in an attempt to bring in a larger, younger, and possibly more female audience. I haven't done any extensive research on the subject, but it's something to think about, at least. In the U.K., according to preliminary numbers, Capaldi's debut of 6.8 million viewers was up from Season 7's average viewership, but was actually the least watched debut of the four men who've taken on the role of the Doctor since 2005. David Tennant (9.4 million viewers in his debut) was 34 when he took over the role of the Doctor from 41-year-old Christopher Eccleston (9.9 million) in 2005, and Matt Smith (8.0 million) was just 26 when he replaced Tennant in 2010. Fans were simultaneously shocked and worried when news of Smith's casting broke, because historically, the Doctor was an older man traveling with a younger companion. Some fans enjoyed the love story that blossomed between Ten and Billie Piper's Rose Tyler, myself included, and it proved that the Doctor could be a romantic hero, but does he have to be? To be certain, the possibility of romance is a popular story producer, but it's not the only one, and with the exception of Catherine Tate's Donna, each companion since Rose has, at one time or another, seemed to harbor a little crush on our favorite TIme Lord. Which is why I've been wondering what form the series would take since it was announced Peter Capaldi would be succeeding Matt Smith as the Doctor. We knew that New Who was capable of romance, and we knew that it was capable of deep platonic friendship, but was this newly reinvigorated series capable of returning to the mentor/mentee relationship of years past? Clara has received a lot of crap since her introduction in the middle of Season 7, and I maintain what I said in Matt Smith's swan song: Clara's biggest issue wasn't the poor writing, but the fact that she wasn't Amy Pond. With Capaldi in the lead role, she now has a chance to start anew and finally step out from Amy Pond's large shadow (although the callback to the Doctor missing Amy was a nice touch and helped to reinforce the fact that although his appearance has changed, he's still the same man). The feature-length premiere "Deep Breath" might not have been the best indicator of what we have to look forward to this season in terms of the Doctor/companion relationship, but I'd argue that's commonplace for most post-regeneration episodes. The Doctor doesn't know who he is and spends half of the episode attempting to sort himself out while generally acting like a crazy person. It's rather difficult to get to know the man when he doesn't quite know himself. We saw Rose struggle to reconcile Tennant's Doctor with the man she'd run away with in Season 1, and now Clara's facing the same daunting task (Amy got off easy on that account). But Clara wasn't the only person coming to terms this week. The theme of regeneration and reinvention was present in the episode's story of the week when droids similar to those we last saw in Season 2's "The Girl in the Fireplace" attempted to become human by stealing human body parts. They wanted to live long enough to find the Promised Land, a place the Doctor said doesn't exist, and were murdering men and women for spare parts. While the meaning behind the story was well-placed and led to the Doctor finally remembering where he'd seen his own face before (Capaldi starred in Season 4's "The Fires of Pompeii, strangely enough, the same episode that also starred pre-companion Karen Gillan), the story itself at times felt a bit silly, especially when you factor in the dinosaur in the Thames. But it's hard to fault Doctor Who for being silly, because like the Doctor himself, it's part of the show's charms. If there's one part of "Deep Breath" that has me worried, though, it's the part that always has me worried: the Moffat of it all. Once Steven Moffat took over as showrunner from Davies in 2010, the series took to relying on complicated overarching stories involving the companions, and while I don't fault the series for taking on more serialized mysteries of this type, Moffat's storylines tend to be more convoluted than anything else. They often place the Doctor in seemingly impossible situations only to discover that the solutions are quite simple and they work because wibbly-wobbly time travel. Amy was the Girl Who Waited, and the crack in the universe was a fun jumping off point for her story, but eventually it came to feel like Moffat was in a battle to constantly one-up in himself. Clara was introduced as the Impossible Girl and the resolution to that storyline wasn't necessarily the best, either. Now Moffat has introduced another overarching storyline involving who placed the Impossible Girl ad in the paper in "Deep Breath," which itself is connected to the woman in the shop who gave Clara the TARDIS' phone number back in Clara's own debut "The Bells of Saint John." I don't mind that the series has reintroduced this new chapter to the Clara/Doctor mystery, but if I've learned anything from the Moffat era, it's to proceed with caution. No matter how many regenerations we've been though, it's always jarring in the beginning when a new actor takes over the role of the Doctor, and Clara acted as the audience stand-in this week as she struggled to accept that this was the same man she'd known, and on some level—even if it wasn't romantic—loved. She told Vastra that she didn't know who he was anymore, but just like we knew he would, he eventually proved to be the same quirky, trustworthy man who'd always have her back (and ours). It just took some time to gather himself together. I think Peter Capaldi's going to make a fine doctor, and not just because he went on a long rant about his eyebrows, but because his appearance finally matches the man inside, the one who's over a thousand years old. He's acknowledging his own darkness, while at the same time admitting his part in Doctor Who's recent sexification (it's a thing) of his character. He told Clara he wasn't her boyfriend, and when she told him she never thought he was, he said, "I never said it was your mistake." Whether it was the Doctor admitting he loved playing the hero to young companions who fancy him, or whether he was referencing the image we've projected on him, there's no doubt that the Doctor has changed. I look forward to Capaldi proving the show and the character can exist beyond that to become something more. NOTES – While I will never turn down appearances by former Doctors, and I came to absolutely LOVE Matt Smith as the Doctor, did the episode need his phone call at the end? It helped sell to Clara that the Doctor was still the Doctor, but don't you think his appearance was a little contradictory? Here we were trying to get to know Twelve, trying to rally behind this new but old character, and then Smith's lovely face showed up and reminded us of what used to be. I know some fans probably loved it, but I also know that some fans probably hated it, too. What was your take? – I'll be referring to Capaldi's Doctor as Twelve in these reviews even though he's the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor. I know this, you know this, so let's leave out the "HE'S THIRTEEEN" comments, OK? He's Twelve in the the non-linear wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey ball of stuff, way. – Who is Missy? Why did she refer to the Doctor as her boyfriend? And what is this supposed Heaven? Is this going to be another overarching storyline this season? – What did you think of the new credit sequence? I like the look of it, but the new theme was a bit too shrill for my liking. Am I just being nitpicky again, or did it possibly hit notes that only a dog can hear? – The writers gave Clara the Doctor's famous, "You've redecorated. I don't like it." line. I'm not sure I like that. – "Trick of the light, you still look terrible." – "I hate being wrong in public. Everybody forget that happened." – "Nothing is more important than my egomania!" – "Please tell me I didn't get old. Anything but old!" – "I don't think I'm a hugging person now." thekaitling:list:doctor-who-what-do-you-think-of-peter-capaldis-doctor/
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| Australian Ricciardo (Red Bull) delighted with Belgian GP win Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:05 AM PDT  Daniel Ricciardo rose above the ballyhoo around him to enjoy the celebrations on Sunday after he delivered the Red Bull team's 50th victory in Formula One at the Belgian Grand Prix. It also made him the first Australian winner of the race since Jack Brabham in 1960. His victory came after the two McLaren drivers, championship leader Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, crashed into each other on the second lap. "We couldn't really rest though because I knew Nico Rosberg would be quick at the end, but we held on and it was nice to taste the Champagne again."
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| Hundreds of Methane Plumes Erupting Along East Coast Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:05 AM PDT  "We don't know of any explanation that fits as well as methane," said lead study author Adam Skarke, a geologist at Mississippi State University in Mississippi State. Between North Carolina's Cape Hatteras and Massachusetts' Georges Bank, 570 methane seeps cluster in about eight regions, according to sonar and video gathered by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration ship Okeanos Explorer between 2011 and 2013.
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| Man U held by Sunderland, leaving Van Gaal winless Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:02 AM PDT  SUNDERLAND, England (AP) — Louis van Gaal remains without a win as Manchester United manager after the team's opening-day loss was followed by a 1-1 draw at Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday.
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| 3 people critically injured after California earthquake Posted: 24 Aug 2014 10:02 AM PDT  A large earthquake caused significant damage and left three critically injured in California's northern Bay Area early Sunday, igniting fires, sending at least 87 people to a hospital, knocking out power to tens of thousands and sending residents running out of their homes in the darkness.
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| Usain Bolt ends injury-plagued season early Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:59 AM PDT  ZURICH (AP) — Usain Bolt has decided to end his injury-plagued season early, having competed in just three races in 2014.
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| Quake rocks California wine country, dozens injured Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:58 AM PDT  By Jim Christie NAPA Calif. (Reuters) - A 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked wine country north of San Francisco early on Sunday, injuring dozens of people, damaging historic buildings, setting some homes on fire and causing power outages around the picturesque town of Napa. The biggest quake in the region in 25 years jolted many residents out of bed when it hit at 3:20 a.m. local time (0620 ET), centered 6 miles (10 km) south of the City of Napa. Three people were seriously injured, including a child who had multiple fractures after a fireplace fell on him, local fire battalion chief John Callahan said. There were no reports of any fatalities but the quake shook up residents, said Barry Martin, community outreach coordinator for the City of Napa, which has a population of 77,000.
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| Koo penalty denies Paderborn Bundesliga debut win Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:56 AM PDT  Paderborn were denied a famous win on their Bundesliga debut after Ja-Cheol Koo scored a penalty four minutes into injury time to earn Mainz a 2-2 draw on Sunday. Shinji Okazaki put Mainz in front after 33 minutes with his 26th goal in the German top flight – equalling the record for a Japanese player. Paderborn's Elias Kachunga smashed home four minutes later to bring the home side level and Uwe Hunemeier's header put them ahead with three minutes left. "Towards the end we had chances to keep the ball better," Paderborn manager Andre Breitenreiter said.
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| Californians tear out lawns to cope with drought Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:55 AM PDT  LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Rick Blankenship was tired of an insatiable lawn he couldn't keep green, no matter how he watered it, so he decided to tear it out.
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| Mass to be held for slain US journalist Foley Posted: 24 Aug 2014 09:54 AM PDT  ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — James Foley, the U.S. journalist slain by Islamic State militants after being held in captivity for nearly two years, will be remembered Sunday at a Mass of Remembrance in his hometown.
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| China executes 8 for 'terrorist' attacks in Xinjiang Posted: 24 Aug 2014 02:28 AM PDT  China has executed eight people for "terrorist" attacks in its restive far western region of Xinjiang, including three who "masterminded" a dramatic car crash in the capital's Tiananmen Square in 2013, state media said. Xinjiang is the traditional home of Muslim Uighurs who speak a Turkic language, and China has attributed attacks there to Islamist separatists it says seek to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. Exiled Uighur groups and human rights activists say the government's own repressive policies in Xinjiang have provoked unrest, an accusation Beijing denies. Three of the executed group "masterminded" the October 2013 attack in the heart of the Chinese capital, official news agency Xinhua said late on Saturday.
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| Death toll from Hiroshima landslides reaches 50 Posted: 24 Aug 2014 12:50 AM PDT  The death toll from devastating midweek landslides in Hiroshima rose to 50 with 38 others missing on Sunday as fresh rain stoked fears of more disasters and hampered the round-the-clock search for survivors. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called off a planned inspection tour of the western Japan city by helicopter on the day as his presence was feared to further complicate the search and rescue mission as rain intensified, media reports said. Meanwhile, two women were killed Sunday on the remote island of Rebun, some 1,350-kilometres (840 miles) northeast of Hiroshima, when a rain-triggered landslide crushed their home, local officials said. The Hiroshima regional police headquarters updated the death and missing figures Sunday morning after a 83-year-old man was confirmed dead four days after unusual downpours caused landslides that swallowed dozens of homes, many of them perched on hillside housing areas.
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| Israeli airstrike levels 7-story building in Gaza Posted: 24 Aug 2014 08:31 AM PDT  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes leveled a seven-floor office building and severely damaged a two-story shopping center in the Gaza Strip early Sunday, signaling a new escalation in seven weeks of fighting with Hamas.
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| Thousands rally in New York over chokehold death Posted: 23 Aug 2014 03:23 PM PDT  Many show their support for Eric Garner, who died after a cop used a banned tactic.
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| Clinton shadow in Iowa no threat to some Democrats Posted: 23 Aug 2014 12:11 PM PDT  Democrats with presidential dreams are coming to Iowa with little fanfare or recognition.
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