| Boy Scouts settle California suit over abuse Posted: 29 Jan 2015 10:59 AM PST  The case involved a man who was molested by a Scout volunteer in 2007.
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| Gas blast at Mexico City children's hospital Posted: 29 Jan 2015 11:17 AM PST  At least three people are dead and dozens are injured.
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| Lindsey Graham to test 2016 Republican presidential waters Posted: 29 Jan 2015 09:21 AM PST  By Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Thursday formed a political organization to explore a potential run for his party's presidential nomination, the latest high-profile politician to test the 2016 waters. Graham would attempt to use his South Carolina home base to his advantage for any potential run, since the Southern state is typically the third to hold a nominating contest in presidential election years, after Iowa and New Hampshire. "What I'm looking at is, is there a pathway forward on the ground in Iowa and New Hampshire for a guy like me?
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| Islamic State purportedly sets new deadline for hostage swap Posted: 29 Jan 2015 09:17 AM PST  A voice claiming to be a Japanese hostage relays the group's latest threat.
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| U.S. jobless claims plunge 14% Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:03 AM PST  New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits plunged to the lowest level in nearly 15 years last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, dropped to a seasonally adjusted 265,000 in the week ending January 24, a hefty decline of 43,000 from the prior week's slightly upwardly revised level of 308,000. It was the lowest level for initial claims since mid-April 2000. The Labor Department said there was no particular factor influencing the week's claims data, which is often volatile.
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| Weekly Ebola cases below 100 Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:04 AM PST  By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The number of new confirmed Ebola cases totaled 99 in the week to Jan. 25, the lowest tally since June 2014, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, signaling the tide might have turned against the epidemic. "The response to the EVD (Ebola virus disease) epidemic has now moved to a second phase, as the focus shifts from slowing transmission to ending the epidemic," the WHO said. "To achieve this goal as quickly as possible, efforts have moved from rapidly building infrastructure to ensuring that capacity for case finding, case management, safe burials, and community engagement is used as effectively as possible." The outbreak has killed 8,810 people out of 22,092 known cases, almost all of them in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Cases and deaths have fallen rapidly in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the past few weeks, with just 20 deaths recorded in Liberia in the 21 days to Jan. 25.
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| Matt Bai: Jeb and the myth of the Sister Souljah moment Posted: 29 Jan 2015 01:12 AM PST  Contrary to what people say, there's really no such thing as a "Sister Souljah moment" unless a political candidate has spent a good bit of time making the argument that underlies it first.
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| Malaysia declares MH370 an 'accident', airline to proceed with compensation Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:30 AM PST  Malaysia declared on Thursday the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident, clearing the way for the airline to pay compensation to victims' relatives while the search for the plane goes on. "We officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident ... and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives," Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said in a statement. The announcement is in accordance with standards of annexes 12 and 13 in the International Civil Aviation, said Azharuddin. It will allow families of the passengers to obtain assistance through compensation, he said.
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| Convicted Ft. Hood killer to face military hearing in Kansas Posted: 29 Jan 2015 08:04 AM PST  (Reuters) - Former U.S. Army major Nidal Hasan will appear in a military court on Thursday for a procedural hearing related to his capital punishment conviction for the 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood in Texas that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others. Military Judge Colonel Tara Osborn "plans to review routine matters such as Hasan's post-trial rights and elections, discuss the Record of Trial and Hasan's post-trial representation by counsel," U.S. Army officials said in a statement. The hearing will take place at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, where Hasan was sent after being sentenced to death for the killings. His death sentence is subject to an automatic appeal.
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| Three American contractors killed in 'insider attack' in Afghan capital Posted: 29 Jan 2015 10:43 AM PST Three American contractors were killed and a fourth was wounded by an Afghan soldier at the military airport in the capital Kabul, an Afghan air force official told Reuters on Thursday. "It is unclear yet why he shot these advisers and no one else was there to tell us the reason," the official said, asking not to be named because he was not authorized to give statements to the media. |
| Exclusive: CDC installing cameras in labs in agency-wide safety push Posted: 29 Jan 2015 05:26 AM PST  By Julie Steenhuysen ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has introduced camera monitoring of workers in its highest-level biosafety laboratories as it seeks to restore public faith in its procedures after a series of mishaps, agency officials tell Reuters. The mishaps have raised major questions over safety practices at more than 1,000 laboratory and support facilities that make up the CDC, whose role is to monitor and prevent outbreaks of disease. The move to monitor workers will allow lab directors and senior scientists to ensure they have followed safety protocols exactly, Leslie Dauphin, interim director of laboratory safety, told Reuters in an interview. "That is what the camera system helps with." The agency is expected to release details within a week of its own investigation into the Ebola mishap.
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| AirAsia co-pilot at controls when plane crashed Posted: 28 Jan 2015 04:57 PM PST  The French co-pilot was at the controls of an AirAsia plane before it crashed into the sea last month after flying through an area of towering clouds, killing all 162 people on board, investigators said Thursday. The announcement came as fishermen found two more bodies from the crash in waters off Sulawesi island in central Indonesia, around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from where the plane crashed, a search and rescue official said. On Thursday, Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, which has been analysing the plane's black boxes, said that prior to the crash, the aircraft had climbed fast in an area packed with huge storm clouds, and the stall alarms started going off. They also revealed that the Airbus A320-200's less experienced French co-pilot, Remi Plesel, was flying the plane before it went down, rather than Captain Iriyanto, a former fighter pilot who had around 20,000 hours of flying time.
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| Unlikely bedfellows unite on criminal justice reform Posted: 28 Jan 2015 03:07 PM PST  From the Koch brothers to Al Franken, momentum builds to reduce prison population.
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| State Dept. officials meet with House Benghazi panel Posted: 28 Jan 2015 03:45 PM PST  Officials are prepared to meet immediately with a special House committee investigating the deadly 2012 attacks.
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| After sparring with 2 Chainz, Nancy Grace debates pot with Dr. Drew Posted: 28 Jan 2015 09:24 AM PST  On the heels of her endlessly entertaining debate with rapper 2 Chainz over the legalization of marijuana, Nancy Grace picked up the anti-pot argument on Tuesday with fellow HLN host Dr. Drew.
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