| Obama won't meet with Netanyahu during controversial U.S. visit Posted: 22 Jan 2015 09:38 AM PST  The White House says the trip is scheduled too close to the Israeli elections.
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| GOP pushes abortion bill through House after earlier stumble Posted: 22 Jan 2015 10:50 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — As thousands of abortion foes surged through the city on their annual protest march to the Supreme Court, Republicans muscled legislation through the House on Thursday tightening federal restrictions on abortions. The vote came after internal divisions forced them into an embarrassing fumble of a similar bill.
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| Harry Reid speaks out against Obama’s trade plan Posted: 22 Jan 2015 10:46 AM PST  Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on Thursday threw cold water on President Barack Obama's plans to pursue trade agreements in 2015, one of the few points of bipartisan interest from his State of the Union address earlier this week.
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| Top NY politician charged with 5 criminal counts Posted: 22 Jan 2015 07:11 AM PST Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested after a lengthy corruption investigation. |
| Bill Belichick: 'I don't have an explanation' Posted:  Bill Belichick: 'I don't have an explanation'
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| Orrin Hatch is the happiest senator in Washington Posted: 22 Jan 2015 01:13 AM PST  The longest-serving Republican senator talks about his role as the Senate's bipartisan mediator and his friendship with Elizabeth Warren.
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| Jobless claims off seven-month high Posted: 22 Jan 2015 07:30 AM PST  The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week from a seven-month high, pointing to continued improvement in labor market conditions. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 307,000 for the week ended Jan. 17, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Some, however, wondered if some of the elevation in claims reflected layoffs in the oil industry in the wake of plunging crude prices. "It is unclear at this point whether or not this move up in the trend reflects issues seasonally adjusting the data around the holidays or if it represents a more meaningful deterioration in the labor market," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JP Morgan in New York.
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| Eight civilians killed in shelling of Ukraine bus Posted: 22 Jan 2015 10:52 AM PST  By Natalia Zinets and Alessandra Prentice KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday his troops were holding the line against separatists and Russian forces after a sharp increase in attacks and the withdrawal of government defenders from Donetsk airport. Poroshenko, who told the World Economic Forum on Wednesday that Russia had 9,000 troops inside Ukraine, met defense chiefs to work on a plan to "regroup and stop aggression". Earlier on Thursday at least eight civilians were killed when a trolleybus was hit by an artillery shell or mortar at a public transport stop in the southern district of Donetsk, which is largely controlled by separatists. Kiev said 10 Ukrainian soldiers were killed overnight, six at the airport complex, a symbolic target where a small group of government defenders had been holding out against Russian-backed separatists for months.
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| NY Assembly speaker arrested, suspected of graft Posted: 22 Jan 2015 05:34 AM PST  Sheldon Silver, one of the most powerful politicians in NYC, is in FBI custody.
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| House GOP abruptly drops plans to debate abortion bill Posted: 21 Jan 2015 07:38 PM PST  A bill banning most late-term abortions is dropped after a revolt by GOP women and others.
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| Hundreds displaced in New Jersey apartment building fire Posted: 21 Jan 2015 09:47 PM PST  EDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — Hampered by winds and frigid temperatures, firefighters battled a huge fire Wednesday night at a New Jersey apartment complex that sent flames sky high and smoke visible from New York City across the Hudson River.
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| N.Y. state assembly speaker charged with fraud in corruption probe Posted: 22 Jan 2015 09:35 AM PST  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, one of the state's most powerful Democrats for more than two decades, was charged on Thursday with fraud and other criminal counts after a lengthy corruption investigation, federal authorities said. The governor, Senate majority leader and assembly speaker have negotiated state budgets and key legislation. Silver, the latest in a long line of New York politicians involved in corruption scandals, allegedly received more than $6 million in income from two law firms since 2002. The case appeared to accelerate after federal authorities resurrected an investigation into corruption in Albany, the state capital.
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| New York City subway, bus fares to increase Posted: 22 Jan 2015 10:07 AM PST  New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted on Thursday to increase subway and bus fares on the nation's largest mass transit system in March. The cost of riding a subway or bus will increase to $2.75 from $2.50 and riders will get an 11 percent bonus by putting $5.50 or more on a Metrocard, which is used for access to the system, the MTA said. The increases will help maintain reliability and security for the transit system and its passengers, MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said at a news conference. The Riders Alliance, an advocacy group, said Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature must find sources of revenue other than fare hikes to fund the MTA's capital needs.
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| Opening statements in Boston bombing trial delayed Posted: 22 Jan 2015 07:50 AM PST  Opening statements in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been postponed as jury selection has taken longer than expected, meaning lawyers will not begin presenting cases Monday as planned, the court said on Thursday. The delay comes as Tsarnaev's attorneys launched a fresh effort to move the trial outside of Boston, arguing that it will be impossible to find an unbiased panel of jurors in the city where the attack took place. "It is not possible yet to specifically target a new start date," a spokeswoman for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement. Tsarnaev is accused of setting off twin pressure-cooker bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013, killing three people and injuring more than 260 in the worst such incident on U.S. soil since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
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| DOJ ready to clear Ferguson officer Darren Wilson: Report Posted: 21 Jan 2015 03:58 PM PST  The U.S. Justice Department is about to close the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, and clear the white police officer involved of any civil rights charges, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. The newspaper quoted law enforcement officials as saying that federal prosecutors had begun work on a legal memo recommending no civil rights charges against the officer, Darren Wilson, after an FBI investigation found no evidence to support charges against him. The Justice Department declined comment. The agency is still conducting a probe into the Ferguson police force.
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| Police release video of more than 180 Ferguson looting suspects Posted: 21 Jan 2015 09:31 AM PST  Footage taken from surveillance cameras shows more than 180 suspected looters storming the Dellwood Market.
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| Newtown votes to raze home of gunman in school massacre Posted: 21 Jan 2015 05:09 PM PST  NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — Officials in Newtown have voted to tear down the home where Adam Lanza lived before he carried out the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
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| Reappearance of 'Jihadi John' raises questions, concerns about his identity Posted: 21 Jan 2015 11:11 AM PST  The masked terrorist known as "Jihadi John" reappeared in another hostage video this week, prompting many to question what U.S. and British intelligence agencies know about him.
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| Legal experts warn of stealth jurors infiltrating Colorado movie theater shooting trial Posted: 21 Jan 2015 08:00 AM PST Trial experts say the James Holmes trial is ripe for a stealth juror with an agenda. |
