Obama's address to pitch tax proposals to help middle class

Obama's address to pitch tax proposals to help middle class
Charlie Hebdo editor: We attack religion when it becomes political
US teens on alleged crime spree captured in Florida
Pope attracts world-record crowd in rain-swept Philippines
Shots fired near Vice President Biden's Delaware residence
Kentucky teen couple suspected of multi-state crime spree captured
California nurses reach contract agreement, cancel strike
Pope Manila Mass drew record crowd of 6-7 million: Vatican
Police: 2 dead, 1 wounded in central Florida mall shooting
To keep up with demand, Charlie Hebdo ups print run
Deadly anti-Charlie Hebdo riots as France defends free speech

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 08:16 AM PST

The president's plan will also put the GOP in the position of defending top income earners over the middle class.

Charlie Hebdo editor: We attack religion when it becomes political

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 06:45 AM PST

The editor of Charlie Hebdo defends the French satirical newspaper's depiction of religion, saying it targets faith only when it becomes "entangled" in politics.

US teens on alleged crime spree captured in Florida

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 09:39 AM PST

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Florida (AP) — Two teenage sweethearts suspected in a crime spree of stolen vehicles and pilfered checks across the U.S. South have been taken into custody in Florida, Kentucky authorities said Sunday.

Pope attracts world-record crowd in rain-swept Philippines

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 05:02 AM PST

Pope Francis drew a record six million people as he celebrated mass in the rain-swept Philippine capital Sunday, a triumphant finale to an Asian tour in which he championed the plight of the poor. Francis made an exhilarating entrance to a Manila bayside park for the mass aboard a "popemobile" that was styled after the nation's iconic, flamboyant and much-loved "jeepney" minibus. The Philippines is famed as the Catholic Church's bastion in Asia, with 80 percent of the former Spanish colony following the faith. "I cannot fathom the faith of the simple people," Francis said, according to the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who acted as the pontiff's chaperone.

Shots fired near Vice President Biden's Delaware residence

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 09:54 AM PST

Gun shots rang out from a passing vehicle near U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's residence in Delaware on Saturday night, but the vice president and his wife were not at home, the U.S. Secret Service said on Sunday. Secret Service personnel at the residence heard the reports and saw the vehicle speeding away. Biden, 72, who served as a U.S. senator from Delaware for more than three decades, has residences in New Castle County and in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Jill, were in Delaware when the shooting occurred but were out for the evening, the Secret Service said. The individual is not currently tied to the incident but the Secret Service said the person would be questioned about the shooting.

Kentucky teen couple suspected of multi-state crime spree captured

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 10:35 AM PST

By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Teenage sweethearts from Kentucky were found in Florida early Sunday sleeping in a stolen pickup truck, ending a suspected multi-state crime spree that included vehicle thefts, cashing stolen checks and destruction of property, authorities said. Dalton Hayes, 18, was being held in a county jail and Cheyenne Phillips, 13, who ran away with him about two weeks ago from western Kentucky, was turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families, authorities said. Hayes and Phillips surrendered without incident after they were surrounded by local law enforcement in a Panama City Beach parking lot, the Grayson County Kentucky Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

California nurses reach contract agreement, cancel strike

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 09:53 AM PST

(Reuters) - About 18,000 nurses at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics in central and northern California will receive raises of 14 percent over three years under a tentative agreement averting a potential strike, the union said on Sunday. The California Nurses Association, which is part of National Nurses United, said in a statement that the agreement would result in the hiring of more registered nurses as well as improved retirement benefits. The union, which canceled a strike planned for Wednesday and Thursday of this week, said the agreement must next be ratified by the 18,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners covered at 86 Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics in California. The agreement is likely to elevate standards for registered nurses across the nation, the union said.

Pope Manila Mass drew record crowd of 6-7 million: Vatican

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 04:09 AM PST

By Philip Pullella and Rosemarie Francisco MANILA (Reuters) - Pope Francis concluded his trip to Asia on Sunday with an open-air Mass for a rain-drenched crowd in Manila that the Vatican and the government said drew up to seven million people, the largest ever for a papal event. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the office of the president told the Vatican that between six and seven million attended the Mass in Manila's Rizal Park and surrounding areas. "If this is true, and we think it is, this is the largest event in the history of the popes," he said, noting that Pope John Paul drew some five million to the same area in 1995. The 78-year-old pope, wearing a transparent yellow poncho over his white cassock, was driven through the ecstatic crowd in a "popemobile" modified from a jeepney, the most popular mode of transport in the Philippines which is based on a U.S. military vehicle used in World War II. He stopped often along the route to kiss children and bless religious statues on the day the Philippines celebrates the feast of the infant Jesus.

Police: 2 dead, 1 wounded in central Florida mall shooting

Posted: 18 Jan 2015 08:12 AM PST

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man shot his wife at a shopping mall food court Saturday and killed another person before turning the gun on himself, police say.

To keep up with demand, Charlie Hebdo ups print run

Posted: 17 Jan 2015 12:47 PM PST

The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo keeps flying off the shelves as soon as it arrives in stores, forcing the publisher to increase the latest print run to 7 million.

Deadly anti-Charlie Hebdo riots as France defends free speech

Posted: 17 Jan 2015 07:20 PM PST

Five people were killed and churches set on fire in Niger in fresh protests against the French weekly Charlie Hebdo's cartoon of Mohammed, as France condemned the violence and asserted its commitment to freedom of expression. With France still reeling from last week's attacks that claimed 17 lives, jittery European countries stepped up security, with soldiers patrolling the streets of Belgium for the first time in 35 years.