Senate Dems agree to GOP plan to fund Homeland Security

Senate Dems agree to GOP plan to fund Homeland Security
3 nabbed in NY, Florida in plot to join Islamic State group
‘American Sniper’ jury finds ex-Marine guilty of murder
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel forced into April runoff election
Official says Afghan avalanches kill at least 124 people
N.Korea may have 100 atomic arms by 2020
No relief: More cold, snow, ice, wintry mix for much of US
White House threatens veto for U.S. House education bill
U.S. charges three with conspiring to support Islamic State
First execution of female in Georgia in 70 years delayed over weather
Defying GOP, Obama vetoes Keystone XL pipeline bill
Netanyahu declines Democrats' invitation for meeting during visit
Homeland Security shutdown by the numbers
Aaron Schock's spending problem isn't going away

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 11:03 AM PST

Democrats support the plan without immigration provisions opposed by President Obama.

3 nabbed in NY, Florida in plot to join Islamic State group

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 11:15 AM PST

The men are accused of plotting to travel to Syria to wage war against the United States.

‘American Sniper’ jury finds ex-Marine guilty of murder

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 12:35 AM PST

Eddie Ray Routh is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel forced into April runoff election

Posted: 24 Feb 2015 09:42 PM PST

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel failed to capture a majority of the vote Tuesday in his bid for a second term, an embarrassment for the former White House chief of staff who now faces a runoff against Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.

Official says Afghan avalanches kill at least 124 people

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 11:18 AM PST

PANJSHIR VALLEY, Afghanistan (AP) — Avalanches caused by a heavy winter snow killed at least 124 people in northeastern Afghanistan, an emergency official said Wednesday, as rescuers clawed through debris with their hands to save those buried beneath.

N.Korea may have 100 atomic arms by 2020

Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:39 PM PST

North Korea appears poised to expand its nuclear program over the next five years and in a worst case scenario could possess 100 atomic arms by 2020, US researchers warned Tuesday. Unveiling the first results of what will be a 15-month study, Joel Wit, senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said some of their conclusions were very "disturbing." Although North Korea's nuclear program remains shrouded in uncertainty, Pyongyang is currently believed to have a stockpile of some 10 to 16 nuclear weapons fashioned from either plutonium or weapons-grade uranium.

No relief: More cold, snow, ice, wintry mix for much of US

Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:27 PM PST

A wide swath of the country shivered in freezing, record-breaking temperatures while other areas saw more winter precipitation Tuesday.

White House threatens veto for U.S. House education bill

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 06:38 AM PST

The White House on Wednesday said a bill under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives to revise the federal No Child Left Behind education law would face a veto from President Barack Obama if it reached his desk. The bill, called the "Student Success Act," has been approved by a congressional committee and is expected to come before the full House for a possible vote this week. The White House said the bill is "a significant step backwards" in education policy.

U.S. charges three with conspiring to support Islamic State

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 10:46 AM PST

By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three men were charged on Wednesday with conspiring to support Islamic State, including two who planned to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of the radical group, U.S. authorities said. One of the men, Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, of Kazakhstan was arrested early on Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where authorities said he was attempting to board a flight to Turkey on his way to Syria. Another defendant, Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, of Uzbekistan, had previously purchased a ticket for a March flight to Istanbul, said Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn. Abror Habibov, 30, of Uzbekistan, was accused of helping to fund Saidakhmetov's efforts, prosecutors said.

First execution of female in Georgia in 70 years delayed over weather

Posted: 25 Feb 2015 10:48 AM PST

By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A woman set to become the first female prisoner executed by the state of Georgia in 70 years has had her death by injection delayed until Monday due to inclement weather, the governor's office said. Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, was found guilty of murder for plotting the 1997 killing of her husband, Douglas Gissendaner. According to prosecutors, she convinced her boyfriend, Gregory Owen, to murder Douglas Gissendaner, who was stabbed to death in a desolate area in suburban Atlanta after being abducted from his home. Gissendaner is the only woman on Georgia's death row.

Defying GOP, Obama vetoes Keystone XL pipeline bill

Posted: 24 Feb 2015 01:34 PM PST

President Barack Obama has vetoed a Republican bill forcing construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Netanyahu declines Democrats' invitation for meeting during visit

Posted: 24 Feb 2015 05:25 PM PST

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined on Tuesday an invitation to meet with U.S. Senate Democrats during his trip to Washington next week. "Though I greatly appreciate your kind invitation to meet with Democratic Senators, I believe that doing so at this time could compound the misperception of partisanship regarding my upcoming visit," Netanyahu wrote in a letter to Senators Richard Durbin and Dianne Feinstein obtained by Reuters. Durbin and Feinstein, two senior Senate Democrats, invited Netanyahu to a closed-door meeting with Democratic senators in a letter on Monday, warning that making U.S.-Israeli relations a partisan political issue could have "lasting repercussions." Republican congressional leaders broke diplomatic protocol by consulting neither the White House nor Democrats in Congress before inviting Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and Senate.

Homeland Security shutdown by the numbers

Posted: 24 Feb 2015 08:56 AM PST

Yahoo News takes a look at how a shutdown could affect workers at the TSA and other agencies.

Aaron Schock's spending problem isn't going away

Posted: 24 Feb 2015 07:31 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock has hired top lawyers and public relations experts in the wake of recent questions surrounding his travel and entertainment expenses.