| Atlanta preps for storm that left 4 dead in Texas Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:26 PM PST  Forecasters warn of potentially 'catastrophic' thick layer of ice.
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| Exclusive: Clarence Thomas says society overly sensitive about race Posted: 11 Feb 2014 11:41 AM PST  "Everybody is sensitive," Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said. "If I had been as sensitive as that in the 1960s, I'd still be in Savannah."
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| Meet Pascal Tessier, first openly gay Eagle Scout Posted: 11 Feb 2014 01:57 PM PST  By Marina Lopes NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 17-year-old Maryland boy has become one of the first openly gay Boy Scouts to achieve the Boy Scouts of America's highest rank since the organization reversed its ban on gay youth nearly six weeks ago. Pascal Tessier, who publicly voiced his opposition to the ban on gay members, started with the group a decade ago as a Cub Scout and earned 21 merit badges before being named an Eagle Scout on Monday, said his father, Oliver Tessier, a consultant in Chevy Chase, Maryland. "It is phenomenal as a statement for the community that he was able to speak out for kids who could not speak out," Oliver Tessier in a phone interview. "He stressed many times that the values he learned from Boy Scouts allowed him to speak out for what was right." Calls and emails to Scouting magazine, which is the group's official publication, and to Pascal's Scoutmaster were not immediately returned on Tuesday.
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| Curls and dimples: Shirley Temple dies at 85 Posted: 11 Feb 2014 03:03 PM PST  Any kid who ever tap-danced at a talent show or put on a curly wig and auditioned for "Annie" can only dream of being as beloved — or as important — as Shirley Temple.
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| First lady's state dinner gown by Carolina Herrera Posted: 11 Feb 2014 04:58 PM PST  Michelle Obama chose Carolina Herrera to design the blue and black gown she wore to the state dinner honoring French President Francois Hollande.
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| Belgium set to extend right-to-die law to children Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:51 PM PST  BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium, one of the very few countries where euthanasia is legal, is expected to take the unprecedented step this week of abolishing age restrictions on who can ask to be put to death — extending the right to children for the first time.
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| Algeria: Plane crash kills 77 but 1 man survives Posted: 11 Feb 2014 03:14 PM PST  ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — An Algerian military transport plane slammed into a mountain Tuesday in the country's rugged eastern region, killing 77 people and leaving just one survivor, the defense ministry said.
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| Official: Deal with devil prompted girl's killing Posted: 11 Feb 2014 03:24 PM PST  HOUSTON (AP) — Two teenage boys were hoping to make a deal with the devil when they sexually assaulted and killed a 15-year-old suburban Houston girl in a satanic ritual, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
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| NBC's Tom Brokaw diagnosed with cancer Posted: 11 Feb 2014 04:58 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Veteran TV newsman Tom Brokaw has been diagnosed with cancer, NBC News said Tuesday.
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| White falls to the I-Pod in Olympic stunner Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:16 PM PST  KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Maybe it was all too much. Or maybe just one of those bad nights. That debate will last a long time.
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| Hundreds flock to 'weeping' Mary statue in Israel Posted: 11 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say "weeps" oil.
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| House passes debt ceiling increase Posted: 11 Feb 2014 03:18 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Unwilling to spook the markets and divided among themselves, House Republicans backed away from a battle over the government's debt limit Tuesday and permitted President Barack Obama's Democratic allies to drive quick passage of a measure extending Treasury's borrowing authority without any concessions from the White House.
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| Security fears threaten US future in Afghanistan Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:54 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Warily watching to see how many U.S. troops might remain in Afghanistan next year, American diplomats and aid workers are facing a drawdown of their own as security threats and dwindling resources limit their 12-year push to develop the mostly primitive nation.
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| Obama, Hollande tackle tenuous diplomatic efforts Posted: 11 Feb 2014 01:48 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Juggling a pair of tenuous diplomatic efforts, President Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed to come down like "a ton of bricks" on businesses that violate Iranian sanctions while nuclear negotiations are underway. He also conceded "enormous frustration" with stalled Syrian peace talks and offered little hope of ending the conflict soon.
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| Republicans set stage for raising debt limit Posted: 11 Feb 2014 01:41 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Unwilling to risk spooking the markets, and leading a fractured GOP majority, House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday stepped back from a confrontation with Democrats to let Congress vote on increasing the government's borrowing cap without trying to extract any concessions from the White House. |
| GOP chooses 'clean' debt bill Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:03 AM PST There's not enough support for a bill that asks for a repeal of military pension cuts. |
| Quel choix! Like picking a favorite daughter Posted: 11 Feb 2014 11:02 AM PST  President Obama makes personal comparison to choosing favored ally between Britain, France.
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| She put the 'Happy' in Happy Meals; arrest depresses drug dealer Posted: 11 Feb 2014 12:09 PM PST  Defense attorney says Pa. woman 'crushed' by charges she sold heroin using Happy Meals
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| Volunteers are rescuing Sochi dogs, smuggling them out of town Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:26 AM PST  Alexei stops in his tracks as he sees a half-breed Labrador snooping around at a cafe's back door.
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| At Sochi Games, American athletes keeping flags under wraps Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:29 AM PST  Security concerns have American athletes keeping a low profile in Sochi.
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| Photos: Shirley Temple Posted: |
| Boehner on debt ceiling: Wimpy or wise move? Posted: 11 Feb 2014 10:38 AM PST On Tuesday, Republican House speaker announced he'll bring no-strings-attached bill to raise US debt ceiling. Why? |
| Seeking the light in dark Detroit Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:47 AM PST  Half the city's 88,000 streetlamps don't work, but a new agency is working on it.
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| The children of Syria’s civil war Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:38 PM PST  PBS Frontline examines the lives of survivors in a war that's killed 11,000 children.
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| Oops! Gas station accidentally sets gas price at 1 cent per gallon Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:47 AM PST  An Illinois gas station caused a traffic jam over the weekend when it accidentally began charging 1 cent per gallon of gas.
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| U.S., Russian diplomats may meet Syria delegates at peace talks Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:37 AM PST  Syrian negotiators on Tuesday held their first face-to-face meeting this month as U.S. and Russian officials prepared to join the stalemated peace talks in Geneva.
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| Yellen: Fed to keep trimming stimulus Posted: 11 Feb 2014 02:02 PM PST  By Jonathan Spicer and Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Janet Yellen, fresh from taking the helm of the Federal Reserve, made it clear on Tuesday she would not make any abrupt changes to U.S. monetary policy, saying the central bank was on track to keep reducing its stimulus even though the labor market recovery was far from complete. In her first public comments since becoming Fed chief earlier this month, Yellen had testy exchanges with some Republican lawmakers over Wall Street regulation and central bank independence. But she managed to keep financial markets calm by emphasizing continuity with the policy approach taken by her predecessor, Ben Bernanke. Yellen said the central bank must keep its eye on the "unusually high" incidence of long-term unemployment and the "exceptionally high" proportion of Americans who can find only part-time work as it plots a tricky reversal of its very accommodative policy stance.
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| GOP donors worried about Christie's 2016 presidential prospects Posted: 11 Feb 2014 10:28 AM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — Where just months ago Republicans brimmed with pride over Chris Christie's landslide re-election, doubts about his prospects as a potential presidential candidate have begun creeping into the minds of some donors in key states, according to some GOP fundraisers.
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| Algerian military plane crashes into mountain, 77 killed Posted: 11 Feb 2014 12:27 PM PST  By Lamine Chikhi OULED GACEM, Algeria (Reuters) - A military transport plane carrying members of the Algerian armed forces and their relatives crashed into a mountain on Tuesday, killing 77 people, the worst air disaster in the North African country in a decade. State television showed footage of the wreckage of the plane near the village of Ouled Gacem in eastern Algeria, smoke rising from the site and emergency crews scouring the forested area for survivors and bodies. "I saw the military plane crashing, and it was cut into two pieces," Mohamed, a fireman told Reuters at Ouled Gacem, near the crash site in Oum El Bouaghi province, 500 km (300 miles) east of Algiers. Colonel Lahmadi Bouguern told the APS state news agency that 99 passengers and four crew were on board the C-130 Hercules transport plane, which took off from the southern Tamanrasset province and was bound for Constantine.
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