| Obama issues blunt warning to Russia Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:48 PM PST  President says 'there will be costs' for any military intervention in Ukraine.
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| Has Wall Street finally beat 'The Oracle of Omaha'? Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:07 PM PST  By Luciana Lopez NEW YORK (Reuters) - A five-year bull market may have finally outdueled one of the U.S. stock market's biggest bulls, and Warren Buffett will probably tell investors on Saturday that his 43-year run of beating the Street has come to an end. By his own benchmark for performance, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc almost certainly lagged a red-hot stock market in 2013 and probably also fell short over the previous five years, his favored timeframe for measuring the firm's return for its investors. Using the gain in Berkshire's book value per share after taxes, which Buffett traditionally contrasts with the pre-tax total return, including dividends, on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Berkshire will be hard pressed to match the S&P's 128.2 percent gain in the five years ended December 31, 2013. The whopping 32 percent total return on the S&P last year only makes it more likely that Berkshire's book value did not match the index's five-year performance.
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| Scam tricks caller ID to show real tech support numbers Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:31 AM PST  How Fraudsters Are Using a Clever Scheme to Appear as Real Tech Support
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| Under the Rock: Secret tunnels found under Alcatraz Posted: 28 Feb 2014 12:01 PM PST  Just when you thought you knew everything there is to know about the island of Alcatraz, a group of scientists comes along and discovers tunnels buried under the former prison's walls that experts had thought were destroyed long ago.
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| Woman receives FedEx box of strangers' sensitive documents Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST  Paging Sherlock Holmes. Your talents of deduction are needed to help solve the mystery of a woman who says she received a FedEx box full of strangers' credit card information and medical records.
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| Official: Toxic mix of drugs caused actor's accidental death Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:02 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — A toxic mix of heroin and other drugs killed Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, New York City officials said Friday.
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| Chinese gov't media calls departing U.S. envoy a plague -- and worse Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:13 AM PST  BEIJING (AP) — A major Chinese government news service used a racist slur to describe the departing American ambassador in a mean-spirited editorial on Friday that drew widespread public condemnation in China.
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| U.S. eyeing Ukraine crisis with concern Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:32 PM PST  Fresh reports suggest Moscow is moving military to intervene in former Soviet satellite.
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| Mud flows hit fire-scarred California Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:50 PM PST  Weather forces authorities to close roads, but no property has been damaged—yet.
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| Documents show Clinton health care strategy Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:28 AM PST  Previously confidential papers shed light on presidency, give insight into a Hillary run.
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| Ousted Yanukovych urges Russia's Putin to take firm line on Ukraine Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:47 AM PST  By Denis Pinchuk ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (Reuters) - Viktor Yanukovich urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a bolder line with Ukraine's new rulers who had ousted him, telling him on Friday that Russia could not remain indifferent to what had happened in the former Soviet republic. Appearing in southern Russia where he has taken refuge since fleeing Ukraine on February 21, Yanukovich said: "I think that Russia should act and is obliged to act. "Knowing Vladimir Putin's personality, I am surprised that he is still saying nothing. Russia cannot be indifferent, cannot be a bystander watching the fate of as close a partner as Ukraine," the 63-year-old Yanukovich said.
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| Kid plays amazing piano recital for warehouse store audience Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:43 AM PST  What, no tip jar? A young boy entertains shoppers at what looks like a Costco store by showing off his incredible skills at the piano, playing a Hungarian folk song titled "Csardas."
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| Feds point to winter weather for sluggish economy Posted: 28 Feb 2014 12:42 PM PST  By Jason Lange NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should be willing to let inflation temporarily run above its target level so as to more quickly bring the economy back to health, a top Fed official said on Friday, even as a second policymaker signaled the very idea left him cold. The debate, between Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, underscored a fundamental disagreement over the central bank's optimal approach to policy under new Fed Chair Janet Yellen. To Evans, one of the Fed's most dovish policymakers, allowing inflation to run above the Fed's 2-percent target would be a small price to pay for bringing the U.S. economy back to full employment quickly, and could even signal the Fed's commitment to making good on its goals. To Plosser, an ardent policy hawk, letting inflation rise above the target would call into question the Fed's commitment to its goals, undermining its policy effectiveness.
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| Reds and greens galore: U.K. treated to fantastic northern lights display Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:01 AM PST  Their act hasn't changed that much over the past several thousand years, but the northern lights still put on a dazzling show whenever they take the stage.
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| 'I intend to keep fighting' Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:36 AM PST  Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych says he was forced from power by "gangsters."
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| Kerry Kennedy acquitted of drugged driving in New York Posted: 28 Feb 2014 08:28 AM PST  WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Kerry Kennedy was acquitted Friday of drugged driving after she accidentally took a sleeping pill and then sideswiped a truck in a wild highway drive she said she didn't remember.
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| GAO report: Too few pilots or too little pay? Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:28 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's regional airlines are having trouble hiring enough pilots, the government says, suggesting one reason may be that they simply don't pay enough.
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| Storm lashes California, but not a drought buster Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:19 PM PST LOS ANGELES (AP) — California was lashed Friday by heavy rains that the parched state so desperately needs, though with the soaking came familiar problems: traffic snarls, power outages and the threat of mudslides. |
| Primaries offer 1st major test of voter ID laws Posted: 28 Feb 2014 11:54 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — In elections that begin next week, voters in 10 states will be required to present photo identification before casting ballots — the first major test of voter ID laws after years of legal challenges arguing that the measures are designed to suppress voting.
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| RFK daughter acquitted in drugged driving case Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:53 PM PST  WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Kerry Kennedy was swiftly acquitted Friday of drugged driving in a case that her lawyers said would never have been brought if she were simply "Mary Housewife" rather than a member of one of America's most glamorous political families.
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| NYC official: Hoffman died from toxic mix of drugs Posted: 28 Feb 2014 04:45 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Philip Seymour Hoffman died from taking a combination of heroin, cocaine and other drugs, the New York City medical examiner ruled Friday, a toxic mix that addiction specialists say is not uncommon in the tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S. each year.
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| Group says new evidence in Texas arson-murder case Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:21 PM PST  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Innocence Project argued Friday that newly discovered documents undermine the credibility of a key witness against a Texas man executed for the deaths of his three children based in part on arson evidence that has since been deemed faulty.
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| From Riyadh to Beirut, fear of Syria blowback Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:08 PM PST  BISARIYEH, Lebanon (AP) — The once-tranquil, religiously mixed village of Bisariyeh is seething: Two of its young men who fought alongside the rebels in Syria recently returned home radicalized and staged suicide bombings in Lebanon.
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| Ukraine official: 8 Russian cargo planes in Crimea Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:50 PM PST  SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Armed men took control of key airports in Crimea on Friday and Russian transport planes flew into the strategic region, Ukrainian officials said, an ominous sign of the Kremlin's iron hand in Ukraine. President Barack Obama warned Moscow there will be costs if it intervenes militarily in Ukraine.
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| Ukraine gets look at fugitive leader's documents Posted: 28 Feb 2014 02:58 PM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians are getting an unfiltered look at the opulent lifestyle and alleged machinations of fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych and his top officials from thousands of documents being posted online by journalists who say it's more important to record their country's history — and document possible crimes — than hold them back for their own scoops.
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| Obama warns Russia of 'costs' in Ukraine Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:13 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama expressed deep concern Friday over reported military activity inside Ukraine by Russia and bluntly warned "there will be costs" for any intervention.
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| Tokyo bitcoin exchange files for bankruptcy Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:57 AM PST  TOKYO (AP) — The Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange in Tokyo filed for bankruptcy protection Friday and its chief executive said 850,000 bitcoins, worth several hundred million dollars, are unaccounted for.
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| Hollywood movie titles lost in translation Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:22 AM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — David O. Russell's crime drama "American Hustle" could be a big winner at Sunday's Academy Awards. But for the movie's many international fans, it may take a little longer to realize it. In their country, there is simply no word that captures the true essence of "Hustle."
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| Obama to preach unity to Democrats at winter meeting Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:35 AM PST  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday will lay out his approach to electing fellow Democrats in congressional campaigns this year as his party tries to overcome stiff headwinds brought about at least in part due to his signature healthcare law. The president will address the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Washington with the aim of maintaining a spirit of unity among party activists. Democrats are trying to face down emboldened Republicans who see a chance of capturing the Senate and building on their majority in the House of Representatives. Obama will make the case that there are still items on his agenda that he would like to see approved in an election year.
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| Nuclear dump leak raises questions about cleanup Posted: 28 Feb 2014 10:42 AM PST  CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — For 15 years the trucks have barreled past southeastern New Mexico's potash mines and seemingly endless fields of oil rigs, hauling decades worth of plutonium-contaminated waste to what is supposed to be a safe and final resting place a half mile underground in the salt beds of the Permian Basin.
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| Library releasing documents from Clinton years Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:52 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives plans to release about 4,000 pages of previously confidential documents involving former President Bill Clinton's administration. Some of the topics include the president's health care task force and the 9/11 Commission Report.
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| Ousted Ukraine president vows to fight Posted: 28 Feb 2014 05:36 AM PST  Viktor Yanukovych host a press conference in Russia in his first public appearance.
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| Christie allies joke about another traffic jam: documents Posted: 27 Feb 2014 06:46 PM PST  By Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two people at the heart of a traffic scandal dogging New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joked weeks earlier about causing traffic problems in front of the home of a rabbi, documents released on Thursday show. Christie's former deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly and David Wildstein, an ally to the governor at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, lost their jobs over their involvement in the "Bridgegate" scandal last September that is threatening Christie's White House aspirations. Documents released by Wildstein to a state legislative committee probing the incident, in which lanes were shut near the busy George Washington Bridge, causing a huge traffic jam, reveal that on August 19 he and Kelly discussed another traffic scheme. "Flights to Tel Aviv all mysteriously delayed," Wildstein wrote in reply.
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| Ukraine accuses Russia of 'armed invasion' Posted: 28 Feb 2014 01:06 PM PST  Moscow denies involvement in the seizure of two airports in Ukraine's Crimea region.
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| S. Korea calls North missile tests calculated provocation Posted: 27 Feb 2014 08:13 PM PST  South Korea on Friday labelled North Korea's test firing of four short-range missiles a calculated, provocative act timed to coincide with South-US joint military exercises. North Korea test-fired the missiles into the Sea of Japan on Thursday, three days after the joint drills kicked off in the face of vocal opposition from Pyongyang. "With the exercises underway, we see the firings as a calculated, provocative act," defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told journalists.
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| Lawsuit alleges 'sadistic violence' at sprawling Chicago jail Posted: 27 Feb 2014 04:48 PM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — Guards at one of the nation's largest jails systematically engage in "sadistic violence and brutality" against inmates, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday.
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