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Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

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Generated on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 06:43 PM

Education Dept. offers more time to reach goals

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:38 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — States can ask for another year before being required to use student test results to decide whether to keep or fire teachers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told school chiefs on Tuesday.

Oly sprinter Campbell Brown suspended amid probe

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:35 PM

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Olympic champion Veronica Campbell Brown of Jamaica is serving a suspension while anti-doping officials rule on her recent positive drug test.

U of Oregon plans to bar too-wide seat cushions

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:35 PM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Some University of Oregon fans say it's getting crowded in the bleachers. The problem: Jumbo seat cushions.

Report says immigration bill cuts deficit

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:33 PM

People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office says a sweeping immigration bill before the Senate would cut deficits by $197 billion over 10 years.


IRS worker: No political bias against tea party

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:30 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic congressman has released the full transcript of congressional investigators' interview with an Internal Revenue Service manager and self-described conservative Republican who said the close scrutiny of tea party groups' tax forms originated in his Cincinnati IRS office, not in Washington.

Google asks FISA court to lift gag order

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:30 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google is asking the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to lift its long-standing gag order on how often the company is asked to turn over data about its customers to the federal government.

Waiting for word from Bernanke, stocks move higher

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:27 PM

In this Monday, June 10, 2013 photo, trader Edward Landi check a screen in a booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stock markets traded fitfully Tuesday June 18, 2013 as investors watched for signs of a possible change in U.S. stimulus efforts by the Federal Reserve. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — It's all about the Fed. Still.


Utah man shot in church upgraded to fair condition

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:27 PM

This photo provided by the Ogden City Police shows Charles Richard Jennings Jr. Police say Jennings, 35, walked into a Father's Day Catholic Mass at Saint James the Just Catholic Church in Ogden, Utah on Sunday and shot his 65-year-old father-in-law, James Evans, in the head in front of a congregation of 300 people. Evans is expected to survive. (AP Photo/Ogden City Police Department via The Deseret News) SALT LAKE TRIBUNE OUT; MAGS OUTOGDEN, Utah (AP) — It was a quiet part of the Father's Day Mass as about 300 people stood up in preparation for communion. A parishioner, known by many at the church as Ricky Jennings, entered through the glass doors in back, holding his wife Cheryl's hand.


Ammunition fire rages at Russian military base

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:25 PM

MOSCOW (AP) — Exploding shells set off a fire that was triggering explosions Wednesday at a military depot in southern Russia, injuring about 30 people and causing the evacuation of more than 6,000 from a nearby village, investigators and emergency workers said.

Clashes erupt in Egypt over Islamist governors

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:23 PM

Tourism workers and activists in Luxor protest a newly appointed Islamist governor and block his office Tuesday June 18, 2013. Adel el-Khayat was named to the provincial governor's post Sunday by President Mohammed Morsi, causing outrage because of his links to Gamaa Islamiya, which waged an armed insurgency against the state starting in 1992 and attacked police, Coptic Christians and tourists. Tourism is the lifeblood of Luxor but it has been hit hard by the downturn in foreign visitors since the Arab Spring unleashed political turmoil since 2011. Signs in Arabic read, "The plot you are hatching, we will undo" and "leave terrorist." (AP Photo/Ibrahim Zayed)CAIRO (AP) — Clashes erupted between supporters and opponents of Egypt's president and his Muslim Brotherhood Tuesday over his appointment of new Islamist governors, some in areas where opponents are strong.


CBO: Senate immigration bill cuts deficits by $197B over 10 years, $700B in next 10

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:20 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — CBO: Senate immigration bill cuts deficits by $197B over 10 years, $700B in next 10.

NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:19 PM

From left, Deputy Attorney General James Cole; National Security Agency (NSA) Deputy Director Chris Inglis; NSA Director Gen. Keith B. Alexander; Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce; and Robert Litt, general counsel to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing regarding NSA surveillance. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. foiled a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange because of the sweeping surveillance programs at the heart of a debate over national security and personal privacy, officials said Tuesday at a rare open hearing on intelligence led by lawmakers sympathetic to the spying.


AP EXCLUSIVE: US war games send signal to Assad

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:18 PM

U.S. Navy sailors stand in formation aboard the USS Stockdale before maneuvers with the Jordanian Navy in the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan as part of Eager Lion, a multinational military exercise, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American advisers, hundreds of U.S.-trained Jordanian soldiers are holding war games that could eventually form the basis of an assault in Syria. There is fear of spillover from the Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom, and the potential for a Jordanian role in securing Syria's chemical stockpiles should Bashar Assad's regime lose control. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)ZARQA, Jordan (AP) — Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American advisers, hundreds of U.S.-trained Jordanian commandos fanned across this dusty desert plain, holding war games that could eventually form the basis of an assault in Syria.


New video, $65K reward in '08 Times Square bombing

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:18 PM

In this March 8, 2008 image taken from video and provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a bomb explodes outside the United States Armed Forces Recruiting Station in New York City’s Times Square. On Tuesday, June 18, 2013, The FBI and New York City Police Department announced a $65 thousand reward “for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the suspect or suspects involved in the unsolved 2008 bombing. . .” In the early morning hours of March 8, 2008, authorities believe a bicyclist rode up to the doors of the facility and left a bomb that exploded and damaged the front entrance. (AP Photo/FBI)NEW YORK (AP) — New video footage of a suspected bomber riding a blue bicycle was offered Tuesday along with a $65,000 award in an effort to generate leads in the 2008 blast at the military recruitment station in Times Square.


FBI digging at former home of famed NY mobster

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:17 PM

FBI agents replace dirt after searching in the backyard of a New York city house once occupied by a famous gangster, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, in New York. The work started Monday at the home of James Burke, a Lucchese crime family associate known as "Jimmy the Gent." He was the inspiration for Robert De Niro's character in the 1990 Martin Scorsese movie "Goodfellas." Burke died behind bars in 1996, two decades after authorities say he masterminded a nearly $6 million robbery at New York's Kennedy Airport, one of the largest cash thefts in American history. The Queens house is still owned by the Burke family, but others now live there. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)NEW YORK (AP) — FBI agents with jackhammers and shovels were digging Tuesday under a New York City house once occupied by a famed gangster who inspired Robert De Niro's character in the movie "Goodfellas."


Wilson, Nobel winner for physics, dies in Maine

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:14 PM

This undated photo provided by his wife Alison Brown shows Kenneth Wilson, who won a Nobel prize as a Cornell University physicist in 1982 for pioneering work that changed the way physicists think about phase transitions. Wilson died Saturday, June 15, 2013 in Saco, Maine. He was 77. (AP Photo/Alison Brown)PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Physicist Kenneth Wilson, who earned a Nobel prize for pioneering work that changed the way physicists think about phase transitions, has died in Maine, where he retired to enjoy kayaking with his wife. He was 77.


Chrysler agrees to recall of Jeeps at risk of fire

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:13 PM

This March 6, 2012 photo provided by the law offices of Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP shows the scene of a crash in Bainbridge, Ga., where a 4-year-old boy named Remi Walden was burned and died when a Jeep Grand Cherokee was struck from the rear by a Dodge Dakota pickup truck. Chrysler is expected to file papers Tuesday, June 18, 2013, explaining why it’s refusing to recall 2.7 million older Jeep SUVs. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer, LLP)DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler abruptly agreed to recall 2.7 million older model Jeeps Tuesday, reversing a defiant stance and avoiding a possible public relations nightmare over fuel tanks that can rupture and cause fires in rear-end collisions.


Study finds housing bias against same-sex couples

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:11 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Same-sex couples are treated less favorably than heterosexual couples when seeking information about rental housing advertised over the Internet, according to a first-of-its-kind national study from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Surprise Hossa scratch part of NHL injury culture

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:10 PM

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville listens to a reporter's question during a press conference in Boston, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The Blackhawks trail the Boston Bruins 2-1 in the best-of-seven series in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)BOSTON (AP) — Marian Hossa is one of the Chicago Blackhawks' top scorers, with three game-winning goals already this postseason.


Yankees' Youkilis needs surgery, Teixeira to DL

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:09 PM

FILE - In this June 11, 2013, file photo, New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira reacts after taking a strike from Oakland Athletics' Jerry Blevins in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif. Kevin Youkilis needs back surgery and Teixeira returned to the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, June 18, 2013, with an aching right wrist, the latest injury setbacks for the depleted Yankees. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Youkilis needs back surgery and Mark Teixeira returned to the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with an aching right wrist, the latest injury setbacks for the depleted New York Yankees.


CBO: About 8 million would gain legal status under Senate immigration bill

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:07 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — CBO: About 8 million would gain legal status under Senate immigration bill .

Star-studded party for Israeli president's 90th

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:06 PM

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli and global leaders, local celebrities and Hollywood superstars celebrated under one roof to honor Israeli President Shimon Peres for his upcoming 90th birthday.

US safety agency investigating Suzuki small SUVs

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:06 PM

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators said Tuesday that they are investigating problems with air-bag sensors in the seats of some small Suzuki SUVs.

Tornado spotted near Denver airport terminal

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:05 PM

This photo provided by Mark Sarlo shows damage to a gas station after severe weather passed through the area on Monday, June 17, 2013 in La Junta, Colo. National Weather Service spokeswoman Nezette Rydell said the tornado knocked down power poles in an industrial park near La Junta on Monday, but no injuries have been reported. More storms are expected on Tuesday. La Junta Fire Chief Aaron Eveatt said high winds raked the city, knocking down power poles in town and forcing the closure of a U.S. Highway 50, a main highway. (AP Photo/Mark Sarlo)DENVER (AP) — A tornado warning for Denver International Airport is over and no damage has been reported.


Hacking probe in Ohio rape case targets Ky. man

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:04 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A central Kentucky man who goes by the online name KyAnonymous said Tuesday he is the target of an investigation into who hacked into an Ohio high school's computer and posted a video related the rape of a teenage girl at an alcohol-fueled party.

Fears of violence as Egypt nears June 30 protests

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:04 PM

FILE - In this Friday, May 17, 2013 file photo, An Egyptian activist covers her face with an applications for "Tamarod", Arabic for "rebel", a campaign calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and for early presidential elections, during a protest in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt. Opponents of Egypt’s Islamist president are convinced that nationwide protests planned for June 30 are their last opportunity to drive him from power. They say they have tapped into widespread public discontent over shortages, broken infrastructure, high prices and lack of security, and can bring that anger into the streets. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)CAIRO (AP) — Massive nationwide protests that Egypt's opposition plans for June 30 are taking on a dangerous edge.


Judge sets Fort Hood suspect trial for July 9

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:03 PM

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Nearly four years after the deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage, the Army psychiatrist charged in the case will finally go on trial after a judge Tuesday refused his request for a three-month delay.

Jury can't reach verdict in Detroit cop's trial

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:03 PM

Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in Judge Cynthia Hathaway's courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 as the judge instructs jurors to continue to work toward a verdict after they sent her a note saying they are "stuck". The judge declared a mistrial Tuesday after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the trial. Weekley is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, John T. Greilick) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUTDETROIT (AP) — A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the trial of a Detroit police officer who fatally shot a 7-year-old girl during a chaotic search for a murder suspect that was recorded by a reality TV crew.


Cuban dissident: Repression forced family to flee

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:01 PM

Rosa Maria Paya, left, the daughter of a prominent Cuban dissident who died in a car crash, and her mother, Ofelia Acevedo, right, talk to the media about her family’s decision to seek refuge in the U.S during a Tuesday, July 18, 2013 press conference in Miami. Paya traveled through Europe and the U.S. in April to push for an international investigation into her father’s death. Oswaldo Paya was killed in a car crash alongside another dissident in 2012. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)MIAMI (AP) — One of several Cuban dissidents recently allowed to visit Europe and the U.S. after Cuba changed its travel laws said Tuesday she decided to seek refuge in Miami after facing continued repression on the island.


NYC to offer free phone-charging stations in parks

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 05:00 PM

Cellphones powerup with solar energy on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 in New York. The city has teamed up with AT&T to install 25 solar powered charging stations for public use, available for free in parks and beaches across the five boroughs over the summer. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)NEW YORK (AP) — It's a message busy New Yorkers hate to get: the low-battery message on your cellphone when there's no charger in sight.


Zimmerman trial attorneys pick 40 potential jurors

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:59 PM

George Zimmerman, right, listens to jury consultant Robert Hirschhorn during Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Fla., Monday, June 17, 2013. Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank, Pool)SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys trying to pick a jury in George Zimmerman's murder trial have selected a pool of 40 potential jurors who will go on to a second round of questioning.


House, Senate on diverging paths on agency budgets

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:59 PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., accompanied by members of the GOP leadership, meet with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, following a Republican strategy session. From left are, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., McConnell, and Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans controlling the House unveiled slashing cuts Tuesday to a program that helps localities build community development projects, while their rivals in the Democratic-led Senate proposed to restore GOP cuts to international food aid and nutrition help for pregnant women.


Moves to limit contractor access to secrets meets resistance

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:56 PM

News cameraman trains his lens on Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. building in McLeanBy Mark Hosenball and Andrea Shalal-Esa (Reuters) - Industry executives and some corners of the U.S. intelligence community are pushing back against possible legislative moves to curb contractors' access to classified information. Following leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, Senate Intelligence Chairman Dianne Feinstein is working on legislation intended to restrict spy agencies from assigning contractors like Snowden to sensitive jobs. ...


House committee takes up tough immigration bill

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:54 PM

House Judiciary Committee members Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., sponsor of the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, left, talks with Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, prior to the start of the committee's hearing to discuss the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — Challenged by protesters chanting "shame, shame," House Republicans advanced legislation Tuesday to crack down on immigrants living illegally in the United States as the Senate lurched ahead on a dramatically different approach offering the hope of citizenship to the same millions.


Syrian warplanes strike rebel posts in Aleppo

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:53 PM

Gunmen and followers of hardline Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir pass in front of Lebanese army soldiers in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Heavy clashes erupted Tuesday between unknown gunmen and followers of a radical Sunni cleric in south Lebanon, security officials said, killing two people in the latest apparent outbreak of violence between Lebanese factions supporting opposing sides in the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian warplanes struck rebel positions near a besieged military air base and other rebel-held areas in the country's north Tuesday as regime forces stepped up attacks against opposition fighters in the key province of Aleppo, activists said.


G-8 seeks unity on Syrian peace talks, tax evasion

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:47 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a media conference after a G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The final day of the G-8 summit of wealthy nations is ending with discussions on globe-trotting corporate tax dodgers, a lunch with leaders from Africa, and suspense over whether Russia and Western leaders can avoid diplomatic fireworks over their deadlock on Syria’s civil war. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool)ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (AP) — President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other G-8 leaders attempted to speak with one voice Tuesday on seeking a negotiated Syrian peace settlement — yet couldn't publicly agree on whether this means President Bashar Assad must go.


Military plans would put women in most combat jobs

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:47 PM

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2012 file photo, female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range while testing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Ky., in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan. Women may be able to begin training as Army Rangers by mid-2015, and as Navy SEALs a year later under broad plans Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is approving that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in the country’s elite special operations forces, according to details of the plans submitted to Hagel that were obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — A top general says cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than physical fitness requirements for women looking to move into the military's special operations units.


Red Cross' Guantanamo reports sought in 9/11 case

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:45 PM

In this pool photo of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin and reviewed by the U.S. Department of Defense, attorney James Connell, center, Pentagon-appointed defense lawyer for Sept. 11 co-conspirator Ammar al Baluchi, questions retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Bruce MacDonald, who last served as the 40th Judge Advocate General of the Navy, via video conference during the pretrial hearings at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba, Monday, June 17, 2013. Five Guantanamo Bay prisoners accused of helping orchestrate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks returned to court Monday as arguments resumed over the preparations for a trial that remains distant. At far right is the self-proclaimed terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool)GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — The International Committee of the Red Cross urged a military judge Tuesday to refuse a request to open its confidential communications with U.S. officials about conditions at Guantanamo Bay to the lawyers for the prisoners charged in the Sept. 11 terror attack.


G-8 NOTEBOOK: Cameron Tweets WWII bomb at G-8 site

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:42 PM

British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks during a media conference at the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The final day of the G-8 summit of wealthy nations is ending with discussions on globe-trotting corporate tax dodgers, a lunch with leaders from Africa, and suspense over whether Russia and Western leaders can avoid diplomatic fireworks over their deadlock on Syria’s civil war. (AP Photo/Matt Cardy, Pool)ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (AP) — Well, that was close. Or was it? Shortly after wrapping up one of the most peaceful Group of Eight summits in recent memory, Prime Minister David Cameron let a cat out of the bag.


U.S. says surveillance thwarted NYSE attack, Somali funding

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 04:37 PM

A street sign for Wall Street hangs in front of the New York Stock ExchangeBy John Shiffman and Mark Hosenball (Reuters) WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday identified two of the more than 50 classified cases in which they say National Security Agency eavesdropping helped thwart terrorist plots including a planned attack on the New York Stock Exchange. The other, a San Diego money laundering investigation tied to financing for a Somali militia, is among the 27 cases cited in a Reuters report Tuesday [ID:nL2N0ET0PZ] in which the U.S. government filed public notice that it used a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant. ...


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