News
Iran paying for grain with gold, oil: traders
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 1:20 pm
Reuters - Iran is seeking to close grain purchases using gold and oil as payment, and has paid in yen for a large volume of wheat in its first deal since western sanctions against Tehran started choking imports of food staples, European wheat exporters said.
ECB holds rates, facing grilling on Greece
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 12:50 pm
Reuters - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday and financial markets' attention will now shift to whether the bank is ready to help Greece avoid a messy default.
Greece debt talks fail to reach full deal
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:20 pm
AP - Greece's crucial euro130 billion ($173 billion) bailout was in limbo Thursday, after political leaders failed to accept the entire batch of new austerity measures that are demanded by creditors but have fueled outrage in the recession-hit country.
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Elizabeth Taylor auctions raise $183 million
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:15 pm
AP - Paintings, jewelry and fashions belonging to the late Elizabeth Taylor have sold for more than $183 million, with all of the more than 1,800 items on offer snapped up, Christie's auction house said Thursday.
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No. 10 Duke stuns No. 5 North Carolina 85-84
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:08 pm
AP - Austin Rivers and his Duke teammates kept hanging around, doing just enough to keep North Carolina from blowing the game open until the Tar Heels finally gave them an opening.
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Gingrich hopes high road, new funds can save him
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:08 pm
AP - Newt Gingrich, suddenly in danger of losing his perch as Mitt Romney's strongest GOP challenger, is fine-tuning his presidential campaign to place more emphasis on raising money, guarding his home turf and trying to avoid nasty quarrels with the front-runner.
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LA abuse charges prompt awkward talks for parents
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:08 pm
AP - Sinister allegations of abuse by at least two teachers in a Los Angeles school have forced awkward discussions as parents warn youngsters that people they trust — pastors, teachers, even relatives — might do things that could hurt them.
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Dwindling time, rising tension make Iran top fear
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:08 pm
AP - The prospect of conflict with Iran has eclipsed Afghanistan as the key national security issue with head-spinning speed. After years of bad blood and an international impasse over Iran's disputed nuclear program, why does the threat of war seem so suddenly upon us?
Analysis: Obama contraceptive mandate has a price
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:08 pm
AP - The Obama administration's new mandate that religious organizations pay for their workers' birth control has become a bludgeon for Republican culture warriors, as social issues have surged to the forefront in the presidential campaign.
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8 minutes pass before cops got sent to Powell home
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:08 pm
AP - Emergency call logs show that nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell's children were in danger and when sheriff's deputies were dispatched. By the time officers were on their way, the home was exploding in a gas-fueled inferno, with Powell and his two young boys inside.
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Sources: Pentagon rules shift on women in combat
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:07 pm
AP - Pentagon rules are catching up a bit with reality after a decade when women in the U.S. military have served, fought and died on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
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APNewsBreak: Official: 10 states get ed waiver
(AP) 9 Feb 2012, 12:04 pm
AP - President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students, The Associated Press has learned.
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Syria forces bombard Homs, U.N. condemns "appalling brutality"
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 10:45 am
Reuters - Syrian forces bombarded opposition-held neighborhoods of the city of Homs with rocket and mortar fire on Thursday, activists said, as divided world powers struggled to find a way to end the violence.
Greeks fail to strike deal to take to Brussels
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 10:16 am
Reuters - Greek leaders failed early on Thursday to agree on reforms and austerity measures, the price of a bailout to avoid a messy default, forcing Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos to go to the country's financial backers with an incomplete deal.
China swats away trouble before Xi's U.S. trip
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 8:58 am
Reuters - China swatted away friction over Syria on Thursday to lay out an optimistic view of ties with the United States in the next decade when Vice President Xi Jinping, who visits the White House next week, is likely to lead the rising Asian power.
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Qantas, Korean Air check A380s for wing cracks
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 7:38 am
Reuters - Qantas Airways and Korean Air will carry out inspections for wing cracks on their Airbus A380 superjumbo planes earlier than previously scheduled, after European air safety officials ordered global checks, warning of a safety risk if the defects were not fixed.
In upcoming contests, pressure is on Romney
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 6:24 am
Reuters - Many U.S. Republicans may have growing concerns about their presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, but no one is pushing the panic button - yet.
After wins, Santorum seeks funding
(Reuters) 9 Feb 2012, 1:29 am
Reuters - Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum, a day after his stunning sweep of nominating contests in three states, scrambled in Texas on Wednesday to round up the support and money he needs to take on well-financed and well-organized rival Mitt Romney.
Prop. 8 ruling: why it might not go the the Supreme Court
(The Christian Science Monitor) 9 Feb 2012, 12:43 am
The Christian Science Monitor - A day after the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Proposition 8 – California's 2008 voter-approved ban on gay marriage – the big question is: What happens next?
Boehner vows Congress will reverse Obama birth control policy
(The Christian Science Monitor) 8 Feb 2012, 10:43 pm
The Christian Science Monitor - Congress this week plunged into fray over new Obama administration rules that will require religious employers to offer birth control in their health-insurance programs, even if contraception runs afoul of their religious doctrines.
