Climate skeptic group works to reverse renewable energy mandates

The Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank skeptical of climate change science, has joined with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to write model legislation aimed at reversing state renewable energy mandates across the country. The Electricity Freedom Act, adopted by the council’s board of directors in October, would repeal state standards requiring utilities...

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Bangladesh factory fire death toll rises to 121

DHAKA: The death toll from a fire at a Bangladeshi factory was lowered from 121 to 104 on Sunday, the operations director of the fire brigade told AFP."There were some double counting as different fire teams were working on different floors," Major Mahbub, who uses only one name, said."But now we have a total of 104 dead bodies including several who jumped to their death. Most bodies were...

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Corporation related to IT works in Haryana gets fourth head in 6 months

CHANDIGARH: After shifting whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka from Hartron, a corporation to handle IT-related projects, two months after his posting, the Haryana government on Friday transferred his successor Nitin Yadav just four months after he took charge. A Haryana civil services officer, Vivek Atrey, will be the next managing director of the corporation. With this appointment, the corporation...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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After Sandy, World Hopes to Hear New US Voice on Climate Change

During a year with a monster storm and scorching heat waves, Americans have experienced the kind of freakish weather that many scientists say will occur more often on a warming planet.And as a re-elected president talks about global warming again, climate activists are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. will be more than a disinterested bystander when the U.N. climate talks resume...

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Patty Murray likely to be a key voice in Senate on budget deal

One of the biggest winners in the sweeping Democratic victories in Senate races this month was a woman whose name appeared on no ballot: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). With a low-key style that contrasts with some of the Senate’s camera hogs, Murray may be the most powerful senator a whole lot of people have never heard of outside of the two Washingtons where she lives and works....

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Tibetan self-immolates in northwest China

BEIJING: A Tibetan villager has died after setting himself on fire, Chinese state media said on Saturday -- the latest death in a wave of protests against Beijing's rule.China's official Xinhua news agency said that the herdsman set himself on fire late on Friday in the northwest province of Qinghai.It quoted local authorities as saying that the 26-year-old, identified as Dazheng, set...

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Cash transfer: PM to play UPA-2's trump card on Monday

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister is expected to formally kick off cash transfer of subsidies and entitlements, one of the most ambitious policy initiatives of UPA-2, on Monday. The scheme for cash transfers is visualized as a game-changer for UPA-2, like NREGA was for UPA-1, and is expected to give rich dividends at the elections.Manmohan Singh is expected to set January 1, 2013 as the launch date...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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Gas Explosion Levels Buildings Like 'Missile Strike'

A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday leveled a strip club with a boom heard for miles and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers in the area because of an earlier gas leak and odor report were among the 18 people injured in the blast, authorities said."This...

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Polls offer little guidance for politicians tackling ‘fiscal cliff’

Politicians tasked with negotiating a deal next month to avoid the “fiscal cliff” can be thankful that their talks are taking place immediately after a clarifying national election that laid out exactly how the public wants Washington to deal with debt and deficits. Or n...

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APM 2012: Holding up a mirror to the Malay music industry

SINGAPORE: Anugerah Planet Muzik (APM) 2012 is one of the biggest events on the Malay music calendar this year.Held at the Singapore Expo's MAX Pavilion on December 15, the event will feature performances by many of the biggest names in the Malay music industry, from Ridho Rhoma to Malaysia's Queen of Jazz, Dato' Sheila Majid.But Brader Bo, the Executive Music Director of Malay radio stations...

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Six T-Cong MPs boycott Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Defying the directive issued by the party, six Congress MPs from Telangana boycotted the Parliamentary proceedings on Thursday, the first day of the winter session, and staged a protest in support of their demand for a separate state. The Congress had asked its MPs to be present in the House on the grounds that important business was scheduled to come up for discussion. However, demanding...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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Stores Work to Keep Black Friday Safe

With earlier-than-ever deals and 147 million people expected to hit the stores this holiday weekend, retailers such as Best Buy are taking extra steps to avoid the Black Friday shopper chaos -- and inevitable news stories -- of the past.Best Buy officials said they've been prepping for the madness for days.The retailer has created color-coded maps, moved merchandise around to...

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Survey: Federal workers’ morale dropping

Salary freezes, tight budgets and a dim view of federal work held by many Americans have soured the motivation and commitment of many government employees, a survey released Wednesday found. Federal employees still think that their jobs are important, and many are passionate and dedicated to their agency’s mission. But increasing threats to their pay and benefits and criticism of their...

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S Korea's bus drivers call off national strike

SEOUL: Bus drivers in South Korea called off a threatened national strike on Thursday, staging only a brief walkout so as to avoid stranding millions of commuters, union officials said.Bus services in Seoul and other cities returned to normal for the morning rush hour after the two-hour walkout that began at 4:30am (1930 GMT Wednesday)."Drivers do not want to cause such great inconvenience...

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Kasab hanged day after UN vote on penalty

NEW DELHI: As chance would have it, India hanged Ajmal Kasab a day after opposing a UN resolution on abolition of the death penalty. On Tuesday, India joined 38 other countries to vote against a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution, calling for the removal of the death penalty, saying every nation had the "sovereign right" to determine its own legal system. The resolution called for a moratorium...

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling. Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group...

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Cops: Murder Gun Found in 'John Doe's' Duffel Bag

The man known as "John Doe Duffel Bag" was arrested today in connection with the slayings of three shopkeepers of Middle Eastern descent in Brooklyn, N.Y. -- and police believe he likely would have struck again if he hadn't been caught.Salvatore Perrone, 63, was arrested following a long night of questioning by detectives.Officials told ABC News that Perrone is being charged...

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Blazing a legal trail to help improve health care

Ariane Tschumi has spent more than a year in government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), taking on challenging assignments at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designed to develop her leadership skills and give her a window into how government operates. She has worked alongside health-care experts designing model programs intended to better health care and lower...

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Australia returns 100 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers

SYDNEY: Australia on Wednesday sent 100 Sri Lankan men deemed not to be refugees back to their homeland, bringing to 426 the number involuntarily returned to Colombo in the past three months.The latest planeload is the ninth and largest this month as Canberra deals with an influx of more than 15,500 asylum-seekers who have arrived on boats since the beginning of this year."Our humanitarian...

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Kasab hanged: Timeline of events

PUNE: Nearly four years after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was today hanged in Yerawada Jail here. Following is the chronology of events leading to his hanging. Nov 26, 2008: Kasab and 9 terrorists launch commando raid in Mumbai. Nov 27, 2008: At 1.30am, Kasab caught and placed under arrest, admitted to Nair Hospital. Nov 29, 2008: All places under...

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Thanksgiving 2012 Myths and Facts

Before the big dinner, debunk the myths—for starters, the first "real" U.S. Thanksgiving wasn't until the 1800s—and get to the roots of Thanksgiving 2012.Thanksgiving Dinner: Recipe for Food Coma?Key to any Thanksgiving Day menu are a fat turkey and cranberry sauce.An estimated 254 million turkeys will be raised for slaughter in the U.S. during 2012, up 2 percent from 2011's total, according...

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Ceasefire or 'De-Escalation'? Words Chosen Carefully

Nov 20, 2012 7:27pm AP Photo/Hatem MoussaAs news reports emerged Tuesday of a cease-fire or truce to end the crisis in Gaza, American officials made it a point not to use either of those terms.Instead, U.S. officials were  talking about “de-escalating” the violence in Gaza as a step toward a long-term resolution.Briefing White House reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ...

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Blazing a legal trail to help improve health care

Ariane Tschumi has spent more than a year in government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), taking on challenging assignments at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designed to develop her leadership skills and give her a window into how government operates. She has worked alongside health-care experts designing model programs intended to better health care and lower...

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ASEAN, US leaders discuss need to peacefully manage South China Sea disputes

SINGAPORE: US President Barack Obama and leaders from ASEAN have discussed the importance of putting mechanisms and processes in place to peacefully manage disputes over the competing claims in the South China Sea.Following the 4th ASEAN-US leaders meeting on Monday night, the White House issued a statement on its government website.President Obama's press secretary said that both the...

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Anti-Thackeray Facebook post: 9 held for vandalizing clinic in Palghar

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Police today arrested nine people from Palghar for vandalizing a clinic, after the niece of the clinic owner posted a comment on Facebook questioning the shutdown in the wake of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's death.According to TV reports, it was not clear if those arrested were Shiv Sainiks. TOI had reported in its edition dated November 19 that Shiv Sainiks, angered by...

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Cuba's Oil Quest to Continue, Despite Deepwater Disappointment

An unusual high-tech oil-drilling rig that's been at work off the coast of Cuba departed last week, headed for either Africa or Brazil. With it went the island nation's best hope, at least in the short term, for reaping a share of the energy treasure beneath the sea that separates it from its longtime ideological foe.For many Floridians, especially in the Cuban-American community, it was...

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Israel Combats Cyber Attacks During Gaza Offensive

The Israeli government said today that since the beginning of its military operation in Gaza, cyber attackers have launched more than 44 million attempts to disrupt the operation of various Israeli government websites, but were only successful in knocking out one site for a short period."One hacking attempt was successful and took down a site for a few minutes," Carmela Avner, the...

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Obama to praise Burma’s journey toward democracy

RANGOON, Burma — President Obama will hail Burma’s “dramatic transition” and “remarkable journey” toward a more open, democratic society in a speech here Monday, while warning that the progress must shine as a “North Star” for the nation’s 60 million people. Obama made history when Air Force One touched down at 9:35 a.m. local time Monday, making him the first U.S. president to visit...

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Japan high-tech "washlets" aim at global throne

HONG KONG - They are found in more than two-thirds of Japanese households and visitors to the country have marvelled at their heated seats, posterior shower jets and odour-masking function.But for the company that has sold over 30 million high-tech toilets, commonly known as Washlets, global lavatory domination remains elusive, especially among shy US consumers."It's because of the cultural...

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Nation pays tributes to Indira on her 95th birth anniversary

NEW DELHI: The nation today remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 95th birth anniversary with President Pranab Mukherjee and VP Hamid Ansari among prominent leaders who paid homage to the leader. The leaders offered floral tributes at her memorial Shakti Sthal on the banks of Yamuna. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Kamal Nath were among those...

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Lonesome George Not the Last of His Kind, After All?

The tide may be turning for the rare subspecies of giant tortoise thought to have gone extinct when its last known member, the beloved Lonesome George, died in June.A new study by Yale University researchers reveals that DNA from George's ancestors lives on—and that more of his kind may still be alive in a remote area of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands. This isn't the first time Chelonoidis...

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