Supreme Court considers South’s legacy and progress on voting rights

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — At the top of the steps of Alabama’s elegant old Capitol, there’s a six-pointed bronze star marking the spot where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy. At the foot of the steps is a historical marker dedicated to black citizens who in the 1960s dared to register to vote — “a constitutional right impeded by Gov. George Wallace” — and who were...

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Michelle Obama's dance moves go viral on YouTube

WASHINGTON - A video clip of First Lady Michelle Obama grooving with a dressed-in-drag Jimmy Fallon on his late-night comedy talk show on Saturday has gone viral on YouTube.In the video, the pair, each clad in conservative slacks and cardigans, and Fallon with a long brown-haired wig, perform a routine dubbed "Evolution of Mom Dancing," to promote Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" youth fitness...

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Ramdev trust, govt keep options open over Feb 27 function

SHIMLA: Having taken possession of 28 acres land leased out to Patanjali Yogapeeth at Sadhupul area of Solan district, the Himachal Pradesh government does not want yoga guru Swami Ramdev to hold his function there on February 27. Fearing stiff resistance from supporters of Swami Ramdev, government had planned to impose section 144 in Sadhupul and surrounding areas and had made heavy deployment...

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Elderly Abandoned at World's Largest Religious Festival

Every 12 years, the northern Indian city of Allahabad plays host to a vast gathering of Hindu pilgrims called the Maha Kumbh Mela. This year, Allahabad is expected to host an estimated 80 million pilgrims between January and March. (See Kumbh Mela: Pictures From the Hindu Holy Festival)People come to Allahabad to wash away their sins in the sacred River Ganges. For many it's the realization...

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Fiery Last-Lap Daytona Crash Injures Dozens

A fiery last-lap crash at the Daytona International Speedway today sent chunks of debris flying into the stands, injuring more than 30 spectators, who were seen being carried away from the stands on stretchers.At least 14 of the injured were transported to hospitals and more than a dozen others were treated at the speedway, Dayton president Joie Chitwood III. All the drivers involved...

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White House warns of flight delays if sequester is not averted

Hundreds of air traffic control towers could be closed and travelers could expect lengthy flight delays beginning in April, the White House warned Friday in its latest bid to raise public alarm over the mandatory spending cuts set to kick in next week. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood vowed that airline security would not be compromised, but he emphasized that the Federal Aviation Administration...

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Street theatre catches fancy of India's youth

NEW DELHI: Theatre, which is a big part of Indian tradition, has evolved over the years.An ancient form of theatre which was once practised to drive home political agendas is today being extensively used to create awareness of social issues in the country. The growing prominence of street theatre has also caught the fancy of the young.She moves about with her arms stretched, hair strewn...

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Hyderabad, hotbed of home-grown terror, under lens

NEW DELHI: For the veterans of security establishment the bomb blasts have revived concerns about the critical nature of Hyderabad and surroundings in the growth of home-grown terrorism in India.Officials point out that Hyderabad has been intricately linked to the growth of the present phase of domestic terrorism. When the first definite information about Muslim youth going to Pakistan for terror...

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Space Pictures This Week: Space Rose, Ghostly Horses

Space RoseImage courtesy T.A. Rector and H. Schweiker, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSFPlanetary nebula Sh2-174 "blooms" like a rose in a picture released this week by the National Optical Astronomy...

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ACLU: US Too Tough on Undocumented Immigrants

The American Civil Liberties Union says United States border security treats people crossing the border illegally to look for work as criminals instead of as desperate people trying to feed their families.Border security continues to be a central point of the ongoing immigration reform debate, with Republican saying they won't move forward without it and Democrats arguing the borders...

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Group releases list of 90 medical ‘don’ts’

Don’t use feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia. Don’t use drugs to aggressively treat diabetes in those older than 65. Don’t automati­cally use imaging technology for minor head injuries in children and headaches in adults. And don’t give antacids to babies with reflux. Those are among the 90 medical “don’ts” on a list being released Thursday by a coalition of doctor and consumer...

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Asian markets mixed, yen claws back some losses

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed on Friday, with Tokyo dragged by a further strengthening in the yen, while the euro faced selling pressure following weak eurozone data.Losses on Wall Street added to the gloom after disappointing US economic figures, while traders were casting an eye to a general election in Italy at the weekend.Tokyo fell 0.50 per cent by the break, Hong Kong lost...

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No specific intelligence on Hyderabad twin blasts, Sushilkumar Shinde says

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday visited the scene of the twin bomb blasts, which claimed 14 lives and injured over 100, along with Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and other senior officials. "The total dead are 14, total injured is 119. Out of this six are critical," Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said at a news conference. "There was general alert...

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Oldest Known Wild Bird Hatches Chick at 62

Wisdom, the oldest known wild bird, has yet another feather in her cap—a new chick.The Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)—62 years old at least—recently hatched a healthy baby in the U.S. Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, her sixth in a row and possibly the 35th of her lifetime, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) North American Bird Banding Program. (Related:...

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Arias Challenged On Pedophilia Claim

Accused murderer Jodi Arias was challenged today by phone records, text message records, and her own diary entries that appeared to contradict her claim that she caught her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, looking at pictures of naked boys.Arias had said during her testimony that one afternoon in January 2008, she walked in on Alexander masturbating to pictures of naked boys....

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As sequester nears, Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale at center of storm

Pentagon comptroller Robert F. Hale is overseeing the Defense Department’s plans to furlough most of its 800,000 civilian workers, but he insists that he still meets with friendly faces as he strides down the building’s corridors. “I teasingly say, ‘When I walk down the hall, people still wave, but with fewer fingers,’ ” said Hale, who is balancing the tension and frustration of the times...

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It's 'The Oscars', now officially

LOS ANGELES: They are the 85th Academy Awards, the climax of Hollywood's awards season, this coming weekend -- except officially they're not. This year, they've been rebranded to "The Oscars."The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which organizes Tinseltown's biggest awards, did not confirm the change revealed by show co-producer Neil Meron, who said "85th Academy Awards"...

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Railway Budget likely to announce 100 new trains

NEW DELHI: Railways is planning to introduce about 100 trains, including AC double deckers, new passenger services and extension of services to cater to the demands of various states in the Rail Budget 2013-14. As far as rolling stock programme is concerned, the announcement will be made for manufacturing of 4200 new coaches including 600 LHB coaches in the Rail Budget. While provision for manufacturing...

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NASA's Mars Rover Makes Successful First Drill

For the first time ever, people have drilled into a rock on Mars, collecting the powdered remains from the hole for analysis.Images sent back from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Wednesday confirmed that the precious sample is being held by the rover's scoop, and will soon be delivered to two miniature chemical labs to undergo an unprecedented analysis. (Related: "Mars Rover Curiosity...

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Newtown Shooter Had Sensory Processing Disorder

From the time he was little, Adam Lanza couldn't bear to be touched. By middle school, the chaos and noise of large, bustling classrooms began to upset him. At 20, just before the Newtown shootings, he was isolated and, the world would later learn, disturbed.All this was revealed in "Raising Adam Lanza," an investigative report by the Hartford Courant in partnership with the PBS...

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Scuffles at Dutch MP Wilders' Australia event

MELBOURNE: Mounted police restored order as scuffles broke out outside an Australian venue where Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders was speaking, but authorities said on Wednesday that no arrests were made.Populist Wilders spoke on Tuesday night in Melbourne, receiving a standing ovation from several hundred people who had heard him warn that mass migration from Islamic nations could...

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Trade union leader killed as 2-day nationwide strike begins

NEW DELHI: A trade union leader was killed in Ambala in the wee hours as the two-day nationwide strike called by the 11 trade unions began on Wednesday."Narender Singh, the treasurer of a AITUC union was stabbed to death near the Ambala bus stand by some miscreants who wanted to take out buses from the depot despite the strike," AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said. Condemning the murder,...

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Florida Python Hunt Captures 68 Invasive Snakes

It's a wrap—the 2013 Python Challenge has nabbed 68 invasive Burmese pythons in Florida, organizers say. And experts are surprised so many of the elusive giants were caught.Nearly 1,600 people from 38 states—most of them inexperienced hunters—registered for the chance to track down one of the animals, many of which descend from snakes that either escaped or were dumped into the wild.Since...

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