National News
Former Vice President Al Gore finds a parallel between the latest weather-related disasters and those described in the Book of Revelations. While reflecting on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the extreme flooding conditions in Australia this week, Gore points them to climate change. “These storms – it’s like a nature hike through the Book […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Banning some assault weapons and requiring background checks for all firearms purchases aren’t a serious attempt to reduce gun violence, a top National Rifle Association official warned Tuesday as Congress geared up for the year’s first hearing on the subject. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, said the country must […]
NEW YORK (AP) — A special fund set up by Congress to compensate people who got sick after being exposed to toxic World Trade Center dust following Sept. 11 is making its first round of payments, with the initial payouts going to a group of 15 first responders with respiratory problems. The administrator who oversees […]
CHICAGO (AP) — When former Illinois Gov. George Ryan steps out of prison on Wednesday after serving five-plus years for corruption, he will return to a life altered by personal tragedy and to a state altered by his and his predecessor’s legacy of corruption. Ryan, who is headed to a halfway house in Chicago, will […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices accelerated in November compared with a year ago, pushed higher by rising sales and a tighter supply of available homes. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5.5 percent in November compared with the same month a year ago. That’s the largest year-over-year gain in six years. […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The indestructible Twinkie appears to be one step closer to a comeback. Hostess Brands is close to announcing that it has picked two investment firms — C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management — as the lead bidders for its Twinkies and other snack cakes, according to a source […]
WRIGHT, N.Y. (AP)- Authorities say 67 dead cats and 99 living cats had to be removed from a filthy home in upstate New York. Officials removed the cats from a home in Wright, near Albany, on Wednesday night. The Times Union of Albany reports the dead cats were packed in plastic bags in the freezer […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Facing diverse and ceaseless protests, the Boy Scouts of America is signaling its readiness to end the nationwide exclusion of gays as scouts or leaders and give the sponsors of local troops the freedom to decide the matter for themselves. If approved by the Scouts’ national executive board, possibly as soon […]
While some people find a match made in heaven on the internet, one online dater found herself at risk of losing her life. Mary Kay Beckman is suing Match.com for connecting her to a man that tried to killer her. The 50-year-old real estate agent said Wade Riley, the man she met online, tried to […]
A 71-year-old Connecticut woman has been arrested after offering to have sex for money. Police arrested Sygun Liebhart at a Homewood Suites in Glastonbury after she placed an ad for “escort” services on Backpage.com. In the ad, Liebhart referred to herself as “Lola.” She made contact with an individual and made a deal to perform […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of leading senators has reached agreement on the principles for a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, including a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country. The deal, to be announced at a news conference Monday, also covers border security, non-citizen or […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The Boys Scouts of America is considering a dramatic retreat from its controversial policy of excluding gays as leaders and youth members. Under the change now being discussed, the different religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units would be able to decide for themselves how to address the issue — […]
