Gunshots and plea for help heard in 911 calls from Colorado movie shooting

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) - A 13-year-old girl caught in last summer's shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater was heard frantically pleading for help for two gravely wounded relatives in a tape of her emergency 911 call played in court on Tuesday.In it, the distraught girl could be heard telling an emergency dispatcher that her 6-year-old cousin, Veronica Moser-Sullivan, and Veronica's pregnant...

Read More..

Illinois asks court to keep banning most handguns in the state

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois asked an appeals court on Tuesday to reverse itself and allow a ban that prevents most people there from carrying concealed handguns in public.Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a Democrat, asked the full Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to review the decision, saying it was not consistent with recent decisions by other courts.Last month, three days before...

Read More..

Italy's real election battle is Monti vs Berlusconi

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's election campaign is shaping up as a bitter contest not between right and left but between Silvio Berlusconi and outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti to win the balance of power after the February poll.The final lines were drawn on Monday when Berlusconi sacrificed his own candidacy for prime minister as the price for winning a crucial new alliance with his estranged allies...

Read More..

The year's 9 most hilarious New York Times corrections

Egregiously, the Gray Lady mistook My Little Pony's Fluttershy for Twilight SparkleThe internet has unquestionably made it easier for readers to interact with big media organizations — and that includes calling them out on mistakes. Still, you've really got to hand it to The New York Times. Internet or no, the paper of record has long exhibited unrivaled diligence when it comes to issuing corrections....

Read More..

The grassroots movement to get Piers Morgan deported: Could it actually work?

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition to get the CNN commentator kicked out of the country for his outspoken views on gun controlCan a foreign-born political commentator be deported for making political comments? That's the question — and the goal — of more than 60,000 Americans who have signed a petition to deport British journalist Piers Morgan for his outspoken views on gun control. On...

Read More..

Acer's $99 tablet: Just what the world needs?

The PC maker reportedly plans to unveil a gadget that will undercut the gadgets that undercut the iPadAcer, the world's fourth largest PC maker, is reportedly becoming the first heavy hitter in the industry to make a tablet that — at $99 a pop — will be inexpensive enough to be within reach of a wide range of buyers in developing countries. Chinese companies making no-name budget tablets should be...

Read More..

Seven Things Parents Can Do Post-Newtown Without Government

These simple common-sense steps are adapted from a post I published on my blog after the horrific Newtown, Conn., massacre. Our hearts ache, but we are not completely helpless or hopeless in the face of evil and the unknown. And we are not alone. This Christmas, cherish life, keep faith and practice self-empowerment.7. Teach our kids about the acts of heroes in times of crisis. Tell them about Newtown...

Read More..

State-Run Broadcasting Pushes for Taxes

A "serious" proposal is one that has a reasonable expectation of resolving a conflict. Anyone studying Speaker Boehner's Plan B proposal knows it wasn't serious. Why are so many defending it and bemoaning its defeat?It tells you an awful lot about the dishonest nature of politics in America today.Republicans — fiscally conservative Republicans — have argued since forever that tax increases diminish...

Read More..

Yemen army shells tribesmen for blocking pipeline repairs

The Yemeni army launched an assault on Sunday using tanks and rockets on tribesmen blocking repairs to the country's main oil export pipeline, tribal sources said.Earlier this month, the military launched a major offensive against tribesmen suspected of repeatedly blowing up the Maarib pipeline and attacking power lines. At least 17 soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected al Qaeda militants."Armed...

Read More..

Egypt's constitution approved in vote, say rival camps

 A constitution drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly was approved by a majority of Egyptians in a referendum, rival camps said on Sunday, after a vote the opposition said drove a wedge through the Arab world's most populous nation.The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the charter...

Read More..

Israel says Syria chemical weapons are secure for now

 Syria's chemical weapons are still secure despite the fact that President Bashar al-Assad has lost control of parts of the country, a senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday.Amos Gilad told Army Radio that the civil war between Assad and opposition forces fighting to topple him had become deadlocked, but that the Syrian leader showed no signs of heeding international calls to step down."Suppose...

Read More..

Exclusive: Pakistan's army chief makes Afghan peace "top priority"

WANA, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's powerful army chief has made reconciling warring factions in Afghanistan a top priority, military officials and Western diplomats say, the newest and clearest sign yet that Islamabad means business in promoting peace with the Taliban.General Ashfaq Kayani is backing dialogue partly due to fears that the end of the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan in...

Read More..

North Korea could have U.S. within missile range, says South

This month's rocket launch by reclusive North Korea shows it has likely developed the technology, long suspected in the West, to fire a warhead more than 10,000 km (6,200 miles), South Korean officials said on Sunday, putting the U.S. West Coast in range.North Korea said the December 12 launch put a weather satellite in orbit but critics say it was aimed at nurturing the kind of technology needed...

Read More..