Did NFL star really call Obama 'dictator' on national TV?
“Watch for Peyton to speak to the nation, as the president of the United States would speak to the nation tonight,” said Young, now an ESPN analyst. “And tell them, ‘I am the dictator! I am the one that’s gonna take care of everything.”
CDC reports potential Ebola exposure in Atlanta lab
Researchers studying Ebola in a highly secure laboratory mistakenly allowed potentially lethal samples of the virus to be handled in a much less secure laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, agency officials said Wednesday.
Travelers to Guangdong cautioned over H5N6 bird flu
Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control cautioned travelers to Guangdong province in southern China to pay attention to personal hygiene after the coastal region recorded the world's second confirmed human infection of the H5N6 avian flu. A 58-year-old patient in Guangdong is in critical condition after contracting the disease, the CDC said...
Baghdad's Christians gather defiantly for Christmas Eve mass
Baghdad’s embattled Christian community worshipped defiantly Wednesday night at Christmas Eve mass. The congregation sang in unison: “Praise Jesus, our Lord. Oh praise him” as incense burnt in the darkened church.
Pakistan agrees on new antiterrorism plan, pledges to 'eradicate Taliban'
Pakistan’s leadership overnight agreed on a comprehensive antiterrorism action plan. They will revamp the criminal system, crackdown on terrorist hideouts, communications and sources of income, and establish a 5,000-strong counter-terrorism force. The nation is still reeling from the terrorist attack on a Peshawar school on December 16, which claimed 149 lives, 133 of them children.
ISIS ‘launches new chlorine gas attack’ in Iraq’s Anbar – report
Islamic State militants have reportedly shelled a city in the western Iraqi province of Anbar with chlorine gas-imbued missiles, media reports citing security sources say. The attack is said to have targeted a district with trapped and starving civilians.
CDC monitoring technician for possible Ebola exposure
CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds says in an emailed statement Wednesday that the person working in a secure laboratory in Atlanta may have come into contact with a small amount of a live virus that was part of an Ebola experiment.
Obama's Spiritual Adviser: His Christian Faith Has Only Deepened
Obama turns to several progressive and activist theologians for spiritual succor. These include DuBois, a Pentecostal minister as well as pastors Joel Hunter, Jim Wallis, and 90 year-old Joseph Lowery, founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, according to Politico.
GEOMAGNETIC UNREST
A fast stream of solar wind is buffeting Earth's magnetic field, prompting NOAA forecasters to raise the odds of a polar geomagnetic storm today to 35%.
Think it's just Putin who runs Russia? Guess again
What do a shadowy oil czar, a deeply religious railway boss and a billionaire judo enthusiast have in common? They form most of what experts believe to be Vladimir Putin's inner circle—a coterie of old allies and confidants that defines the country's trademark system of crony capitalism.
‘Israelis, Palestinians increasingly negative about two-state solution’
According to the findings, following the summer’s conflict, 50 percent of Israelis and 38% of Palestinians support a permanent settlement package along the Clinton parameters and the Geneva Initiative, which includes a divided Jerusalem and territorial swaps for a final border agreement.
Police confiscate powerful explosive device, thwarting underworld criminal hit
Police said that the suspects planned to use the explosive as part of the struggle between underworld crime families in Ashdod.
Ten-year-old boy mutilated and sacrificed in witchcraft ceremony...
A 10-year-old boy was mutilated and sacrificed in a witchcraft ceremony, police have reportedly said. An Indian worker is alleged to have told officers that he murder the boy, identified as Pranshu, a third year standard student, in a bid to help his wife become pregnant, the Times of India said.
Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone declares three-day lockdown in north
Sierra Leone has declared lockdown of at least three days in the north of the country to try to contain the Ebola epidemic. Shops, markets and non-Ebola related travel services will be shut down, officials said. Sierra Leone has already banned many public Christmas celebrations.
US lab worker monitored for Ebola
A US laboratory technician is being monitored after possible exposure to the Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. It said the technician was working at the CDC in Atlanta when an Ebola sample was mistakenly moved from one laboratory to another. The employee will be monitored for 21 days. A CDC spokeswoman said there was no risk to the public.
Storm and tornado hit southern US, killing at least four
A severe storm bringing a tornado, heavy rain, hail and lightning has hit parts of the southern US, killing at least four people and disrupting electricity supplies, officials say. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant has declared an emergency in two counties. His office said thousands were without power around Columbia, about 130km (81 miles) south-east of Jackson.
Report: Israeli delegation arrives in Egypt to search for bodies of 22 missing soldiers
An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo early Thursday morning in an attempt to find the remains of 22 soldiers who went missing during Israel's wars in Egypt, sources quoted by the Egyptian media said. Of the 22 soldiers, 16 went missing during the Yom Kippur War, two during the War of Attrition and four during the Six Day War.
Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce of 1914
On a crisp, clear morning 100 years ago, thousands of British, Belgian and French soldiers put down their rifles, stepped out of their trenches and spent Christmas mingling with their German enemies along the Western front.
CDC reports potential Ebola exposure in Atlanta lab
Researchers studying Ebola in a highly secure laboratory mistakenly allowed potentially lethal samples of the virus to be handled in a much less secure laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, agency officials said Wednesday.
China tightens church control ahead of Christmas
Two days before Christmas, members of a rural Christian congregation in the eastern city of Wenzhou welded some pieces of metal into a cross and hoisted it onto the top of their worship hall to replace one that was forcibly removed in October. Within an hour, township officials and uniformed men barged onto the church ground and tore down the cross.
Israel strikes Gaza, killing militant after soldier shot
Israel launched an air strike in southern Gaza on Wednesday and killed a Hamas militant after a sniper attack on a patrol seriously wounded a soldier, the army and medics said.
Likud comptroller disqualifies Netanyahu from Likud leadership race; PM likely to appeal
Likud’s comptroller, disqualified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for running for the party leadership in the December 31 primary, a move that Netanyahu disputes and is likely to appeal.
Scientists try to decipher Idaho earthquake swarms
The latest earthquake swarm in central Idaho could help scientists better understand quake belts extending from Yellowstone National Park. The most recent swarm in the Challis area started this week and so far 20 quakes have been recorded, the largest a 3.7 magnitude on Monday.
Black Conservatives Slam Obama's 'Better Off' Comments
President Barack Obama said recently that African Americans were better off now than when he took office six years ago, but many black conservatives disputed that to Newsmax — citing such widespread ills a high unemployment, poor education levels and spiraling gun violence in the nation's inner cities. "Here we are again with our president clearly demonstrating his severe disconnect with blacks in America, as he has ginned up racial hatred and … completely ignoring the fact that he's the first black president and holds a historic role that is intended to mend and rebuild America's fractured racial history," said Stacy Washington, a radio talk-show host in St. Louis.
The Russian and Iranian Missile Threats: Implications for NATO Missile Defense
As tensions rise over Ukraine, NATO is making preparations for the deployments of a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system in Romania in 2015 and in Poland in 2018. The United States and NATO claim that the missile defense shield is not directed at Russia, but is designed to deal with the dual threat of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction emanating from the Middle East.
U.S. South menaced by storms as Mississippi cleans up from tornadoes
JACKSON, Miss. - Severe thunderstorms menaced the U.S. Southeast on Wednesday, with a small tornado and flooding reported in parts of North Carolina, while emergency workers in Mississippi surveyed damage from tornadoes that killed at least four people and injured 20.
Expats eyeing the exits after Russian ruble plunges
Moscow - The plunge of the ruble hasn't left only Russians shell shocked -- foreign workers from traders to maids are considering bailing out as Moscow turns from an El Dorado into a financial black hole.