Friday, October 5, 2012

Steroid-related meningitis cases rise to 47

Steroid-related meningitis cases rise to 47

Steroid-related meningitis cases rise to 47

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:50 PM PDT

UPDATE adds Indiana as the sixth state to report a case; map shows states affected by meningitis outbreakA deadly meningitis outbreak rose to 47 cases in seven states Friday, as clinics scrambled to notify patients across the country that the shots they got for back pain may have been contaminated with a fungus.

US suspects Haqqani tie to Afghan insider attacks

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:47 PM PDT

In this June 19, 2012 file photo, Afghan soldiers and a policeman prepare for a mock ambush as part of a training exercise at the U.S. Marine-run Joint Sustainment Academy, Camp Leatherneck in Helmand, south of Kabul. The U.S. suspects the Haqqani insurgent network, which has ties to al-Qaida and is based in Pakistan, is a driving force behind many of the The Haqqani insurgent network, based in Pakistan and with ties to al-Qaida, is suspected of being a driving force behind a significant number of the "insider" attacks by Afghan forces that have killed or wounded more than 130 U.S. and allied troops this year, American officials said Friday.

Calif. refinery back online amid soaring prices

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:45 PM PDT

A man pumps gas at a gas station Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, in San Diego. Californians woke up to a shock Friday as overnight gasoline prices jumped by as much as 20 cents a gallon in some areas, ending a week of soaring costs that saw some stations close and others charge record prices. The average price of regular gas across the state was nearly $4.49 a gallon, the highest in the nation, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge report. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)Californians woke up to a shock Friday as overnight gasoline prices jumped by as much as 20 cents a gallon in some areas, ending a week of soaring costs that saw some stations close and others charge record prices.

NC: A mix of old and new in Southern swing state

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:40 PM PDT

In this photo taken Oct. 4, 2012, Carol Fentiman is shown in her home in Flat Rock, N.C. North Carolina's population has nearly doubled since 1970, fueled by an economic renaissance built around banking, health care, technology and widely regarded universities. The result is a presidential battleground. Transplants like Carol Fentiman, a 66-year-old retiree brought her Democratic politics with her, the kind of voter that helped make Barack Obama the first Democratic presidential nominee to win here since 1976. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)North Carolina's population has nearly doubled since 1970, fueled by an economic expansion that brought an influx of Midwesterners, Northeasterners and nonwhites and turning the state from a Republican presidential stronghold into a battleground.

Sheriff: Texas teen's motive in slayings 'mystery'

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:40 PM PDT

This undated booking photograph provided by the Parker County Sheriff's Department shows 17-year-old Jake Evans of Aledo Texas. Authorities say Evans shot his mother, 48-year-old Jami Evans, and his 15-year-old sister, Mallory, at the family's upscale home near Aledo, about 20 miles west of Fort Worth. (AP Photo/Parker County Sheriff's Department)A North Texas sheriff says "it's a big mystery" why a 17-year-old boy gunned down his mother and teenage sister in their home.

Venezuela military: Election arbiter and wild card

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:38 PM PDT

FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2012 file photo, Venezuela's Defense Minister Gen. Henry Rangel Silva attends his swearing-in ceremony at Fort Tiuna military base in Caracas, Venezuela. The shadow of the Venezuelan military hangs over Sunday's presidential election, with many people wondering how the armed forces might react if Chavez stumbles in his fight to stay in power.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)Venezuela's military could end up being the decisive power broker in Sunday's presidential vote, especially if President Hugo Chavez stumbles in his fight to stay in power against the most formidable foe he's faced.

NHL, players' association meet in Toronto

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:35 PM PDT

FILE - In this May 15, 2012, file photo, ice covered hockey pucks are shown at the New Jersey Devils practice rink in Newark, N.J. The NHL said Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, that it has canceled the hockey season through Oct. 24, a total of 82 games, because of the ongoing lockout. The NHL and the players' union are unable to decide how to divide $3 billion in hockey-related revenues. There have been negotiations in recent days, but the sides have not gotten any closer to an agreement on core economic issues.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)The NHL and the players' association quietly resumed collective bargaining talks Friday and expect to be in contact again in the upcoming days.

EADS-BAE merger plan hits political crunch point

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:34 PM PDT

Visitor look at aircraft models at EADS booth ILA Berlin Air Show in SelchowPARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Tensions over a supermerger between EADS and BAE Systems spilled into the open on Friday and cast doubt on a rapidly approaching deadline as France, Britain and Germany jockeyed over the role of the state in the world's largest aerospace and arms group. After rattling investors with a $45 billion merger project last month, the chief executives of Europe's largest aerospace firms headed into the weekend with the fate of their historic tie-up plans hinging on events outside their control. ...

Signs growing that Israeli PM will call early vote

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:34 PM PDT

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2012 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem. Signs are growing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon call parliamentary elections months ahead of schedule, seeking to capitalize on a wave of popularity and a fragmented opposition to guarantee his hold on power for several more years. While Netanyahu has not made any formal announcement, a number of members of his coalition, including his foreign minister and the speaker of parliament, have signaled that elections are imminent. An official decision could come in the next week or two as parliament opens its fall session, with February the likely date of the vote.(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)Signs are growing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will call parliamentary elections as early as February, months ahead of schedule in a bid to capitalize on a wave of popularity and a fragmented opposition to guarantee his hold on power for several more years.

Militants' extradition could give Obama political headache

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:33 PM PDT

Demonstrator Anjem Choudary, protests in support of Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, outside the High Court in LondonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The British government's imminent move to extradite five prominent Islamic militants to the United States for trial could trigger security and political headaches for President Barack Obama and his administration. After years of appeals, two British judges gave final legal sanction on Friday to the extradition of the militants, who include a one-time U.K.-based spokesman for late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and a notorious hook-handed imam who once preached at a big London mosque. ...

Jobs report gives Obama much-needed boost

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:33 PM PDT

President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at George Mason University, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)President Barack Obama celebrated much-needed good economic news Friday as the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since he took office. "We are moving forward again," he boasted. Republican rival Mitt Romney retorted that the president still hasn't done enough to help millions of people who are out of work.

Mexico announces big Gulf deep water oil find

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:32 PM PDT

Mexico's state-owned oil company reports it has found possible reserves of as much as 125 million barrels of oil at a deep-water well in the Gulf of Mexico.

US releases estimate of Utica Shale reserves

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:31 PM PDT

Drilling companies beginning to explore the Utica Shale got a piece of good news Friday when the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the rock formation in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states holds enormous reserves of natural gas and oil.

AJ Allmendinger visits Talladega Superspeedway

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:30 PM PDT

AJ Allmendinger upped his effort to find a new job on Friday by making his first appearance at a NASCAR event since his suspension for failing a drug test.

US consumer credit up $18.1 billion in August

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:29 PM PDT

Americans boosted their borrowing in August by the largest amount in three months with strong gains in the category that covers auto and student loans and in credit card debt.

Woman bids to lead Egypt Islamist party

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:22 PM PDT

In this Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 photo, Sabah al-Saqari, 49, a senior member of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, arrives at her office in the FJP's headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. For the first time, a woman is running for the leadership of the political party of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful Islamist group. Sabah al-Saqari says she wants to increase female participation in politics and even defends a woman's right to run for president, a stance her organization rejects. But liberals who fear Islamist rule will set back women's rights say her candidacy is just an attempt by the Brotherhood to improve its image. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)For the first time, a woman is running for the leadership of the political party of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful Islamist group. Sabah el-Saqari says she wants to increase female participation in politics and even defends a woman's right to run for president, a stance her organization rejects.

No more Mich. trials for serial stabbing suspect

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:19 PM PDT

FILE - This undated file photo released by the Arlington, Va., County Police Department shows Elias Abuelazam, an Israeli citizen suspected in a three-state stabbing spree. Abuelazamwill face no additional trials unless his first murder conviction is overturned by an appeals court. A prosecutor said Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, during a hearing if Flint, Mich., that two murder cases and six attempted murder cases will be suspended against Abuelazam. (AP Photo/Arlington County Police Department, File)A man charged in a series of fatal stabbings in Michigan in 2010 will face no additional trials in the state unless his first murder conviction is overturned, a prosecutor said Friday, citing the high cost of bringing each case to court.

Union boss: Friendly fire possibility in shooting

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:17 PM PDT

Family members of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie participate in Thursday Oct. 4, 2012 candlelight ceremony in Naco, Arizona. Nearly 100 people gathered in Naco for a candlelight vigil for a fallen Border Patrol agent. Ivie and two other border agents were fired upon Tuesday in a rugged hilly area about five miles (eight kilometers) north of the border near Bisbee, Ariz., as they responded to an alarm that was triggered on one of the sensors that the government has installed along the border. (AP Photo/Beatrice Richardson, Sierra Vista Herald)The shooting of two U.S. Border Patrol agents near the Arizona-Mexico border may have been a case of friendly fire, a union chief for border agents and law enforcement officials said Friday.

Five nations call for single EU bank regulator by January

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:15 PM PDT

VALLETTA, Malta (Reuters) - Five European Union nations meeting in Malta called for the next meeting of the region's leaders in October to make progress toward setting up a single banking regulator by the end of the year so that it can be running in 2013. The leaders of France, Malta, Spain, Italy, and Portugal met on the small island country on Friday at a summit with North African countries. EU leaders will meet in Brussels on October 18 and 19. ...

Mel Brooks to receive AFI life achievement honor

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:14 PM PDT

FILE - This Nov. 7, 2009 file photo originally released by the Breeders' Cup shows Mel Brooks arriving at the 26th Running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in Santa Anita, Calif. The American Film Institute announced Friday Oct. 5, 2012 that Brooks will be honored with the 41st AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film. The award will be presented to Brooks at a gala tribute on June 6, 2013 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Breeders' Cup, Katy Winn, file)It'll be springtime for Mel Brooks when the American Film Institute presents him with its highest honor, the Life Achievement Award.

Court: Can Va. keep out-of-staters from using FOI?

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:13 PM PDT

The Supreme Court decided Friday it would hear arguments over whether states can keep out-of-staters from using their Freedom of Information Act laws to get government documents.

Romney closes gap with Obama to 2 points after debate: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:12 PM PDT

Republican presidential nominee Romney speaks at a campaign rally in AbingdonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's lead over challenger Mitt Romney has narrowed to just two percentage points since the Republican's strong performance in their first debate, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. In more bad news for Obama, one in five voters said the Democrat's performance in the contest in Denver on Wednesday made them feel more negative about him and almost a third said they felt more positive about his Republican challenger. ...

Malta hosts first Europe-Arab summit in a decade

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:08 PM PDT

Terrorism, lawlessness, immigration and the European debt crisis were all discussed Friday at the first Mediterranean summit since the Arab Spring uprisings.

Israeli police: American shoots dead chef at hotel

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:04 PM PDT

Israeli soldiers secure the area near the site of a shooting incident at a hotel in the Red Sea resort town of Eilat, Israel, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012. A young American opened fire in a hotel in Eilat Friday, killing one person before police shot him dead in an incident that appeared to be a personal dispute. (AP Photo/Eliraz Getah) ISRAEL OUTAn American man who lost his job at a Red Sea hotel in Israel shot dead a chef at the resort on Friday, then was killed himself in a shootout with Israeli commandos, police said.

Study finds rise in gay characters on network TV

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:02 PM PDT

This image released by HBO shows Michael McMillian, left, and Denis O'Hare in a scene from "True Blood." The 17th annual "Where We Are on TV" report released Friday by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) found that 4.4 percent of actors appearing regularly on prime-time network drama and comedy series during the 2012-13 season will portray lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) characters. This is up from 2.9 percent in 2011, which saw a dip in what had been a growing trend. The HBO drama "True Blood" remains the most inclusive series on cable television, featuring six LGBT characters. (AP Photo/HBO, John P. Johnson)The number of gay and bisexual characters on scripted broadcast network TV is at its highest-ever level in the season ahead, according to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The total on cable television is also going up.

CBO tallies 2012 deficit at $1.1T

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT

A new estimate puts the deficit for the just-completed 2012 budget year at $1.1 trillion, the fourth straight year of trillion dollar deficits on President Barack Obama's watch.

Nervous Venezuelans stock up on supplies before election

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT

Venezuela's opposition presidential candidate Capriles greets supporters during a campaign rally in Barquisimeto(Note: Election law forbids publication of polls in Venezuela for a week before voting) CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans packed supermarkets on Friday to stock up on food and other essentials in case of trouble around Sunday's presidential vote, which was shaping up as the biggest electoral challenge of Hugo Chavez's 14-year rule. Energetic young state governor Henrique Capriles has gained momentum in the closing days of the campaign and he seemed to have the opposition's best chance of unseating Chavez since the socialist president came to power in 1999. ...

Giants, 49ers, yachts, fests: SF braces for crowds

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:59 AM PDT

A Navy Blue Angels F/A-18 flies past the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012. The Blue Angels were practicing for the annual Fleet Week celebration this weekend. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)An unusual convergence of sporting and entertainment events in San Francisco this weekend promises to bring up to a million extra people into the densely populated bayside city.

UK court rules Abu Hamza can be extradited to US

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:59 AM PDT

FILE - This Friday, April 30, 2004 file photo shows Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, as he arrives with a masked bodyguard, right, to conduct Friday prayers in the street outside the closed Finsbury Park Mosque in London. A British court is expected to rule on whether extremist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri is too ill to be extradited to the United States to face terror charges. London's High Court is set to decide Friday Oct. 5, 2012 whether al-Masri and other terror suspects can be sent to the U.S. to face charges that include helping set up a terrorist training camp in rural Oregon. (AP Photo/Max Nash, File)Radical preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri and four other terror suspects who have fought for years to avoid facing charges in the United States have no more grounds for appeal and can be extradited from Britain immediately, Britain's High Court ruled Friday.

Feds studying problems with Ford Escape throttles

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:57 AM PDT

FILE The 2012 Ford Escape makes its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in a Nov. 16, 2011 file photo. Federal safety regulators have started looking into throttle problems with older-model Ford Escape SUVs. The North Carolina Consumers Council has asked for an investigation into two complaints that the SUVs stalled or surged. The request affects 1.6 million Escapes from the 2005 to 2012 model years. The Escapes have not been recalled. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it will decide if it should start a formal investigation. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)U.S. safety regulators are looking into throttle problems in older Ford Escapes at the request of a consumer group.

US probes Honda Pilots, Odysseys that roll away

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:52 AM PDT

FILE - A 2003 Honda Odyssey and 2003 Honda Pilot are shown in a undated Honda Motor Company file photo. Safety regulators in the U.S. are investigating complaints that older Honda Odyssey Minivans and Pilot SUVs can roll away after drivers have removed the ignition key. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration affects more than 577,000 vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model years with automatic transmissions. (AP Photo/Honda Motor Company, File)U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that Honda Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs can roll away after drivers remove the ignition key.

South Africa's Amplats fires 12,000 strikers as unrest deepens

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:51 AM PDT

Striking platinum miners wait behind a police cordon at the site where violent clashes overnight left one person dead near the AMPLATS mine in RustenburgJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) fired 12,000 wildcat strikers on Friday, a high-stakes attempt by the world's biggest platinum producer to push back at a wave of illegal stoppages sweeping through South Africa's mining sector and beyond. The rand fell sharply after the announcement, suggesting investors fear the sackings could worsen what is shaping up to be the most damaging period of labor unrest in Africa's biggest economy since the end of apartheid in 1994. Police shot dead one striking miner overnight, bringing the death toll in two months of unrest to 48. ...

Correction: Alamo-Victory or Death story

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:51 AM PDT

In a story Oct. 4 about the "Victory or Death" letter by Col. William B. Travis, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the Battle of San Jacinto was on April 22, 1836. It was on April 21.

Texas test scandal ex-school chief gets 3.5 years

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:49 AM PDT

A federal judge sentenced the former superintendent of El Paso Independent School District to more than three years in prison Friday for his participation in a conspiracy to improve the district's high-stakes tests scores by removing low-performing students from classrooms.

Tiny presence, unknown impact for 3rd parties

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:49 AM PDT

In this Sept. 21, 2012 photo, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson, right, greets students at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. Third-party candidates Johnson and Virgil Goode are blips in the presidential race. They have little money, aren't on stage for presidential debates and barely register in the polls _ when survey takers even bother to list them as options.(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)Third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Virgil Goode are blips in the presidential race. They have little money, aren't on stage for presidential debates and barely register in the polls — when survey takers even bother to list them as options.

Obama, Romney mix humor into rallies, fundraisers

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:47 AM PDT

FILE - In this March 5, 2012 file photo, Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, laughs with him as he speaks at a town hall meeting at Taylor Winfield in Youngstown, Ohio. Call it the campaign trail schtick. Have you heard the one about the kid who thinks President Barack Obama's job is to "approve this message?" Or the time Mitt Romney compared another presidential run to giving birth? The jokes at presidential fundraisers and rallies are easy applause lines for Obama and Romney, a way to keep supporters entertained before more weighty subjects like Medicare, taxes and foreign policy. A good sense of humor has served presidential candidates well in the past. So it's little wonder why both Obama and Romney are using the same technique. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)Have you heard the one about the kid who thinks President Barack Obama's job is to "approve this message?" Or the time Mitt Romney compared another presidential run to giving birth?

AP PHOTOS: Bloodshed in Aleppo

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:42 AM PDT

A doctor carries a severely wounded Syrian boy in the Dar El Shifa hospital, in Aleppo, Syria Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 after the child was hit by Syrian Army shelling. The border violence between Turkey and Syria has added a dangerous new dimension to Syria's civil war, dragging Syria's neighbors deeper into a conflict that activists say has already killed 30,000 people since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March 2011. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo)These striking images show the casualties of this week's intense fighting in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where rebels are battling President Bashar Assad's regime.

Nigeria: Sabotaged phone lines worsen crisis

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:40 AM PDT

Sabotaged phone lines prevented students from warning friends and possibly saving their lives in the attack in which 22 college students were killed earlier this week, survivors said Friday.

FBI agent details military electronics scheme

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:40 AM PDT

Federal agents carry boxes out of Arc Electronics Inc. Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012 in Houston. A Kazakhstan-born businessman was charged in the U.S. on Wednesday with being a secret Russian agent involved in a scheme to illegally export microelectronics from the United States to Russian military and intelligence agencies. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)An FBI agent is testifying about how a Houston-based company for years had illicitly sold military technology to Russia.

Texas test scandal ex-school chief gets 42 months

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:39 AM PDT

In a Friday, Sept. 7, 2012 photo, activist Javier Diaz, left, 82, shows former Texas state senator Elliot Shapleigh signatures he collected to demand an overhaul of the El Paso Independent School District, in El Paso, Texas. A cheating scandal in which schools would get rid of underperforming students to artificially inflate their high stakes test scores has rocked the El Paso ISD, landed a former superintendent in jail and prompted the Texas Education Agency to put the district on probation. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)A federal judge has sentenced the former El Paso Independent School District superintendent to 42 months in prison for his participation in a scheme to bolster high-stakes testing scores by getting rid of students deemed likely to fail.
Posted by Harshad at 1:04 PM

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