Obama breaks off vacation to deal with fiscal cliff

WASHINGTON: With President Barack Obama heading back to Washington, US lawmakers were under increased pressure Wednesday to hammer out an 11th-hour deal that prevents taxes from rising for all Americans.The president cut short his Christmas vacation in Hawaii and was set to fly back to the US capital late Wednesday, five days after calling on Congress to end their bitter deadlock over...

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Kerala royal robbed of Rs 300 crore in jewels

KOCHI: Kerala police on Tuesday launched a manhunt to nab a three-member gang which allegedly killed a member belonging to the Mavelikkara royal family and robbed him of diamonds worth Rs 300 crore. B Harihara Varma was killed at the house of his advocate Haridas in Thiruvananthapuram where he had come for the sale of the diamonds. Haridas claimed the diamonds are worth Rs 300 crore. "Haridas claims...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Gunman Killed Firemen With Bushmaster, Left Note

A convicted killer, who shot dead two firefighters with a Bushmaster assault rifle after leading them into an ambush when they responded to a house fire he set in Western New York, left behind a typewritten note saying he wanted to "do what I like doing best, killing people," police said.William Spengler, 62, set his home and a car on fire early Monday morning with the intention...

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Syria envoy seeks peace as clashes rage

BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pursued mediation efforts in Damascus on Tuesday, but there was no pause in the bloodletting as Syrian Christians marked a bleak Christmas Day with prayers for peace. "We are here in a cave that symbolizes Syria right now," said a priest standing beside a nativity scene in a grotto. "It is cold here but the door is open...

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Queen Elizabeth II gives first 3D Christmas broadcast

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II gave thanks on Tuesday for Britain's year of Olympic and diamond jubilee festivities, in her first Christmas message to the Commonwealth broadcast in 3D.The 86-year-old monarch said it had been "humbling" to see the vast crowds joining celebrations marking her 60th year on the throne and paid tribute to the volunteers, as well as the athletes, who took part in...

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Delhi gang rape: Pranab lauds Nirbhaya’s courage

NEW DELHI: Expressing empathy with the public outcry against the Delhi gang-rape, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday praised the courage and tenacity of the young girl who was subjected to the brutal attack. In his greetings to the people on Christmas eve, Mukherjee said, "We mark Christmas at a time when the nation is joined in anguish and distress over the recent horrific attack on a young girl...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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4 Firefighters Shot, 2 Killed in NY 'Trap'

Two firefighters were shot and killed and two others hospitalized after a gunman targeted them as they responded to a fire he is believed to have set to a home and a car in Webster, N.Y., police said."It does appear that it was a trap that was set for first responders," Police Chief Gerald L. Pickering said.SWAT team officers used an armored personnel carrier to evacuate 33...

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Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said. The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such...

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