::: U.S.National - News :::

Special Report: Bloomberg reloads in push for gun control (Reuters)

Reuters - Among the slick, million-dollar ads for the likes of Pepsi and Honda during the Super Bowl this Sunday, viewers in Washington will see a far more modest spot. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will be sitting on a couch touting an issue most politicians avoid like the plague: gun control.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:19:03 GMT

Parents urge more tests as twitches spread at New York school (Reuters)

Reuters - State health officials have added three more names to a growing list of students in this working-class town who are experiencing mysterious tics and twitching, while authorities on Saturday sought to assure parents the community's high school is safe.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:52:05 GMT

Police begin clearing Occupy DC protest site (Reuters)

A protester walks along barricades with his personal belongings as U.S. National Park Service police cordon-off the Occupy DC encampment in McPherson Square in Washington, February 4, 2012. Police officers wearing helmets and carrying shields arrived at the site where protesters with the Reuters - Police removed bedding and most tents on Saturday at an "Occupy" protest site just blocks from the White House, enforcing a no-camping rule at a public square that has housed protesters for months.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:34:15 GMT

Class War 2012: Why Both Parties Are Flying the Anti-Wall Street Banner (Time.com)

Time.com - Gingrich ended his campaign against Romney in Florida with the same message strategy that Romney's senior advisers had used in another Republican primary two years earlier: Attack Goldman Sachs. There was a good reason

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:20:00 GMT

Inside Facebook's IPO: How the Social Web Will Reshape the Economy (Time.com)

Time.com - Facebook's IPO -- the largest in Internet history -- is a once-in-a-generation milestone in the evolution of the web

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:20:00 GMT

Second teacher arrested amid L.A. sex abuse probe (Reuters)

Reuters - Days after the arrest of a school teacher accused of taking bondage-style photos of students with cockroaches on their faces, a second instructor from the same school was arrested on Friday on suspicion of molesting two girls, authorities said.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:35:34 GMT

In Miramonte, questions amid a sense of betrayal (AP)

In this undated police booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department shows former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was arrested for felony molestation of 23 kids after photos surfaced.  Berndt been charged with committing lewd acts with 23 boys and girls ages 7 to 10.  AP Photo/ Los Angeles Sheriff's Department)AP - Mr. Berndt's third-grade classroom was up on the second floor, tucked away at the rear of Miramonte Elementary School, its windows looking out onto a playground.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:26:05 GMT

Father: Beheading plot suspect a dedicated teacher (AP)

AP - Nevine Aly Elshiekh is a dog lover who teaches children with developmental disabilities. She is college-educated, well-respected by her neighbors and has no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:08:46 GMT

Some blacks insist: 'I'm not African-American' (AP)

This Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 photo shows Gibre George, who started a Facebook page called 'Don't Call Me African-American,' in Hollywood, Fla. The labels used to describe Americans of African descent mark the movement of a people from the slave house to the White House. Today, many are resisting this progression by holding on to a name from the past: 'black.' The debate has waxed and waned since 'African-American' went mainstream, and gained new significance after the son of a black Kenyan and a white American moved into the White House. President Barack Obama's identity has been contested from all sides, renewing questions that have followed millions of darker Americans: What are you? Where are you from? And how do you fit into this country? (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)AP - The labels used to describe Americans of African descent mark the movement of a people from the slave house to the White House. Today, many are resisting this progression by holding on to a name from the past: "black."



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:12:35 GMT

11 injured in massive crowd for band LMFAO (AP)

AP - Overwhelming "human gridlock" in Indianapolis' Super Bowl Village is causing police to rethink crowd control before the game.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:20:44 GMT

Some former Komen supporters can't forgive, forget (AP)

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010 file photo, some of an estimated 45,000 people participate in the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure in Little Rock, Ark. After watching The Susan G. Komen for the Cure announce plans to cut funding to Planned Parenthood on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, then abandon those plans days later amid a public furor, many longtime Komen supporters were feeling conflicted at week's end. (AP Photo/Brian Chilson)AP - When Dorothy Twinney first saw a Race for the Cure walk for breast cancer — "a sea of pink" traveling through her hometown of Plymouth, Mich. — she was so moved she sat in her car and wept.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:58:49 GMT

Police clear tents from Occupy site in DC; 7 held (AP)

U.S. Park Police remove evidence seized in Occupy DC demonstrator's tents as they enforce no camping laws at McPherson Square in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)AP - U.S. Park Police say an officer has been struck with a brick in the face as officers in riot gear and on horseback cleared protesters from one of the last remaining Occupy sites.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:54:55 GMT

Clinton: US, Europe must do more against tyrants (AP)

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives at the Security Conference on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 in Munich, Germany. Politicians and military representatives will join for the 48. Munich Security conference from Friday, Feb. 3 until Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)AP - The Obama administration on Saturday called for stepped up U.S.-European cooperation to isolate tyrannies like the Assad regime in Syria, promote democracy in the Arab World and beyond and repair damage from the global financial crisis.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:57:28 GMT

Lives intersect on deadly stretch of Fla. highway (AP)

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, hundreds of Sprayberry High School students in Marietta, Ga., hold a candlelight vigil for Leticia Carmo, 17, a junior who was killed in a fiery crash on Interstate 75 on a darkened stretch of road in Florida with her parents and two other Restoration Church members on Jan. 29, 2012. Her sister, freshman Lidiane Carmo, 15, is the only survivor in the family from the crash. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton, File)  MARIETTA DAILY OUT; GWINNETT DAILY POST OUTAP - There was a single mom who loved to dance, in the car with a boyfriend who had moved from Virginia to be with her. A pastor and members of his family, originally from Brazil, returning home to Georgia from an Orlando church retreat. A father, his wife and his daughter headed south from the Panhandle for a family funeral. A young man coming home from bowling.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:17:19 GMT

Storm blankets Nebraska after dumping on Colorado (AP)

Rhonda Johnstone wipes out while snowboarding with her friends dogs Sake and Lola as a snow storm hits the Denver metro area Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 in Lakewood, Colo. A powerful winter storm swept across Colorado on Friday as it headed east, bringing blizzard warnings to eastern Colorado and winter storm warnings for southeast Wyoming, western Kansas and western Nebraska. The storm stretched as far south as New Mexico, where Department of Transportation reported difficult driving conditions on several state highways because of the winter weather, leaving highways snow packed and icy. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)AP - A powerful winter storm that covered parts of Colorado with up to 6 feet of snow crept east across the Plains Saturday, knocking out electricity to thousands in Nebraska as the blanket of heavy, wet precipitation downed power lines and made travel treacherous.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:15:07 GMT

Ore. mushroom pickers found alive after 6 days (AP)

This undated photo provided by the Curry County Sheriff's Office shows missing mushroom pickers Daniel and Belinda Conne.  Belinda and Daniel Conne, both 47, and their 25-year-old son, Michael, were last seen Sunday at the Huntley Park campground on the Rogue River about eight miles northeast of Gold Beach, Ore., where they had been living the past eight months since moving from Oklahama, Bishop said. They supported themselves with working odd jobs, glass blowing and picking mushrooms. Searchers were mystified that four days of searching has failed to turn up the three family members. (AP Photo/Curry County Sheriff's Office)AP - A couple and their adult son were found injured but alive Saturday in Southern Oregon, six days after they disappeared from their campsite to go mushroom picking.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:48:21 GMT

Dems want their candidate as Ind. elections chief (AP)

AP - While Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels held off Saturday on appointing a permanent replacement for the state elections chief convicted early that morning of voter fraud, Democrats said they planned to move quickly to wrest control of the politically powerful office from the GOP.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:31:20 GMT

AP Analysis: Border Patrol OT up as arrests drop (AP)

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2011, file photo Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, left, tours the U.S.-Mexico border with Border Patrol agent Steve Venditouli in the Coronado National Forest near Nogales, Ariz. Most illegal border crossers are apprehended along the 2,000-mile long Mexican border in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Since the 2006 budget year, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has spent more than $1.4 billion on what is described as “administrative uncontrollable overtime,” according to the data provided by the Border Patrol. In practical terms, agents average two hours a day in overtime. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Michael Chow)  MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALESAP - Border Patrol agents have racked up daily overtime at a cost of about $1.4 billion in the past six years while the number of arrests of illegal border crossers has fallen to the lowest level in nearly 40 years, an Associated Press analysis of agency records finds.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:40:23 GMT

CA man freed after murder charges dropped (AP)

FILE - This file photo released on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, provided by the Anaheim Police Dept. shows Itzcoatl Ocampo. The ex-Marine charged with killing four homeless men in Orange County has been linked to the stabbing deaths of a woman and her son, Anaheim police said Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. Investigators determined there is an association between Ocampo and Eder Herrera, who is charged in the deaths his mother and his brother, and remains in custody, Anaheim police Lt. Julian Harvey said. . (AP Photo/Anaheim Police Dept.,File)AP - A 24-year-old man previously accused of murdering his mother and brother in Southern California has been released after a brief stay in the custody of federal immigration officials.



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:14:31 GMT

Clinton presses Ukraine on former PM's legal case (AP)

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right,  and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pose for photographers during the 48th Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof hotel in Munich, southern Germany, on Saturday Feb. 4, 2012. The Security Conference is a three-day event bringing together top defense and diplomacy officials from around the world discussing the winding down of the NATO engagement in Afghanistan and other looming challenges.  (AP Photo/jim Watson,Pool)AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is pressing Ukrainian authorities to quickly resolve the criminal case brought against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (YOOL'-yah tee-moh-SHEN'-koh).



Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:02:20 GMT