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• White Christmas expected in Colorado, rain elsewhere in much of U.S.
• Santa's global flight under way, 'All systems go': U.S. military official
• U.S. South menaced by storms as Mississippi cleans up from tornadoes
• Where and when you can watch 'The Interview' tomorrow
• Officer kills armed 18-year-old near Ferguson
• Firefighters targeted in drive-by shooting in north Florida
• Islamic State makes big capture
• IS shoots down warplane over Syria
• Police: Officer in Missouri shot, killed man who pulled gun
• Key developments in case of 2 slain NYPD officers
• S. Korean prosecutors to arrest 'nut rage' official
• Former President Bush, 90, hospitalized for shortness of breath
• U.S. judge throws out Arizona sheriff's immigration suit against Obama
• Tornadoes kill four people, cause major damage in Mississippi
• Four tornado-related deaths confirmed in Mississippi
• U.S. to pay $3.2 million to contractor freed from Cuba prison
• NY protesters reject plea for hiatus despite police slayings
• Despite Supreme Court order, Florida gay marriage ban back in court
• U.S. settles with employers of contractor newly freed by Cuba
• New Jersey to bail out Atlantic City with short-term loan

White Christmas expected in Colorado, rain elsewhere in much of U.S. Posted: 24 Dec 2014 12:36 PM PST By Mark Guarino CHICAGO (Reuters) - Central Colorado is the only part of the United States that can expect to have a white Christmas on Thursday, despite storms that have brought rain and fog to many parts of the country, the National Weather Service said on Wednesday. The forecast comes amid one of the busiest travel times of the year. The AAA travelers' association estimates that 98.6 million people, up 4 percent from last year, will travel more than 50 miles during the period from Tuesday to Jan. 4. ...

Santa's global flight under way, 'All systems go': U.S. military official Posted: 24 Dec 2014 12:19 PM PST By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Santa Claus has embarked on his annual Christmas Eve mission to deliver presents to millions of children after a smooth take-off from his North Pole base, at least according to U.S. military officials who track his reindeer-powered sleigh. "All systems are go," U.S. Army Major Ruth Castro, spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said on Wednesday. Since the mid-1950s, NORAD and its predecessor agency have made a tradition of tracking the flight path of Santa, who is also known as Kris Kringle and St. ...

U.S. South menaced by storms as Mississippi cleans up from tornadoes Posted: 24 Dec 2014 10:26 AM PST By Emily Le Coz JACKSON, Miss. (Reuters) - Severe thunderstorms menaced the U.S. Southeast on Wednesday, as emergency workers in Mississippi surveyed damage from tornadoes that killed at least four people and injured 20. As the storms moved eastward on Christmas Eve, damaging wind gusts and possibly more tornadoes threatened northern Florida, parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, according to the National Weather Service. ...

Where and when you can watch 'The Interview' tomorrow Posted: 24 Dec 2014 09:33 AM PST The controversial R-rated comedy will also simultaneously appear in 300 theaters around the country, setting a precedent for studio use of VOD

Officer kills armed 18-year-old near Ferguson Posted: 24 Dec 2014 08:11 AM PST A crowd gathered at the scene in Berkeley, Mo., a few miles from Ferguson.

Firefighters targeted in drive-by shooting in north Florida Posted: 24 Dec 2014 07:04 AM PST TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - A firefighter was grazed in the arm during a drive-by shooting at a north Florida fire station on Tuesday evening, local media reported. The firefighter's injuries were not life-threatening, the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters said in a Facebook post. The mayor of the north Florida city condemned the shootings. "I am outraged by cowardly attacks on our brave first responders," said Mayor Alvin Brown in a Facebook post. "These attacks will not be tolerated." The incident follows a violent week for law enforcement officers. ...

Islamic State makes big capture Posted: 24 Dec 2014 06:46 AM PST By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters took a Jordanian pilot captive after his warplane came down in northeast Syria on Wednesday, the first captive taken from the U.S.-led coalition battling the jihadi group. Jordan's armed forces said one of its pilots had been captured after a coalition air raid over the province of Raqqa. "Jordan holds the group (IS) and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life," a statement read on state television said. ...

IS shoots down warplane over Syria Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:21 AM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan's military says one of its warplanes that was on a mission over Syria has crashed in the northern province of Raqqa and the pilot was captured by the Islamic State group.

Police: Officer in Missouri shot, killed man who pulled gun Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:18 AM PST BERKELEY, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis County police say a man who pulled a gun and pointed it at an officer has been killed in Berkeley, Missouri.

Key developments in case of 2 slain NYPD officers Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:01 AM PST Despite calls from officials for restraint, hundreds of protesters marched through midtown Manhattan on Tuesday night.

S. Korean prosecutors to arrest 'nut rage' official Posted: 24 Dec 2014 12:45 AM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors are seeking to arrest the former executive at Korean Air Lines Co. who forced a flight to return over a bag of macadamia nuts and a current executive for attempts to cover up the "nut rage" case.

Former President Bush, 90, hospitalized for shortness of breath Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:49 PM PST AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, 90, was hospitalized in Houston, Texas, late on Tuesday after experiencing shortness of breath, a spokesman for the 41st commander-in-chief said in a statement. Bush was taken by ambulance to the Houston Methodist Hospital as a precaution, and "will be held for observation, again as a precaution," the spokesman said. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Robert Birsel)

U.S. judge throws out Arizona sheriff's immigration suit against Obama Posted: 23 Dec 2014 07:18 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit brought against Barack Obama by an Arizona police chief who called the U.S. president's sweeping immigration reforms unconstitutional, saying the plaintiff lacked legal standing in the case. Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the demand by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for a preliminary injunction to halt the policies. ...

Tornadoes kill four people, cause major damage in Mississippi Posted: 23 Dec 2014 06:30 PM PST By Emily Le Coz JACKSON, Miss. (Reuters) - Tornadoes unleashed by thunderstorms along the U.S. Gulf Coast ripped through southeastern Mississippi on Tuesday, killing four people, injuring numerous others and causing extensive damage to homes and businesses, authorities said. One of the heaviest-hit areas was a commercial district along the U.S. Highway 98 bypass in the town of Columbia in Marion County, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Hattiesburg, state emergency management spokesman Greg Flynn told Reuters. ...

Four tornado-related deaths confirmed in Mississippi Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:10 PM PST JACKSON, Miss. (Reuters) - At least four people were killed in tornadoes that struck southeastern Mississippi on Tuesday, coroner and emergency management officials said. Two of the fatalities occurred in Marion County, a woman who died at a shopping strip and another in a trailer home, when a twister ripped through the rural town of Columbia, Mississippi, in late afternoon, county Coroner Norma Williamson said. ...

U.S. to pay $3.2 million to contractor freed from Cuba prison Posted: 23 Dec 2014 04:54 PM PST By David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - Alan Gross, the contractor freed last week after five years in a Cuban jail will receive $3.2 million from the U.S. government as part of a settlement with his employer, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Tuesday. Gross was employed by Bethesda, Maryland-based DAI as part of a USAID-financed project in Cuba. DAI had sought $7 million for Gross, said a USAID spokesman. "Our understanding is that the money will go to Alan Gross as part of an agreement between the two parties," the USAID spokesman said. ...

NY protesters reject plea for hiatus despite police slayings Posted: 23 Dec 2014 04:37 PM PST By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mayor Bill de Blasio's attempts to soothe a city dismayed by the slaying of two officers were further rebuffed on Tuesday as protesters defied his call to suspend what have become regular demonstrations over excessive police force. De Blasio led a moment of silence at City Hall in the afternoon three days after the attack on the officers before asking his staff to hug those nearby "as a symbol of our belief that we will move forward together. ...

Despite Supreme Court order, Florida gay marriage ban back in court Posted: 23 Dec 2014 04:04 PM PST By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - A tiny county in the northern Florida Panhandle, facing the prospect of court-ordered gay marriage going into effect next month, filed an emergency motion on Tuesday asking a federal judge to clarify whether it must marry all gay couples. The request follows statewide confusion over a U.S. Supreme Court order last week declining to extend a stay on a ruling that found the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. The order cleared the way for gay marriages to begin on Jan. 6. ...

U.S. settles with employers of contractor newly freed by Cuba Posted: 23 Dec 2014 02:27 PM PST MIAMI (Reuters) - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Tuesday it has settled claims with a company that employed Alan Gross, the contractor freed last week after five years in a Cuban jail as part of a major shift in U.S.-Cuba relations. USAID finalized the settlement with Development Alternatives, Inc (DAI) on Monday night for $3.2 million, according to a spokesman for the federal agency that handles aid to foreign countries. Bethesda, Maryland-based DAI had been seeking $7 million in costs before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the spokesman said. ...

New Jersey to bail out Atlantic City with short-term loan Posted: 23 Dec 2014 02:10 PM PST By Hilary Russ (Reuters) - Atlantic City, New Jersey's struggling gambling hub, will get a short-term $40 million loan from the state rather than try to borrow the money in the capital markets this year, a city official said on Tuesday. Even the city's originally planned $40 million note sale, now squashed, was itself a scaled back version of a larger bond issuance that was delayed amid uncertainty over the city's next financial steps. The city must repay the loan by March 31 at a 0.75 percent interest rate, according to the loan agreement, signed on Dec. 18 by Mayor Don Guardian and the ...

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