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• Senate panel approves Iran sanctions bill
• U.S. funding impasse blocks Secret Service hires: Homeland Security chief
• Suspected Ebola patient admitted to California hospital
• Prosecutor urges lifting Guantanamo ban on women guards touching inmate
• Three American contractors killed in 'insider attack' in Afghan capital
• Boy Scouts settle California suit over abuse
• Lindsey Graham to test 2016 Republican presidential waters
• Gas blast at Mexico City children's hospital
• Brawl erupts at Missouri meeting over black teen killing case
• Texas set to execute man for killing woman, setting her body on fire
• Weekly Ebola cases below 100
• Exclusive: CDC installing cameras in labs in agency-wide safety push
• Prosecutors to open murder case against ex-NFL player Aaron Hernandez
• Malaysia declares MH370 an 'accident', airline to proceed with compensation
• Matt Bai: Jeb and the myth of the Sister Souljah moment
• Police find human remains in suitcase on San Francisco sidewalk
• Co-pilot at controls when AirAsia plane crashed: investigator
• IS purportedly sets new deadline for hostage swap
• Son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested in Utah
• One dead, six injured in San Francisco fire
• Montana bride has no grounds to appeal murder conviction: prosecutors
• Armed man detained near Super Bowl events sent for mental tests
• California school orders non-vaccinated kids home after possible measles case
• Illinois pension ruling may not impact Chicago case, attorney says
• Pentagon official urges NATO to focus on innovative weapons

Senate panel approves Iran sanctions bill Posted: 29 Jan 2015 01:12 PM PST The measure would levy a tougher penalty on Tehran if it fails to curb its nuclear program.

U.S. funding impasse blocks Secret Service hires: Homeland Security chief Posted: 29 Jan 2015 12:21 PM PST By Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service cannot hire new agents for the next presidential election or make improvements at the agency until Congress settles a dispute over funding, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Thursday. Johnson said in a speech in Washington that uncertainty over the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which secures U.S. borders, airports and coastal waters and protects the president, had put security initiatives on hold. These included recommendations made in December by a review panel on the Secret Service, which has been plagued with a series of security lapses including a White House intruder and a drone that landed on the mansion's lawn early Monday. Secret Service protection extends to major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses within four months of a presidential election.

Suspected Ebola patient admitted to California hospital Posted: 29 Jan 2015 12:06 PM PST A patient suspected of being infected with Ebola was admitted on Thursday to the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento, the hospital said in a statement. The statement provided no further immediate information about the patient, except to say that the individual was transferred on Thursday morning from Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento to UC Davis Medical Center with "symptoms consistent with Ebola infection." It said UC Davis has been designated by the California Department of Public Health as a priority hospital equipped to treat confirmed Ebola patients.

Prosecutor urges lifting Guantanamo ban on women guards touching inmate Posted: 29 Jan 2015 11:49 AM PST By Ian Simpson FORT MEADE, Md. (Reuters) - A Guantanamo Bay military court order that bars female guards from touching an accused al Qaeda commander violates Pentagon sex discrimination guidelines and means inmates could set prison policies, a prosecutor argued Thursday in a hearing on the ban. Iraqi, who faces war crimes charges, says being touched by female guards violates his Muslim religious beliefs. Prosecutor Army Lieutenant Colonel David Long said the Guantanamo Bay procedures were in line with Supreme Court and other rulings that gave prisons leeway in their rules. The issue arose in October when a female guard tried to shackle Iraqi for the first time since he arrived in Guantanamo Bay in 2007, and he refused.

Three American contractors killed in 'insider attack' in Afghan capital Posted: 29 Jan 2015 11:01 AM PST Three American contractors were killed and a fourth was wounded by an Afghan soldier at the military airport in the capital Kabul, an Afghan air force official told Reuters on Thursday. "It is unclear yet why he shot these advisers and no one else was there to tell us the reason," the official said, asking not to be named because he was not authorized to give statements to the media.

Boy Scouts settle California suit over abuse Posted: 29 Jan 2015 10:45 AM PST The case involved man who was molested by a Scout volunteer in 2007.

Lindsey Graham to test 2016 Republican presidential waters Posted: 29 Jan 2015 09:55 AM PST By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Thursday formed a political organization to explore a potential run for his party's presidential nomination, the latest high-profile politician to test the 2016 waters. Graham would figure to use his South Carolina home base to his advantage for any potential run, since the Southern state is typically the third to hold a nominating contest in presidential election years, after Iowa and New Hampshire. Graham is a hawk on defense and foreign policy, generally aligned with Senator John McCain, one of his best friends. He joins a list of more than a 15 Republicans who are thinking about running for president, a group that includes 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Gas blast at Mexico City children's hospital Posted: 29 Jan 2015 08:04 AM PST At least three people are dead and dozens are injured.

Brawl erupts at Missouri meeting over black teen killing case Posted: 29 Jan 2015 07:28 AM PST A meeting aimed at easing tensions between blacks and police in St. Louis erupted into a brawl Wednesday night, underscoring the ongoing anger that persists in the area after the August police killing of an unarmed black teen. The meeting, held at St. Louis City Hall, was focused on seeking public comment for how and why a civilian review board should provide oversight for police. A police union official who was seen wearing a wristband supporting Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson further antagonized some in the crowd, according to the reports. "It seemed he was intentionally trying to provoke people," said Rasheen Aldridge, a member of a separate citizen's commission formed to address racial tensions in Ferguson, who attended the meeting Monday night.

Texas set to execute man for killing woman, setting her body on fire Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:55 AM PST By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas plans on Thursday to execute Robert Ladd, 57, who was convicted of beating a woman to death with a hammer in her home in 1996 and then setting her body on fire. If it goes ahead, Ladd would be the 520th person executed in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the most of any state. Nearly 40 percent of all the executions in the United States in that time have taken place in Texas. Lawyers for Ladd have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution, saying he is intellectually disabled with an IQ of 67 and that executing him would be unconstitutional.

Weekly Ebola cases below 100 Posted: 29 Jan 2015 06:23 AM PST By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The number of new confirmed Ebola cases totaled 99 in the week to Jan. 25, the lowest tally since June 2014, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, signaling the tide might have turned against the epidemic. "The response to the EVD (Ebola virus disease) epidemic has now moved to a second phase, as the focus shifts from slowing transmission to ending the epidemic," the WHO said. "To achieve this goal as quickly as possible, efforts have moved from rapidly building infrastructure to ensuring that capacity for case finding, case management, safe burials, and community engagement is used as effectively as possible." The outbreak has killed 8,810 people out of 22,092 known cases, almost all of them in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Cases and deaths have fallen rapidly in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the past few weeks, with just 20 deaths recorded in Liberia in the 21 days to Jan. 25.

Exclusive: CDC installing cameras in labs in agency-wide safety push Posted: 29 Jan 2015 05:35 AM PST By Julie Steenhuysen ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has introduced camera monitoring of workers in its highest-level biosafety laboratories as it seeks to restore public faith in its procedures after a series of mishaps, agency officials tell Reuters. The mishaps have raised major questions over safety practices at more than 1,000 laboratory and support facilities that make up the CDC, whose role is to monitor and prevent outbreaks of disease. The move to monitor workers will allow lab directors and senior scientists to ensure they have followed safety protocols exactly, Leslie Dauphin, interim director of laboratory safety, told Reuters in an interview. "That is what the camera system helps with." The agency is expected to release details within a week of its own investigation into the Ebola mishap.

Prosecutors to open murder case against ex-NFL player Aaron Hernandez Posted: 29 Jan 2015 04:13 AM PST By Scott Malone and Daniel Lovering FALL RIVER, Mass. (Reuters) - Opening statements are set for Thursday in the first murder trial facing former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez this year, when Massachusetts prosecutors will seek to prove he fatally shot a semi-professional football player in 2013. Hernandez, 25, was a rising star in the National Football League with a $41 million contract when he was arrested in June 2013 and charged with the execution-style killing of acquaintance Odin Lloyd near his North Attleborough, Massachusetts, home in June 2013. The Patriots, who face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday, cut Hernandez hours after his arrest. Hernandez, who has pleaded not guilty to all three killings, will be tried at Fall River Superior Court in Fall River, Massachusetts, in a trial expected to last six to 10 weeks.

Malaysia declares MH370 an 'accident', airline to proceed with compensation Posted: 29 Jan 2015 02:53 AM PST Malaysia has declared the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an "accident", its Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said on Thursday. "We officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident ... and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives," DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said in a statement. The announcement is in accordance with standards of annexes 12 and 13 in the International Civil Aviation, said Azharuddin. Malaysia Airlines was ready to proceed immediately with the compensation process to the next-of-kin of the passengers on the flight, he said.

Matt Bai: Jeb and the myth of the Sister Souljah moment Posted: 29 Jan 2015 02:20 AM PST Contrary to what people say, there's really no such thing as a "Sister Souljah moment" unless a political candidate has spent a good bit of time making the argument that underlies it first.

Police find human remains in suitcase on San Francisco sidewalk Posted: 29 Jan 2015 02:03 AM PST San Francisco police on Wednesday discovered human body parts stuffed inside a suitcase that had been ditched on the sidewalk of a downtown street, officials said. Police closed off blocks around the package around 4:15 p.m. and found more remains after searching the area, police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan said in a statement.

Co-pilot at controls when AirAsia plane crashed: investigator Posted: 29 Jan 2015 01:45 AM PST The co-pilot of an AirAsia flight that crashed into the Java Sea last month was at the controls when it went down, killing all 162 people on board, investigators said on Thursday. The announcement came as fishermen found two more bodies from the crash in waters off Sulawesi island in central Indonesia, around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from where the plane crashed, a search and rescue official said. AirAsia Flight QZ8501 went down in stormy weather on December 28 during what was supposed to be a short trip from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. Indonesian investigators have been analysing data from the plane's black boxes -- the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder -- and this week submitted a preliminary report to the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization.

IS purportedly sets new deadline for hostage swap Posted: 29 Jan 2015 01:30 AM PST A voice claiming to be a Japanese hostage relays the group's latest threat.

Son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy arrested in Utah Posted: 29 Jan 2015 12:42 AM PST (Reuters) - The son of a Nevada rancher who was at the center of an armed stand-off with federal agents in a dispute over cattle grazing rights last year has been arrested in Utah, officials said. Ryan Bundy, 42, was taken into custody by sheriff's deputies serving an arrest warrant while he was at the Iron County Justice Court for a separate case on Tuesday, the Iron County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The Bundy family ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada some 80 miles (129 km) northeast of Las Vegas, was the site of an armed protest against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management last April. The stand-off gained nationwide attention as the agency sought to seize cattle because elder Bundy, Cliven Bundy, refused to pay grazing fees.

One dead, six injured in San Francisco fire Posted: 29 Jan 2015 12:26 AM PST One person died and six people were injured after a fire scorched a San Francisco building on Wednesday night, officials said. Firefighters responded to the flames ripping through the Mission District building around 6:45 p.m. local time and immediately evacuated residents, San Francisco Police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan said in a statement. Roughly 50 people moved to an evacuation center set up by the American Red Cross at a building on the nearby City College of San Francisco campus, Red Cross spokesman Woody Baker-Cohn said. "It's devastating," 12-year resident Ricardo Cedeno told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Montana bride has no grounds to appeal murder conviction: prosecutors Posted: 28 Jan 2015 09:37 PM PST Federal prosecutors on Wednesday said a Montana bride who admitted pushing her new husband off a cliff at Glacier National Park has no grounds to appeal her murder conviction after lying to officials and using trickery in a bid to conceal her crime. Jordan Graham pleaded guilty in December 2013 to second-degree murder in the July 7 death of Cody Johnson, 25, her husband of eight days in a case that garnered international headlines. The former nanny was sentenced last March to 30 years in prison by a U.S. judge after he rejected her request to withdraw the guilty plea that came as part of a deal with prosecutors that saw them dismiss a first-degree murder charge. Graham last October appealed her conviction, arguing prosecutors engaged in misconduct by publicly labeling her a sociopath, distorted facts and acted in a vindictive manner toward her.

Armed man detained near Super Bowl events sent for mental tests Posted: 28 Jan 2015 07:42 PM PST Phoenix police have sent a man for mental evaluation after he was detained while acting suspiciously near pre-Super Bowl events held in the city center and was found to be in possession of two guns and a knife, authorities said on Wednesday. The man, who was not identified, was wearing a tan vest, black clothing, sunglasses, a surgical mask and a black backpack, and was wheeling a large suitcase when he was spotted on Tuesday by a parking attendant who alerted police. The man was speaking incoherently, appeared to be lost, and said he had suffered from a mental illness, said Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sergeant Trent Crump. "Based upon the actions of the subject and comments made during questioning, officers detained him and transported him for a mental health evaluation," Crump said, adding that his name would not be released because he had not been arrested.

California school orders non-vaccinated kids home after possible measles case Posted: 28 Jan 2015 07:26 PM PST By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California high school barred dozens of non-vaccinated students from school on Wednesday over concern that a classmate may have contracted measles in a rare outbreak of the highly contagious disease that began at a Disneyland resort last month. The order, which affects 66 students at Palm Desert High School near the resort community of Palm Springs, marks at least the second time a California school has prohibited non-vaccinated students from classes since the outbreak began.

Illinois pension ruling may not impact Chicago case, attorney says Posted: 28 Jan 2015 06:41 PM PST If the Illinois Supreme Court voids Illinois' pension reform law, that ruling will not derail another law aimed at shoring up two of Chicago's public pension funds, a lawyer for the city argued on Wednesday. Both Illinois and Chicago are defending separate laws in different state courts against challenges from labor unions and retired workers that the measures, which reduce pension benefits, are unconstitutional. Richard Prendergast, an attorney representing Chicago, told Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Rita Novak that the 2014 law for Chicago's municipal and laborers' retirement systems would not automatically be voided if the state's high court later this year determines a 2013 law enacted for Illinois' sagging pension system is unconstitutional.

Pentagon official urges NATO to focus on innovative weapons Posted: 28 Jan 2015 06:24 PM PST By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work on Wednesday urged NATO allies to develop and make more innovative weapons, and said bold action was needed to stay ahead of rapid weapons development by China, Russia and other countries. Work said the Pentagon has a new plan called "Defense Innovation Initiative" and a separate effort targeting longer-term projects to ensure that the United States continues to have a decisive competitive advantage against potential foes. He underscored the need for NATO members to make good their promise at a September meeting last year to spend two percent of national output on defense. Work said it was critical to increase collaboration with allies in NATO, Asia and other areas, ranging from mission planning to investments in new weapons programs.

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