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Three infected with measles at Las Vegas seafood restaurant
Seattle-area high schools hit with threats, high school cancels classes
7 fatally shot, gunman dead in southeastern Missouri
U.S. Congress pursues stopgap funding to avert security agency shutdown
Fresh soldier deaths rattles Ukraine truce
Senate passes Homeland Security funds through Sept. 30
House Republicans advance plan for security funding extension
Attackers in Bangladesh hack to death American blogger
Nine people reported dead in southwest Missouri murders: local media
Holder says U.S. malls should 'step up' security: CNN
German Parliament approves Greece's bailout extension
For Jeb Bush, the Q&A is the message
Former Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh dies at 97
Two suspected vandals rescued, arrested at California park
Indiana may allow 'baby boxes' for surrendering newborns
Most Americans see combating climate change as a moral duty
Two killed in southern California street racing crash
CPAC shows how GOP’s 2016 media strategy could backfire
Congress edges toward domestic security funding patch
Union, Shell discuss meeting in U.S. refinery strike: sources
Prosecutors back off charges in California train crash
Chris Christie turns to media-bashing at CPAC
California couple, married 67 years, die holding hands
Rand Paul calls out Jeb Bush on marijuana
Graffiti artist Banksy highlights condition of people living in Gaza

Three infected with measles at Las Vegas seafood restaurant

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 12:05 PM PST

Three new cases of measles have been confirmed in Las Vegas, in people believed infected by a contagious worker at an upscale MGM Grand Hotel and Casino seafood restaurant, Nevada public health officials said on Friday. The newly diagnosed patients, two staff members and a patron of Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand, bring to nine the total number of measles cases reported in Clark County, Southern Nevada Health District spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said. None of those cases are believed linked to an outbreak of measles that began at Disneyland in December, she said.

Seattle-area high schools hit with threats, high school cancels classes

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 11:48 AM PST

Two Seattle-area high schools were evacuated on Friday after receiving security threats, and another high school in Washington state heightened its security after a threatening message was scrawled on a bathroom wall. Interlake High School in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue was put on lockdown and classroom doors were locked with students inside, the Bellevue School District said in a statement on its website. "At this time the District and the Bellevue Police Department have made the decision to close Interlake High for the remainder of the school day and to release students," the district said. Bellevue Police said on Twitter they were investigating "Facebook rumors of a shooting" at the school but said the department had received no emergency calls of shots fired.

7 fatally shot, gunman dead in southeastern Missouri

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 10:42 AM PST

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says seven people have been killed in overnight shootings in southeastern Missouri and that the gunman is also dead.

U.S. Congress pursues stopgap funding to avert security agency shutdown

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 10:25 AM PST

By David Lawder and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Friday appeared to be headed toward approving a three-week-long stopgap funding bill for the domestic security agency that postpones the threat of a partial shutdown, but moves lawmakers no closer to a permanent solution. With only hours remaining before Department of Homeland Security funding expires at midnight, the House of Representatives was pursuing a short-term funding extension. It would give Republicans more time to agree on a way to keep the agency open over the long term, while still fighting Democratic President Barack Obama over his immigration order lifting the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented residents. The measure would then go to the Senate for expected approval on Friday afternoon.

Fresh soldier deaths rattles Ukraine truce

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 09:17 AM PST

Ukraine said on Friday three soldiers had been killed, the first fatalities in several days in the war-torn east, as a shaky truce with pro-Russian rebels appeared to gain some traction with an apparent weapons pull-back. Isolated skirmishes highlighted the fragile situation as the UN discussed the conflict exactly one year after Russia and pro-Moscow forces began seizing ports and cities on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. Russia's annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine sparked the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. A year on, the West is hoping the UN-backed truce deal negotiated by Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in Minsk earlier this month can prevent a further escalation.

Senate passes Homeland Security funds through Sept. 30

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 09:00 AM PST

The DHS has three weeks of funding hours before it would have run out.

House Republicans advance plan for security funding extension

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 08:27 AM PST

A Republican bill to provide a three-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security cleared a procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives on Friday, indicating support for final passage in the chamber. The House voted 240-183 along strict party lines to approve a procedural rule that allows a vote on the funding extension later in the day, ahead of a midnight deadline that would trigger a partial shutdown of the domestic security agency.

Attackers in Bangladesh hack to death American blogger

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 08:10 AM PST

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger known for speaking out against religious extremism was hacked to death as he walked through Bangladesh's capital with his wife, police said Friday.

Nine people reported dead in southwest Missouri murders: local media

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 05:49 AM PST

(Reuters) - Nine people were found dead in rural southwest Missouri in at least four different locations, according to local media reports. The Texas County Sheriff's Office would not answer questions about the reports but confirmed an investigation into several killings was ongoing. The nine dead were all found in and near the town of Tyrone, according to a local newspaper. State police were to hold a news conference later in the morning. (Reporting by Carey Gillam; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Holder says U.S. malls should 'step up' security: CNN

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 05:31 AM PST

Shopping mall operators need to increase security through more staff, cameras and other techniques in light of threats made against the Mall of America in Minnesota and other shopping centers by Somali-based Islamist militants this week, outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said. "I certainly think we have to step up our sensitivities to what goes on in these commercial enterprises," Holder said in an interview with CNN that aired on Friday. "It would be the responsible thing for operators of these malls to increase their capabilities when it comes to keeping people safe who are just going about their everyday lives." In a separate interview with Politico, also published on Friday, Holder said he would push in his final weeks in office to lower the standard of proof for civil-rights offenses that would make it easier for the federal government to bring charges in future cases. The Justice Department recently closed its investigation into the shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, without filing charges against gunman George Zimmerman because of "insufficient evidence." "I think that if we adjust those standards, we can make the federal government a better backstop - make us more a part of the process in an appropriate way to reassure the American people that decisions are made by people who are really disinterested," he told Politico.

German Parliament approves Greece's bailout extension

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 03:28 AM PST

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's Parliament overwhelmingly approved the four-month extension of Greece's financial bailout on Friday, despite unease over the new government in Athens.

For Jeb Bush, the Q&A is the message

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 02:54 AM PST

The former Florida governor's openness sets him apart from his likely 2016 opponents.

Former Notre Dame president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh dies at 97

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 02:01 AM PST

Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, who reshaped the University of Notre Dame from a Catholic college known for its football team into an academic force, died late on Thursday night, the school said in a statement. Hesburgh, one of the premier Catholic educators in the United States and "champion of human rights", presided over the Indiana university for three and a half decades, stepping down in 1987, the statement said. He also oversaw the Notre Dame's transformation into a coeducational university when women were first admitted to its undergraduate program in 1972, the school said. Internationally, he served four popes on issues such as atomic energy and human rights.

Two suspected vandals rescued, arrested at California park

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 01:10 AM PST

Two men suspected of vandalism had to be rescued after becoming stranded on a cliff in a San Francisco-area national park on Thursday afternoon and were later taken into custody, officials said. The men, who were not identified, were believed to have defaced a historic military building in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and got stuck down a steep cliff when trying to escape park rangers, the National Park Service said in a statement.

Indiana may allow 'baby boxes' for surrendering newborns

Posted: 27 Feb 2015 12:38 AM PST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — On the outside, the metal box looks like an oversized bread container. But what's inside could save an abandoned newborn's life.

Most Americans see combating climate change as a moral duty

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 10:30 PM PST

By Bruce Wallace WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A significant majority of Americans say combating climate change is a moral issue that obligates them – and world leaders - to reduce carbon emissions, a Reuters/IPSOS poll has found. The poll of 2,827 Americans was conducted in February to measure the impact of moral language, including interventions by Pope Francis, on the climate change debate. In recent months, the pope has warned about the moral consequences of failing to act on rising global temperatures, which are expected to disproportionately affect the lives of the world's poor. ...

Two killed in southern California street racing crash

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 08:54 PM PST

(Reuters) - Two onlookers were killed and one injured on Thursday after a driver taking part in an illegal street race near Los Angeles lost control of his sports car and plowed into the crowd, police said. Henry Gevorgyan, 21, was racing his gray Ford Mustang around 2:05 a.m. local time in Chatsworth when the incident occurred, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. Two pedestrians, 26-year-old Eric Siguenza and another unidentified person, were killed in the accident, police said. A third was taken to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition. ...

CPAC shows how GOP’s 2016 media strategy could backfire

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 07:18 PM PST

The RNC made shifting from mainstream to conservative interviewers a top priority for the 2016 cycle.

Congress edges toward domestic security funding patch

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 06:46 PM PST

By David Lawder and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives were planning to pursue on Friday a temporary funding bill to keep the lights on at the U.S. domestic security agency for three weeks, postponing the threat of a partial agency shutdown. As the clock ticked toward a midnight Friday deadline for funding the Department of Homeland Security, lawmakers said a stop-gap extension would buy time to try to work out differences between the Republican-controlled House and the Senate. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who has insisted on a full Homeland Security funding bill free of immigration reform restrictions that have caused weeks of delay, said on Thursday he would refuse to allow such negotiations with the House.

Union, Shell discuss meeting in U.S. refinery strike: sources

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 06:31 PM PST

The United Steelworkers union (USW) and lead refinery owner representative Shell Oil Co discussed on Thursday a possible resumption of face-to-face negotiations to settle the U.S. refinery strike, which was in its 26th day, people familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Direct meetings between negotiators for the USW and Shell, which is the U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, broke off on Friday, after refinery owners balked at a possible settlement and the union ordered walkouts at three Motiva Enterprises [MOTIV.UL] refineries co-owned by Shell. The USW has said it is seeking to retain safety provisions from previous contracts and tighten fatigue standards for workers, as well as win back daily maintenance jobs now done by non-union contractors.

Prosecutors back off charges in California train crash

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 05:44 PM PST

By Dana Feldman VENTURA, Calif. (Reuters) - A driver who was taken into custody after his truck was hit by a Southern California commuter train in a fiery wreck that injured 50 people will not be criminally charged, at least for now, prosecutors said on Thursday. Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez, 54, was arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run after police said they found him walking and talking on a cell phone "in distress" more than a mile from the scene of Tuesday's destruction in Oxnard, California. Oxnard police have said Sanchez-Ramirez was taken into custody for leaving the scene of the crash and that they were investigating whether drugs and alcohol were a factor. "While charges will not be filed at this time, the arrest of Jose Alejandro Sanchez-Ramirez by the Oxnard Police Department was clearly appropriate and lawful," prosecutors said The crash in Oxnard flipped over three double-decker Metrolink rail cars, derailed two others and tore apart the Ford pickup that authorities said Sanchez-Ramirez had driven 80 feet (24 metres) onto the railroad tracks after making a wrong turn in the pre-dawn darkness.

Chris Christie turns to media-bashing at CPAC

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 04:23 PM PST

As the governor of New Jersey, Christie told her he has reporters from The New York Times covering him every day and accused journalists of taking sides on issues he has stood up against. "When you do things like I've done in New Jersey, take on a lot of these special interests that they support they just want to kill you and that's what they tried to do to me every day and here's the bad news for them, here I am and I'm still standing," Christie, 52, said.

California couple, married 67 years, die holding hands

Posted: 26 Feb 2015 03:51 PM PST

(Reuters) - A California couple, married 67 years, died hours apart while holding hands this month, their daughter said on Thursday. Floyd Hartwig, 90, and wife Violet, 89, died on Feb. 11 in their home in Easton, California, outside Fresno, their family said. The couple had known each other since they were children and married in 1947 while Floyd was on leave from the Navy, going on to settle in a ranch in Easton. "They enjoyed working side by side their entire lives," said daughter Donna Scharton.