Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.At age 21, Hagel and...

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Historic inauguration on MLK holiday means federal workers lose a quadrennial holiday

Inauguration Day normally entails an extra paid holiday for federal workers in the Washington area, but no such luck applies this year. That’s because the public swearing-in ceremony coincides with another federal holiday — the Jan. 21 observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. That means the historic event — the first African American president taking the oath of office on a...

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Basketball: Lawson shines as Nuggets down Lakers

LOS ANGELES: Ty Lawson posted a double-double of 21 points and 10 assists Sunday to help Denver hand the Los Angeles Lakers a third straight NBA defeat, 112-105.Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Nuggets, draining a big three-pointer with 13.8 seconds remaining to stretch Denver's lead to 108-102 after Lakers star Kobe Bryant had trimmed the deficit to three...

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Hate speech: MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi seeks time to appear before police

HYDERABAD: Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, booked for allegedly making a 'hate speech' against a particular community, on Monday sought four days time to appear before Andhra Pradesh Police. Owaisi, who was supposed to appear before Nirmal police today, requested that he be granted four days to appear before them. However, police are yet to take a call on his request, a...

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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Pastor Accused of Killing Wives Faces Trial

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for Pastor Arthur Schirmer, who is accused of killing his second wife and then staging a car accident to hide it.Schirmer, 64, also faces a second trial at a later date for the death of his first wife. He has said he is innocent of all charges.In 2008, the pastor and his wife, Betty, were involved in what appeared at the time to be...

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After ‘fiscal cliff,’ Obama finishes recharging on Hawaiian holiday

HONOLULU — The place where President Obama vacations each winter is farther from Washington than almost any other place in the United States. So, it is not terribly surprising that less than 45 minutes after Congress passed a bill averting the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1, Obama was racing back here. The president’s vacation with his family and friends had already been cut short by the protracted,...

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Kirin to sell its Tokyo HQs to reduce debts

TOKYO: Japanese beverage giant Kirin has decided to sell its Tokyo headquarters in order to reduce debts as it aggressively buys foreign firms in a bid to expand its global reach, a report said Sunday.Kirin Holdings and its main subsidiary Kirin Brewery Company will sell their headquarters buildings in Tokyo to raise an estimated 15 billion to 30 billion yen ($170 million to $340 million),...

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Keylong in Himachal Pradesh freezes at minus 10.4 degrees celsius

SHIMLA: Bone-chilling cold conditions swept across Himachal Pradesh on Sunday with Keylong freezing at a minus 10.4 degrees celsius, a meteorological official said. While state capital Shimla shivered at 0.9 degree celsius, the minimum temperature at tourist resort Manali was 3 degrees below the freezing point. Kalpa, around 250 km from here, recorded a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius, whereas Dharamsala...

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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