| | |
| Lawyers for accused Colorado gunman challenge insanity defense law Friday, Mar 01, 2013 07:55 PM PST  DENVER (Reuters) - Attorneys for accused movie theater gunman James Holmes are asking a judge to rule on the constitutionality of Colorado's insanity defense law before they decide whether their client should enter an insanity plea, court filings made public on Friday showed. In a series of motions, public defenders representing Holmes said Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester needs to define how much information Holmes would have to disclose to court-appointed psychiatrists should he raise the insanity defense. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama formally orders "deeply destructive" cuts, blames Congress Friday, Mar 01, 2013 07:50 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama formally ordered broad cuts in government spending on Friday night after he and congressional Republicans failed to reach a deal to avert automatic reductions that could dampen economic growth and curb military readiness. As the United States staggered into another fiscal crisis, the White House predicted that the spending cuts triggered by the inability of Obama and lawmakers to forge a broader deficit-reduction agreement would be "deeply destructive" to the nation's economic and national security. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela rejects "absurd" rumors over Chavez's death Friday, Mar 01, 2013 06:58 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Senior aides and relatives of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez countered on Friday a crescendo of rumors that the socialist president may be dead from cancer, saying he was still battling for his life. "There he is, continuing his fight, his battle, and we are sure of victory!" his older brother Adan Chavez, the governor of Barinas state, told cheering supporters. Speculation about Chavez, 58, hit fever pitch this week, fed in part by assertions from Panama's former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Guillermo Cochez, that the Venezuelan leader had died. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lurches into new budget crisis, spending cuts imminent Friday, Mar 01, 2013 03:34 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government stumbled headlong on Friday toward spending cuts that could dampen the economy and curb military readiness, after President Barack Obama and congressional leaders failed to find an alternative budget plan. Put in place during a bout of deficit-reduction fever in 2011, the automatic cuts can only be halted by agreement between Congress and the White House. As expected, a deal proved elusive in talks on Friday, meaning that government agencies will now begin to hack a total of $85 billion from their budgets between Saturday and October 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iron linked to reduced risk of severe PMS Friday, Mar 01, 2013 02:00 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who get a little more than the recommended daily amount of iron in their diets may be less likely to get a more severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), according to a new study. Researchers followed about 3,000 women over 10 years and found that those who consumed more than 20 milligrams (mg) per day of iron sources were 30 percent to 40 percent less likely to develop PMS than women who got less of the mineral. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rewards get kids active, but don't improve health Friday, Mar 01, 2013 01:59 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children will meet activity goals to earn rewards, but the extra effort doesn't necessarily affect their weight and health, according to a new study. The findings reinforce earlier research showing that incentives work to get kids more physically active, but the goal might need to be more challenging to show any health benefits. "If I had to do it again I would do it at a higher level. It was too easy," said Eric Finkelstein at the Duke-National University of Singapore, who led the new study. Inactivity among kids is a pressing concern in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. cuts become real with furlough notices sent to thousands Friday, Mar 01, 2013 01:26 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nation's largest employer, the U.S. government, has begun notifying its vast and varied workforce to prepare for reduced hours and slashed paychecks over the next seven months as big budget cuts that were once an abstraction became a reality Friday. Some 115,000 employees of the Department of Justice -including prosecutors across the country - were among the first to get the official word in notices that actually started going out last week but were made public Friday, hours before the $85 billion in cuts were set to take effect. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hungry Americans get "A Place at the Table" in new documentary Friday, Mar 01, 2013 12:37 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - What do a police officer, a teacher, a rancher, and a second grader have in common? They all go hungry despite living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Documentary film "A Place at the Table," which opens nationwide on Friday, shines a spotlight on the prevalence of hunger in the United States through the personal stories of some of the millions of Americans who struggle to feed themselves and their families. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Queen Elizabeth has stomach bug, cancels trip Friday, Mar 01, 2013 12:28 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth has canceled a planned trip to the Welsh city of Swansea because of a stomach upset, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. "She will be assessed in the coming days but her majesty is currently spending the weekend at Windsor as usual," said a palace spokesman, referring to her official residence. The spokesman added the monarch, who had been due to attend a military ceremony in the south Wales city on Saturday, was experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis, an infection of the stomach and bowel caused by bacteria or viruses. ... Full Story | Top |
| Queen Elizabeth has stomach bug, cancels trip Friday, Mar 01, 2013 12:26 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth has cancelled a planned trip to the Welsh city of Swansea because of a stomach upset, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. "She will be assessed in the coming days but her majesty is currently spending the weekend at Windsor as usual," said a palace spokesman, referring to her official residence. The spokesman added the monarch, who had been due to attend a military ceremony in the south Wales city on Saturday, was experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis, an infection of the stomach and bowel caused by bacteria or viruses. ... Full Story | Top |
| Melatonin no help for late-stage cancer weight loss Friday, Mar 01, 2013 12:00 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite encouraging results in the past, melatonin pills did nothing to help advanced cancer patients eat more or stave off weight loss in a new clinical trial. "We had great enthusiasm for it also based on these other trials, and were quite disappointed when it didn't work," lead author Dr. Egidio Del Fabbro told Reuters Health. Some previous studies had suggested the hormone, which is involved in appetite and metabolism as well as sleep cycles in healthy adults, may increase appetite in cancer patients when taken in supplement form. ... Full Story | Top |
| Old age far from gentle for Japan's graying homeless Friday, Mar 01, 2013 11:52 AM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Kyoko Machiya should be enjoying life with grandchildren. Instead, the 64-year-old's home is a makeshift structure of boxes covered with blue plastic in a Tokyo park. Homelessness in Japan is a decades-old issue, yet it has a worrying new twist. A vast majority of the homeless are now aging, a reflection of the overall graying of Japanese society that poses new problems for policy makers. Machiya, a tiny woman with weathered skin and graying hair, tried a shelter once but eventually moved out. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany discovers toxin in animal fodder Friday, Mar 01, 2013 11:23 AM PST BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities said on Friday they had found high levels of a toxin in animal fodder that was produced from maize imported from Serbia, but played down a possible risk to human health. The discovery of aflatoxin in the shipment coincided with increased concerns over food industry safety amid Europe's horse meat scandal and this week's news that Germany is investigating possible large-scale fraud by organic egg producers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Autopsy of Chicago lottery winner yields no new clues on poisoning Friday, Mar 01, 2013 11:11 AM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - A post-exhumation autopsy of a Chicago man who died from cyanide poisoning shortly after winning a $1 million lottery prize yielded no clues in the murder case, authorities said on Friday. Because of decomposition, there was no trace of cyanide found in the tissues of Urooj Khan, 46, or in his stomach, according to Cook County Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cina. Authorities found a lethal level of cyanide in a blood sample soon after his death last summer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tests find horsemeat in Taco Bell UK ground beef Friday, Mar 01, 2013 10:57 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's food regulator said on Friday that testing had found horsemeat in ground beef at Taco Bell UK fast-food outlets, a discovery that puts new pressure on parent Yum Brands Inc, which is grappling with a food safety scare in China. Taco Bell said the horsemeat issue is isolated to its UK market, where the Mexican-inspired chain has just three restaurants, and that it will step up testing of its beef. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment