States given more time to work on health exchanges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration gave states extra time to work toward setting up new health insurance exchanges on Friday, days after President Barack Obama‘s re-election ensured the survival of his healthcare reform law.The move is seen as a concession to dozens of states that delayed compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable...

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How 'poor judgment' felled military star Petraeus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - David Petraeus was a star on the battlefield, commanding the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but was undone by "poor judgment" in engaging in an extramarital affair that led to his downfall as CIA director. Just two days after his 60th birthday, Petraeus stepped down from the spy agency where he had held the top office since September 6, 2011. "After being married for over...

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Assad says will live and die in Syria

DOHA (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad said he would “live and die” in Syria and warned that any Western invasion to topple him would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East and beyond.Assad’s defiant remarks coincided with a landmark meeting in Qatar on Thursday of Syria’s fractious opposition to hammer out an agreement on a new umbrella...

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Call me JackSUN, says singer Jermaine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Jackson 5 singer Jermaine Jackson has petitioned to change his name, according to court documents filed earlier this week in Los Angeles.The older brother of pop stars Michael and Janet Jackson, Jermaine wants to change his famous last name to Jacksun for “artistic reasons.” Asked why Jermaine...

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11,000 fled Syria in past 24 hours, total now 408,000: UNHCR

GENEVA (Reuters) – About 11,000 Syrian refugees have fled to three neighboring countries in the past 24 hours, the largest exodus in “quite some time”, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.The latest exodus into Turkey (9,000), Lebanon (1,000) and Jordan (1,000) brings to 408,000 the total number of Syrian refugees registered or being assisted...

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11,000 flee Syria in huge one day exodus

DEAR ABBY: My brother lost his wife, the love of his life, three years ago. He has three children. His oldest, a 25-year-old daughter, "Jenny," told him that "when you marry, it is for life." She has threatened that if he dates someone or sees anyone, she will be out of his life and he won't be able to see his future grandchildren. (Jenny is getting married next summer.)My brother is very upset. He...

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Ghana building collapse traps dozens, kills 1

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — A five-story shopping center built earlier this year in a bustling suburb of Ghana‘s capital collapsed Wednesday, killing at least one person and leaving several dozen people trapped in the rubble, authorities and eyewitnesses said.Rescue crews used cranes to try and remove debris from the top of the building amid fears that machinery...

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Ex-oil man to be next Anglican leader: UK media

LONDON (Reuters) – A former oil executive who went to the same exclusive school as Prime Minister David Cameron will shortly be named Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the world’s 80 million Anglicans, British newspapers said on Thursday.Justin Welby, 56, the Bishop of Durham, who has had a meteoric rise up the Church of England hierarchy since...

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UK police open inquiry into breast cancer surgeon

LONDON (AP) — British police say a surgeon is being investigated by both detectives and the country’s General Medical Council over allegations about his treatment of more than 1,000 breast cancer patients.Ian Paterson is alleged in negligence suits filed by former patients to have performed up to 1,150 “unnecessary, inappropriate or unregulated” operations. The...

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Obama, GOP leaders lay down markers on budget deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking little time to celebrate, President Barack Obama is setting out to leverage his re-election into legislative success in an upcoming showdown with congressional Republicans over taxes, deficits and the impending "fiscal cliff." House Speaker John Boehner says Republicans are willing to consider some form of higher tax revenue as part of the solution — but only "under the right...

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