Obama pledges $100M to Haiti for aid
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U.S. President Barack Obama said $100 million would be available immediately to provide equipment, food, water and medicine to earthquake-ravaged Haiti. "This investment will grow over the coming year as we embark on the long-term recovery from this unimaginable tragedy," Obama said.
The first w...
"Candle of Hope" legislation passed early morning Christmas Eve.
Democrats in the United States Senate have passed the first major health care reform bill since the 1960s. The bill would extend health care coverage to an additional 31 million Americans who are currently without coverage. Not a ...
New York: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging countries to seize the opportunity presented by next month´s climate change conference in Copenhagen to clinch a political agreement that will help chart the way forward on a new legally binding pact to combat global warming.
"Opportunity is knock...
At 11:15 p.m. Eastern Time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the historic passage of a health care bill revamping the health care system and bringing about the reforms promised by President Obama during the November 2008 election.
The vote was 220 to 215 with one Republican, Representative C...
$1 billion minimum required annually to reach children still at risk.
WASHINGTON, DC | GENEVA -- Reversing a downward trend, immunization rates are now at their highest ever and vaccine development worldwide is booming, according to a new assessment released today by the World Health Organizati...
Barely nine months into office, President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize, substantially boosting his prestige and standing in the United States and internationally.
The Nobel Committee said the President won the award for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diploma...
More than 400 of the nation's most respected health care leaders issued a joint Open Letter to Congress declaring that the health care system is in crisis and is unsustainable and calling on Congress to act now on meaningful reforms. They state that Congress has a moral and ethical obligation to imp...
Speaking to a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama gave a clear, inspiring and unusually detailed explanation of our nation´s health care crisis and his plan to address it.
The President outlined the two key goals of health care reform: safety and security for those already insu...
Stay in school and take personal responsibility are two messages President Barack Obama delivered to U.S. school children.
Obama's speech to the nation's school children Tuesday encouraged them to do the best they can.
"(At) the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most...
The number of people hit by deadly floods across West Africa has now topped 600,000, and the heavy rains have also destroyed crops and infrastructure in a region already hard hit by poverty, the United Nations humanitarian arm reported today.
The rains that began in June have claimed nearly 160 l...
GENEVA -- Monitoring of outbreaks from different parts of the world provides sufficient information to make some tentative conclusions about how the influenza pandemic might evolve in the coming months.
WHO is advising countries in the northern hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic ...
A strong earthquake struck Indonesia Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, injuring 18 others and damaging several older buildings, witnesses said.
The earthquake, centered about 150 miles from Jakarta, initially was categorized at 7.4 magnitude before being downgraded to 7 by geological official...
By William M. Welch
LOS ANGELES -- Two firefighters died in a wildfire Sunday in the San Gabriel Mountains that threatened more than 10,000 homes and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory.
Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said the two firefighters died in the Angeles Nationa...
Praise for the long political career of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., began coming in early Wednesday as word of his death was reported.
The Kennedy family released a brief statement announcing the death and thanking those who cared for the senator in his last months.
"He loved this count...
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told assembled bankers and policymakers in Wyoming Friday to expect the U.S. economy to grow soon.
"Fears of financial collapse have receded substantially," Bernanke said at the Fed's annual retreat in Jackson Hole.
"After contracting sharply over the...
A tropical storm warning was issued Sunday for Florida and Alabama as a tropical depression organized off the Gulf Coast, meteorologists said.
The depression, on the brink of becoming Tropical Storm Claudette, was located about 125 miles south-southeast of Apalachicola and moving toward the Florid...
By Karen Jeffrey, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
HYANNIS -- Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, an internationally acclaimed advocate for people with physical and development disabilities, died early this morning at Cape Cod Hospital, according to a statement from the family.
Born into the privilege...
Former Democratic President achieves diplomatic coup.
By Matt Williams
Two American reporters were freed from North Korea's notorious labour camps after former President Bill Clinton flew in for talks. Clinton met Kim Jong-il yesterday during a surprise visit to the secretive Asian state.
...
Inspectors General fault Bush-Era surveillance tactics for questionable effectiveness and circumvention of legal safeguards.
Top federal investigators from the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, CIA, Directorate of National Intelligence, and the National Security Agency issued a detai...
AVE MARIAH FOR MICHAEL; STARS FLOCK TO MEMORIAL AS 17,000 FANS FIND OUT OF THEY'VE GOT A TICKET
By Keith McLeod
Mariah Carey will sing the Jackson Five's classic I'll Be There as Tinseltown pays tribute to the King of Pop today.
Maria, who had a hit with the haunting ballad in 1992, is o...
Protesters hit the streets of Tehran again Tuesday to express anger over election results they say were manipulated to keep Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power.
The government has begun cracking down harder on the demonstrations that have turned deadly, while reaction from world leaders remains subdued, ...
By Marie McCullough, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The tobacco-control movement celebrated another milestone yesterday as the U.S. Senate easily passed a bill giving the government unprecedented power over the making and marketing of tobacco products.
Supporters say the law will enable the Food ...
By PAUL KANE; JOBY WARRICK
FORMER US vice-president Dick Cheney personally oversaw at least four briefings with senior members of Congress about controversial interrogation programmes, part of a secretive and forceful defence he mounted throughout 2005 in an effort to maintain support for the hars...
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has nominated federal judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York for the U.S. Supreme Court positioning the longtime federal jurist to become the first Hispanic member of the nation's high court.
Sotomayor, a former federal prosecutor who first was appointed to the fed...
North Korea claimed Monday it had "successfully" conducted a nuclear test, its second since October 2006, to "bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense."
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the testing comes in the wake of the Communist country's warning last month about its nuclear pla...
Poor weather conditions prevented the the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis from landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said Friday.
The landing was rescheduled for Saturday.
Two landings were waved off at the center because weather conditions wouldn't permit a safe landing, the space agen...
Los Angeles - Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, sank six free throws in the final 30.5 seconds and came up with the game-sealing rebound in the final seconds, as the Lakers rallied to beat Denver, 105-103, in the opener of the Western Conference finals.
Bryant had 18 of his points in the fourth quarte...
By Tom Troy, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame University gave a thunderous welcome during Sunday's graduation ceremony to President Obama and cheered him throughout the program despite stark differences on abortion that prompted protests on the Catholic campus.
Mr. Obama w...
Pope Benedict XVI, in Israel on his Middle East tour, called for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would lead to a homeland for both sides.
The pontiff said, "I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstandin...
By Bangor Daily News, Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday signed a gay marriage bill passed just hours before by the Maine Legislature.
Baldacci made his announcement within an hour of the Maine Senate giving its final approval to LD 1020. The Senate voted 21-13 in favor o...
Washington – During a debate on hate crimes legislation taking place last week in the well of the United States House of Representatives, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed that Matthew Shepard's murder and torture were "a hoax."
While Matthew's mother, Judy Shepard looked on from above in the H...
By DENIS STAUNTON
US SUPREME court justice David Souter is set to retire this summer, offering President Barack Obama his first opportunity to shape the court after almost a decade of conservative government.
Mr Obama yesterday declined to comment on Mr Souter's decision, which had yet to be m...
By ADAM THOMSON
Governments and health authorities worldwide went on the alert over the weekend for a possible influenza pandemic as the death toll from a new strain of swine flu in Mexico reached 81.
Janet Napolitano, US homeland security secretary, yesterday declared a "public health emergen...
By Sandy Bauers and John Shiffman, The Philadelphia Inquirer
WASHINGTON -- In a landmark move that countered eight years of inaction by the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency determined yesterday that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare because they contribu...
By Rachel Stassen-Berger, Pioneer Press
Democrat Al Franken won last year's U.S. Senate race, three judges decided Monday.
The decision comes after a tough and testy two-year campaign, a two-month statewide hand recount and a detailed seven-week trial.
In the cool spring evening Monday, F...
Pope Benedict XVI began the Easter Vigil late Saturday at St. Peter's in Rome, celebrating the mass that opens the holiest day of the Christian calendar.
The service began in darkness, the BBC reported. After Benedict lit a candle to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he was joined by thousand...
Vote to override Governor's veto makes Vermont first state to recognize marriage for lesbian and gay couples through legislative process. Vermont becomes the fourth state to recognize gay marriage.
Momentum in favor of same-sex marriages increases following similar victory for marriage equality ...
By Rod Boshart, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
In a precedent-setting ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court Friday upheld a lower court decision legalizing same-sex marriages in Iowa.
The unanimous landmark decision is expected to carry national implications as Iowa becomes the first Midwest state...
By Erica Werner, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The House is poised to thrust tobacco companies under government control after years of attempts in legislatures and the courts to tame one of the country's signature industries.
"We cannot and we must not wait a moment longer to protect our...
By Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press
BONN, Germany - From an Antarctic research base to the Great Pyramids of Egypt and beyond, the world switched off the lights Saturday for Earth Hour, dimming skyscrapers, city streets and some of the world's most recognizable monuments for 60 minutes to high...
Top Headlines
WASHINGTON _ Iran told the United Nations' nuclear watchdog Monday it will begin producing purer uranium, a step experts said could bring Tehran significantly closer to having the fuel for a nuclear weapon.
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said that passing health care reform remained the key to bringing down America's skyrocketing budget deficit.
TEHRAN - In a possible move to deflect attention from Iran's political woes, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday ordered the nation's atomic energy agency to begin enriching uranium from 3.5 percent to 20 percent purity to serve as fuel for a Tehran medical reactor.
Michael Jackson's personal physician pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges Monday in Los Angeles in connection with the pop icon's death.
Iran's move to proceed with the enrichment of its nuclear fuel resulted in new calls for sanctions Monday from the United States, France and Russia.
Feb. 8--John P. Murtha, the powerful dean of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation who survived scandal and seismic political shifts to become the longest-serving U.S. House member from the state, died today from complications following gallbladder surgery.
Toyota will recall its popular, eco-friendly Prius within three days, it was reported today.
Feb. 8--UC Davis researchers say that a 40-year-old woman's risk of having a child with autism is 50 percent greater than a woman between of 25 and 29 years old.
Feb. 8--WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Murtha's death Monday is likely to give Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, a powerful new chairmanship in House.
U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., died Monday at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., officials said.
Michael Jackson's personal physician was charged with involuntary manslaughter Monday in Los Angeles in connection with the pop icon's death in June.
DETROIT _ Consumers say they have heard more negative news about Toyota in recent days than they heard about General Motors and Chrysler during their bankruptcies last spring, according to BrandIndex, a consumer survey that tracks perceptions of hundreds of companies.
All the workers present at a Connecticut power plant when it exploded Sunday have been accounted for, officials said Monday.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. _ Space shuttle Endeavour brought an early dawn to Kennedy Space Center on Monday, punching its way through cloudy skies to close the curtain on night-time shuttle launches and kick off the final year of liftoffs for the aging orbiter fleet.
Feb. 8--MIAMI -- Even President Obama underestimated the steely determination of the New Orleans Saints, who spotted Peyton Manning a 10-point lead Sunday before handing the Indianapolis Colts their first loss that counted.
Business
MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ --
TORONTO, Feb. 8 /CNW/ - Upper Canada Gold Corporation (formerly Washmax Corporation) (UCC-TSX-V, formerly WMC.H-NEX) ("Upper Canada" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that following completion of its reverse take-over, financing, consolidation, shares for debt and related transactions (as disclosed in the Corporation's press releases dated December 17, 2009 and it has now received approval from the TSX Venture Exchange for the commencement of trading of its common shares under the symbol "UCC".
TORONTO, Feb. 8 /CNW/ - Mackenzie Financial Corporation ("Mackenzie Investments") is pleased to announce that on or about March 4, 2010, MSP 2008 Resource LP (the "Partnership") will transfer substantially all of its assets to Mackenzie Financial Capital Corporation ("Capitalcorp").
TORONTO, Feb. 8 /CNW/ - Medoro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRS) is pleased to announce that it has acquired all of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Colombia Gold plc pursuant to its previously announced offer.
NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /CNW/ -- Capital Gold Corporation (NYSE Amex: CGC; TSX: CGC) is pleased to announce preliminary production results for its second fiscal quarter of 2010 (ended January 31, 2010) at its 100% owned and operated El Chanate mine in Sonora, Mexico.
Feb. 8--Two investment firms that have done business with CalPERS and CalSTRS agreed to pay millions of dollars today to settle a placement-agent corruption probe in New York state.
TORONTO, Feb. 8 /CNW/ - Bullion Management Group Inc. (BMG) has expanded its line of precious metal bullion funds with the launch of BMG Gold BullionFund.
BEIJING, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Based on recent statistics from ChinaVenture's online data system CVSource, some new characteristics and trends have cropped up in China's Venture Capital (VC) market in 2009:
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to growth enterprises and the financial institutions that invest in and support them, today announced that Christopher W. Kirkham has become a partner at the firm.
Corex Gold Corp. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: CGE) has commenced drilling on its Santana gold project in Sonora State, Mexico.
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to growth enterprises and the financial institutions that invest in and support them, today announced that Christopher W. Kirkham has become a partner at the firm.
NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Winston & Strawn LLP announced today that Lawrence A. Larose and Samuel S. Kohn have joined the firm's New York office as partners in the firm's Restructuring and Insolvency Group, and William J. Grant has joined as senior counsel in the Mergers and Acquisitions practice.
PURCHASE, N.Y., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Nautical Capital Management LLC, an asset management company specializing in the development and management of diversified commodity portfolios, announced today the launch of its commodity-based absolute return strategies.
NEW YORK - A former Intel executive charged in a massive insider trading case has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud.
Feb. 8--ALBANY -- The head of an Albany investment firm was charged with securities fraud today in connection with his sale of allegedly fraudulent securities to investors across the country.
VANCOUVER, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Iron Creek Capital Corp. (TSX-V: IRN) is pleased to report the drilling results from the Vaquillas Project which is part of the Victoria Joint Venture with Hochschild Mining Holdings Ltd. ("Hochschild").
Essex Woodlands Health Ventures (EWHV) has announced an exclusive founding investment and an additional financing commitment of up to $50 million to support White Pine Medical which will seek to do medical device growth equity acquisitions.
Sports
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ The New Orleans Saints did not afford themselves the luxury of sleep on their first Super Bowl championship before turning their thoughts to Dallas in the wee hours Monday morning.
Second-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain won his opening match Monday in the Brasil Open, topping Simon Greul of Germany in straight sets.
Boston University will look to add to its record 29 Beanpot titles when it takes on archrival Boston College at the Garden tonight at 8.
PITTSBURGH - Ashton Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon led a mid-game surge as No.
MIAMI - The reality show starring Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney continued up until kickoff, as three television cameras followed his every move.
Feb. 8--MIAMI -- The New Orleans Saints have completed their mission with the first Super Bowl championship in the NFL franchise's often star-crossed 43-year history, beating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 on Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium.
In a tournament everyone expected him to win, Steve Stricker was trying not to lose.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - No money, no opening ceremonies and maybe no really meaningful competition.
Feb. 8--There is nothing better for an athlete in basketball -- or any sport, for that matter -- than playing the next game, especially for one trying to flush away the sour feeling of a defeat.
ELON, N.C. - Drew Spradlin scored 16 points, leading five Elon players in double figures, as the Phoenix outlasted Western Carolina 81-76 on Monday night.
MIAMI - Reggie Wayne stared right through all those reporters.
Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon knows basketball excitement, and he wasn't feeling it in College Station.
TORONTO - Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere will try to pay attention to the Olympic hockey tournament when it begins in Vancouver, but he admitted he might not try very hard, saying before Monday night's game that he planned "to watch it from the pool there in Mexico - if they have it."
MIAMI - Players aren't the only ones who can rise to the occasion in big games.
Pat Chambers' opinion on the possibility of an NCAA tournament expansion is influenced more by his heart than his head.
Feb. 8--WALLOWA -- Wallowa went into its rematch with Cove short-handed.
Feb. 8--MIDWEST CITY -- Chickasha's girls returned to the basketball floor for a Thursday make-up game at top-ranked Carl Albert and came home with a 61-23 loss.