http://www.mail.com/organizations/254-united-government.html Mail.com - the best personalized free web-based Email en en http://sec-s.uicdn.com/mail.com/2.20/img/mailcom_logo_rss.png http://www.mail.com/organizations/254-united-government.html http://www.mail.com/news/us/1763560-european-court-german-was-victim-us-rendition.html PARIS (AP) — The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday in favor of a German man who says the CIA illegally kidnapped him and took him to a secret prison in Afghanistan in 2003. The decision was hailed by critics of the so-called extraordinary renditions programs in the U.S. war on terrorism. It's Khaled El-Masri's first major judicial victory afte... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 12:01:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1763560-european-court-german-was-victim-us-rendition.html 2012-12-13T12:01:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763236-crime-osprey-add-to-okinawan-anger-us-bases.html OKINAWA, Japan (AP) — For nearly 70 years, Okinawa has gotten more than its share of America's military — more jets rattling homes, more crimes rattling nerves. It's the only Japanese island invaded by U.S. land forces during World War II. It endured 27 years under U.S. administration, and it continues to host two-thirds of Japan's U.S. bases. The 1995 ra... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 12:00:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763236-crime-osprey-add-to-okinawan-anger-us-bases.html 2012-12-13T12:00:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763296-fiscal-cliff-talks-vexing-official-washington.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Five weeks after President Barack Obama won re-election and gained more leverage to make GOP conservatives bend on taxes, the new balance of power is proving vexing for both sides. Republicans still aren't budging on Obama's demands for higher tax rates on upper bracket earners, despite the president's convincing election victory and opi... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:49:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763296-fiscal-cliff-talks-vexing-official-washington.html 2012-12-13T11:49:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763286-chicago-vows-to-fight-concealed-carry-ruling.html CHICAGO (AP) — With parts of the city in the grip of gang warfare and spiking homicide rates, Chicago aldermen urged state officials to appeal an appellate court's decision tossing Illinois' ban on concealed weapons, with some suggesting they might launch their own legal battle. Outside a City Council meeting Wednesday, one alderman after another said the... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:41:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763286-chicago-vows-to-fight-concealed-carry-ruling.html 2012-12-13T11:41:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763698-leading-conservative-obama-will-win-tax-fight.html WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading conservative who's resigning from the Senate is predicting that President Barack Obama will win the battle over raising taxes. South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint calls it "a political trophy" within Obama's grasp. Appearing Thursday on "CBS This Morning," DeMint says, quote, "The president's proposal is not a plan, it's not a... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:21:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763698-leading-conservative-obama-will-win-tax-fight.html 2012-12-13T11:21:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/markets/1763424-market-enthusiasm-fed-stimulus-fades.html LONDON (AP) — Any enthusiasm over another monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve faded Thursday as investors monitored the progress of budget discussions in the U.S. As had been widely predicted, the Fed said Wednesday it will spend $85 billion a month on bond purchases to drive down long-term borrowing costs and stimulate economic growth. The total i... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 11:18:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/markets/1763424-market-enthusiasm-fed-stimulus-fades.html 2012-12-13T11:18:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1763298-dispute-raises-doubt-china-stocks-us-market.html BEIJING (AP) — A mounting dispute between Washington and Beijing over access to records of Chinese companies with U.S.-traded shares might force major corporate names such as oil giant PetroChina and search engine Baidu to withdraw from American stock exchanges. The dispute highlights the clash between heightened U.S. anti-fraud efforts and official Chine... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:33:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1763298-dispute-raises-doubt-china-stocks-us-market.html 2012-12-13T07:33:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763312-election-over-administration-unleashes-rules.html WASHINGTON (AP) — While the "fiscal cliff" of looming tax increases and spending cuts dominates political conversation in Washington, some Republicans and business groups see signs of a "regulatory cliff" that they say could be just as damaging to the economy. For months, federal agencies and the White House have sidetracked dozens of major regulations th... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:23:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1763312-election-over-administration-unleashes-rules.html 2012-12-13T07:23:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1763284-senate-legislation-targets-cyberstalking-software.html WASHINGTON (AP) — For around $50, a jealous wife or husband can download software that can continuously track the whereabouts of a spouse better than any private detective. It's frighteningly easy and effective in an age when nearly everyone carries a cellphone that can record every moment of a person's physical movements. But it soon might be illegal. Th... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:19:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1763284-senate-legislation-targets-cyberstalking-software.html 2012-12-13T07:19:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761806-official-syria-fires-scud-missiles-rebels.html KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Syrian government forces have fired Scud missiles at insurgents in recent days, escalating the 2-year-old conflict against rebels seeking to overthrow the regime, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, two officials said forces of President Bashar Assad have fired the missiles from the Damascus area in... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 05:24:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761806-official-syria-fires-scud-missiles-rebels.html 2012-12-13T05:24:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762940-epa-finds-contamination-rocket-test-site.html SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Lingering radioactive contamination exists at a former rocket test lab outside of Los Angeles that was the site of a partial nuclear meltdown, federal environmental regulators said Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Agency launched a $42 million study to investigate radioactive pollution at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:51:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762940-epa-finds-contamination-rocket-test-site.html 2012-12-13T02:51:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/us/1759254-feds-to-probe-why-alarms-failed-wva-explosion.html SISSONVILLE, W.Va. (AP) — Federal investigators are looking into why no alarms sounded as a massive natural gas explosion sent flames as high as hilltops, engulfing homes and a large section of an interstate for more than an hour. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will visit Columbia Gas Transmission's Charleston control room thi... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:22:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1759254-feds-to-probe-why-alarms-failed-wva-explosion.html 2012-12-13T02:22:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1760524-us-hesitant-condemning-north-korean-launch.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is drawing no "red line" for North Korea after a successful long-range rocket test, tempering the public condemnation to avoid raising tensions or possibly rewarding the reclusive communist nation with too much time in the global spotlight. The U.S. has told the world that it won't tolerate Iran's acquisition of ... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 01:11:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1760524-us-hesitant-condemning-north-korean-launch.html 2012-12-13T01:11:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762852-10-arrested-international-cybercrime-ring.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten people have been arrested as part of an investigation into international cybercrime rings that steal millions of computer users' credit card, bank account and other personal information, the FBI said. Individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, New Zealand, Peru, Britain and the U.S. were arrested in an operation car... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:55:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762852-10-arrested-international-cybercrime-ring.html 2012-12-13T00:55:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1760408-budging-fiscal-cliff-talks-appear-stalled.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans aren't budging on tax rates, and Democrats are resisting steps like raising the eligibility age for Medicare. Negotiations on averting a year-end fiscal train wreck combining big automatic tax hikes and sweeping spending cuts again appear stalled. There are less than three weeks before the government could careen off this "fi... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:18:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1760408-budging-fiscal-cliff-talks-appear-stalled.html 2012-12-13T00:18:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1761584-fed-links-interest-rates-to-65-pct-unemployment.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it plans to keep interest rates ultra-low even after unemployment falls close to a normal level — which it thinks could take three more years. For the first time, the Fed made clear to investors and consumers that it will link its actions to specific economic markers. As long as inflation remains t... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:50:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1761584-fed-links-interest-rates-to-65-pct-unemployment.html 2012-12-12T23:50:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761728-colorado-river-depleting-regional-resource.html LAS VEGAS (AP) — The federal government isn't going to tap the Missouri River to slake the thirst of a drought-parched Southwest, the government's top water official said Wednesday. But rising demand and falling supply have water managers in the arid West considering a host of other options to deal with dire projections that the Colorado River — the main ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:21:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761728-colorado-river-depleting-regional-resource.html 2012-12-12T22:21:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762418-senate-dems-offer-sandy-disaster-aid-package.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Wednesday finished cobbling together a $60.4 billion disaster aid package for New York, New Jersey and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy in late October. Working from the emergency spending request President Barack Obama made five days ago, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its draft of the legislation. ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:10:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1762418-senate-dems-offer-sandy-disaster-aid-package.html 2012-12-12T22:10:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761420-noaa-chief-will-leave-february.html NEW YORK (AP) — The woman who was a key figure in the federal government's response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 said Wednesday she will leave her post at the end of February. "I have decided to return to my family and academia," Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wrote to NOAA employees... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:05:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761420-noaa-chief-will-leave-february.html 2012-12-12T22:05:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761918-honduran-congress-dismisses-supreme-court-justices.html TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras' political standoff escalated Wednesday as legal officials debated whether a congressional vote to remove four Supreme Court justices violated the constitution. Attorney General Luis Rubi decried the early-morning vote to dismiss the justices after they rejected a plan by President Porfirio Lobo to clean up the corrup... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:02:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761918-honduran-congress-dismisses-supreme-court-justices.html 2012-12-12T22:02:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/markets/1762490-why-its-hard-to-step-fiscal-cliff.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The "fiscal cliff" crisis bundles together some of Washington's toughest decisions — the ones lawmakers have dodged for years — and says settle them all right now. Or else. Yet bedrock differences between Democrats and Republicans stand in the way. No wonder it's hard to shake hands on a deal by New Year's. Failure is a lousy option, non... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:01:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/markets/1762490-why-its-hard-to-step-fiscal-cliff.html 2012-12-12T22:01:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761144-census-whites-longer-majority-us-2043.html WASHINGTON (AP) — White people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2043, according to new census projections. That's part of a historic shift that already is reshaping the nation's schools, workforce and electorate, and is redefining long-held notions of race. The official projection, released Wednesday by the Census Bureau, now places the t... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:43:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761144-census-whites-longer-majority-us-2043.html 2012-12-12T21:43:00Z http://www.mail.com/sports/football/1760442-lawmaker-nfl-players-trying-to-out-hgh.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Accusing the NFL players' union of "trying to back out" of an August 2011 agreement to start checking for human growth hormone, a congressman worried aloud Wednesday that the league will head into next season without a test for the banned drug. "Hopefully as we move down the line, players will see how incredibly ridiculous it looks for t... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:11:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/sports/football/1760442-lawmaker-nfl-players-trying-to-out-hgh.html 2012-12-12T21:11:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761854-senate-intern-sex-offender-faces-deportation.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Robert Menendez employed as an unpaid intern in his Senate office an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender, now under arrest by immigration authorities, The Associated Press has learned. The Homeland Security Department instructed federal agents not to arrest him until after Election Day, a U.S. official involved in the case told the AP. ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:01:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/politics/1761854-senate-intern-sex-offender-faces-deportation.html 2012-12-12T21:01:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1761858-fed-projects-high-unemployment-3-years.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve projects the unemployment rate will stay elevated until late 2015, suggesting it will keep short-term interest rates low for the next three years. The latest economic forecasts released Wednesday after the Fed's final meeting of the year were little changed from September. But they coincided with a new communication s... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:51:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1761858-fed-projects-high-unemployment-3-years.html 2012-12-12T20:51:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1761070-stocks-changed-fed-rally-fizzles.html NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended the day little changed Wednesday after a rally prompted by the Federal Reserve's latest economic stimulus program fizzled out. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 2.99 points at 13,245.45. It had risen as much as 81 points after the Fed said earlier in the day that it would extend a bond-buying plan and keep interest ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:32:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1761070-stocks-changed-fed-rally-fizzles.html 2012-12-12T20:32:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1762096-congress-ends-second-bag-checks-flights.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Passengers arriving in the U.S. from international airports who miss connecting flights because their checked bags have to be rescreened could get some relief under legislation passed Wednesday by the House and sent to the president for his signature. The "No-Hassle Flying Act" gives the Transportation Security Administration the authori... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:19:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1762096-congress-ends-second-bag-checks-flights.html 2012-12-12T20:19:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1762286-fed-rally-fades-wall-street-dow-3.html NEW YORK (AP) — An afternoon stock market rally has faded away after investors reassessed the Federal Reserve's latest plans to stimulate the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average closed with a loss of three points at 13,245 Wednesday, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up less than a point to 1,428. The Nasdaq composite fell eight points to ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:13:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1762286-fed-rally-fades-wall-street-dow-3.html 2012-12-12T20:13:00Z http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1762130-bernanke-fiscal-cliff-hurting-economy.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is already being hurt by the "fiscal cliff" standoff in Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday. But Bernanke said the Fed believes the crisis will be resolved without significant long-term damage. The steep tax increases and spending cuts can be avoided with a successful budget deal, Bernanke sa... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 20:02:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/business/economy/1762130-bernanke-fiscal-cliff-hurting-economy.html 2012-12-12T20:02:00Z