Dark horse emerges in Alaska race for Senate: the incumbent
JUNEAU, Alaska — The night Lisa Murkowski announced she would mount a write-in campaign to retain her Senate seat, she acknowledged to a crowd of supporters that her odds were slim. Then she prompted a defiant roar: Invoking Native Alaskan culture, she told the crowd that the ancient Aleutian language contained no word for “impossible.”
Zeal for dream drove scientist in secrets case
Many people who know P. Leonardo Mascheroni describe him as a maverick and a technology zealot. Now, the Justice Department will try to prove that he is dangerous, too — a man willing to sell atomic secrets in exchange for a chance to realize his dream.
Petraeus says Taliban have reached out to Karzai
PARWAN, Afghanistan — The top American commander in Afghanistan said Monday that high-level Taliban leaders had reached out to senior Afghan government officials in the context of starting reconciliation discussions that could pave the way to end the fighting in Afghanistan.
As Florida condos sit empty, voters enter battle on growth
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Lesley Blackner drove through a maze of condominium towers, rarely seeing any curtains in the windows, or residents, and tried to contain her anger.
Kim’s son is elevated to general before North Korea meeting
SEOUL, South Korea — The youngest son of Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s reclusive leader, has been promoted to a military general, that country’s official Korean Central News Agency reported early Tuesday, the clearest sign yet that he is in line to succeed his father as the country’s leader.
Weather
With no hurricanes currently active in the Atlantic, today’s weather description will focus on New England’s current weather. For the next couple days, there will continue to be cloudy, rainy weather. Last night there was the unusual occurrence of temperatures rising overnight; a consequence of a warm frontal passage. This frontal passage is responsible for the warm, humid weather today, with a chance of showers throughout the day. With rain that could be heavy at times as well as strong winds, it will certainly not be the nicest of weather. Tomorrow will also be cloudy with a slight chance of showers, especially in the evening. By Thursday, a strong low pressure system is forecast to track into the Northeast, bringing tropical moisture with it, although there is still uncertainty in the timing. The combination of high levels of precipitable water and lift means that there is the potential for heavy rain and urban flooding from Wednesday night to Friday morning.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — The CIA has drastically increased its bombing campaign in the mountains of Pakistan in recent weeks, U.S. officials said, strikes that are part of an effort by military and intelligence operatives to try to cripple the Taliban in a stronghold being used to plan attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Shorts (right)
NEW DELHI — In the last year, the Indian government surprised foreign telecommunications equipment suppliers like Huawei, Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco Systems by temporarily blocking the import of new network gear.
Republican spells out policy agenda in “Pledge to America”
WASHINGTON — House Republicans will issue a legislative blueprint Thursday called “A Pledge to America” that they hope will catapult them to a majority in the November elections. Its goals include a permanent extension of all the Bush-era tax cuts, repeal of the newly enacted health care law, a cap on discretionary federal spending and an end to government control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Shorts (left)
A Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill American soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan was sentenced to 86 years in prison Thursday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Obama presses Chinese prime minister to let currency rise
UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama increased pressure on China on Thursday to immediately revalue its currency, devoting most of a two-hour meeting with China’s prime minister to the issue and sending the message, according to one of his top aides, that if “the Chinese don’t take actions, we have other means of protecting U.S. interests.”
Summertime in autumn
Although today is officially the second day of autumn, it will feel more like summer, with temperatures in the 80s (°F) for the next two days. A warm front associated with a low pressure system currently located west of the Great Lakes will bring warm air from our south today, making it feel more like late August than late September. High temperatures will continue through the end of tomorrow afternoon, after which a cold front will pass through, knocking temperatures back down to more seasonable levels in time for Sunday and the beginning of next week.
No hurricanes this week!
For today, New England will enjoy beautiful weather. Highs should top out near 70°F with a light breeze from the west. These conditions are complements of an area of high pressure moving eastward from the Great Lakes region.
Short of repeal, Republicans will chip away at health care
WASHINGTON — Republicans are serious. Hopeful of picking up substantial numbers of seats in the congressional elections, they are developing plans to try to repeal or roll back President Barack Obama’s new health care law.
As news organizations go silent, <br />a Mexican paper speaks out
MEXICO CITY — It was at turns defiant and deferential, part plea and part plaint, a message as much to the drug gangs with a firm grip on Ciudad Juarez, the bloodiest city in Mexico’s drug battles, as to the authorities and their perceived helplessness.
Shorts (left)
ALBANY, N.Y. <i>— </i>Nationally, student loan debt recently surpassed credit card debt, according to Mark Kantrowitz, director of FinAid.org, a financial advice website. Americans are now saddled with $830 billion in private and federal student loans, compared to $827 billion in credit card debt, the Wall Street Journal recently reported.
Poverty rate jumped sharply<br />in 2009, census reports
The percentage of Americans struggling below the poverty line in 2009 was the highest it has been in 15 years, the Census Bureau reported Thursday, and interviews with poverty experts and aid groups said the increase appeared to be continuing this year.
Once wary, now President Obama relies on Petraeus
WASHINGTON — When President Barack Obama descended into the White House Situation Room on Monday for his monthly update on Afghanistan and Pakistan, the new top U.S. military commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, ticked off signs of progress.
Shorts (right)
In a discovery that sheds new light on the history of AIDS, scientists have found evidence that the ancestor to the virus that causes the disease has been in monkeys and apes for at least 32,000 years — not just a few hundred years, as had been previously thought.
Shorts (left)
WICHITA, Kan. — Judge Wesley E. Brown’s mere presence in his courtroom is seen as something of a daily miracle. His diminished frame is nearly lost behind the bench. A tube under his nose feeds him oxygen during hearings. And he warns lawyers preparing for lengthy court battles that he may not live to see the cases to completion, adding the old saying, “At this age, I’m not even buying green bananas.”