US issues penalties over violations of Iran sanctions
The Obama administration penalized nearly three dozen companies and individuals in eight countries Thursday, accusing them of evading sanctions on doing business with Iran.
Senate fails to pass three-month extension of jobless aid
WASHINGTON — The Senate failed to move forward on a three-month extension of assistance for the long-term unemployed Thursday, leaving it unlikely that Congress would approve the measure soon while undercutting a key aspect of President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan.
Behind retreat on immigration, a complicated political interplay
WASHINGTON — House Speaker John A. Boehner would sorely like to help engineer an overhaul of immigration policy to bolster his legacy, help his party politically and address a difficult social and economic problem. He just cannot seem to persuade other Republicans, who see the immigration debate as a major threat to their drive to win the Senate and increase their House majority in November.
UN says that Syria must quicken chemical arms purge
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. diplomat coordinating the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria said Thursday that the government of President Bashar Assad needed to “pick up the pace,” but she stopped short of blaming the Syrian authorities for the missed deadlines in exporting the most deadly chemical materials.
Potentially huge snowstorm unlikely
If you have been reading weather articles this week, you might have seen some alarming possibilities for a major Nor’easter this Sunday. Two low pressure systems might have collided and moved up the coast of the Eastern US, picking up moisture from the ocean and blanketing populations centers with more snow. Fortunately, updated model outputs suggest that the more southern system will track harmlessly into the Atlantic ocean, leaving only a weaker low pressure system that may bring snow showers on Sunday. Until then, the daily high and low temperatures in Cambridge will be around 10 degrees F colder than usual, so bundle up!
Video shows Egypt police arresting two journalists
Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting.
Former aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie invokes Fifth
A former top aide to Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey revealed Monday that she would not hand over documents in response to a subpoena from a legislative panel investigating the controversial closing of lanes at the George Washington Bridge last fall, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Genetic tests, healthy children, and ethical doubt
Her first thought after she heard the news was that she would never have children. Amanda Baxley’s doctor had just told her she had the gene for Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease, or GSS, which would inevitably lead to her slow and terrible death. This rare neurological disease had stalked her family for generations.
Second U.S. bribery trial begins for New York assemblyman
NEW YORK — In October 2010, William F. Boyland Jr., a state assemblyman from the Brooklyn borough of New York City, shared fine cuts of meat, wine and whiskey with two businessmen who were trying to buy Boyland’s political influence.
Shorts (left)
Many top colleges are misleading applicants about the paperwork needed to seek financial aid, possibly violating federal law and costing students extra money, a congressman said Monday.
Several inches of snow possible tomorrow
After temperatures got up to 55°F in Boston this past weekend, our area will see accumulating snowfall tomorrow for the second time in three days. While yesterday’s all-day snow event was relatively harmless — leaving behind less than an inch of accumulation — tomorrow’s event is expected to be more significant. At the time of this writing, the National Weather Service had issued a Winter Storm Watch for “late Tuesday night through Wednesday afternoon,” forecasting the possibility of 6 to 10 inches of snow accumulation.
Hacker group accuses Merkel government of helping to spy
MUNICH — The Chaos Computer Club, a leading hacker organization based in Germany, filed a criminal complaint against Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of her government Monday, accusing them of violating the law by helping U.S. and British intelligence agencies to spy on German citizens.
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MOSCOW — A student opened fire in a high school in northern Moscow on Monday, killing a police officer and a teacher and holding two dozen other students hostage before being captured by police, a spokesman for Russia’s Interior Ministry said.
Putin is given cool reception at EU headquarters
BRUSSELS — President Vladimir Putin for years trumpeted Russia’s grand ambitions for improved relations with the European Union.
In State of the Union, Obama vows solo action on economy
WASHINGTON — After five years of fractious political combat, President Obama declared independence from Congress on Tuesday as he vowed to tackle economic disparity with a series of limited initiatives on jobs, wages and retirement that he will take without legislative approval.
Thai aristocrat sides with the poor
BANGKOK — With a buzzer installed in her house to summon her servants and a royal title that helps secure choice tables at Bangkok restaurants, Malinee Chakrabandhu is a bona fide member of the Thai aristocracy.
Shares of Yahoo fall after it reports drop in revenue
SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo still lags far behind its major Internet competitors, but the company’s performance under Marissa Mayer continues to improve.
Shorts (left)
BEIRUT — Islamist rebels and extremist groups have seized control of most of Syria’s oil and gas resources, a rare generator of cash in the country’s war-battered economy, and are now using the proceeds to underwrite their fights against one another as well as President Bashar Assad, U.S. officials say.
House votes for tighter restrictions on federal payments for abortions
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to impose tighter restrictions on federal payments for abortions, thrusting the issue of a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy into the polarizing politics of an election year.
Shorts (right)
DUBLIN — The European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that a 48-year-old Irish woman was entitled to compensation for the government’s failure to protect her from sexual abuse as a child when she attended a publicly financed Roman Catholic primary school in the 1970s.