'Mini-trial' expected at hearing for suspect in Colorado movie theatre shootings

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - A suspect appears in court Monday, nearly six months after a bloody rampage in a Colorado movie theatre left 12 people dead, for a hearing that might be the closest thing to a trial the victims and their families will get to see.James Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student, is charged with killing 12 people and injuring 70 by opening fire in a darkened theatre showing the...

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Lawmakers dig in heels on debt crisis, McConnell suggests crippling US default possible

WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders showed no signs of giving ground to resolve the next step in the financial crisis, with Democrats still talking about higher taxes on the wealthy and the Senate's top Republican suggesting that a crippling default on U.S. loans was possible unless there were significant cuts in government spending."It's a shame we have to use whatever leverage we have in Congress...

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Asian shares slip, Basel ruling supports banks

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks drifted down on Monday as investors booked profits from a New Year rally that had pushed markets to multi-month highs, although financial stocks gained after global regulators decided to relax draft plans for tough new bank liquidity rules.Commodity prices mostly held steady, supported by data showing the U.S. economy continuing on a path of slow but steady recovery...

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UK 'plebgate' scandal becomes police crisis

The "plebgate" scandal started with an angry exchange over a bicycle in front of Downing Street. The controversy over what a senior politician did or didn't say to officers guarding the prime minister's official residence has now grown into a full-blown crisis which is raising new questions about the ethics of Britain's largest police force.Scotland Yard's reputation has already been battered over...

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UK household finances worsen sharply in December - Markit

- Britons suffered the biggest deterioration in their finances in seven months in December and turned more downbeat about 2013, a survey showed on Monday.The Markit Household Finance Index fell to 36.8 - the lowest since May - from November's near two-year high of 39.3, sinking further below the 50 level that would mark no change in the financial situation compared with a month ago.Around a third...

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Russian opposition leader faces new probe

A prominent Russian opposition leader faces his third investigation in five months as authorities intensify pressure on the opposition.The Investigative Committee said in a statement on Monday that they launched a new probe against Alexei Navalny, who was already charged with theft and with fraud and money laundering in two separate cases.Investigators now say they also suspect Navalny of defrauding...

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Pope lights Christmas candle in his Vatican window

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has lit a Christmas peace candle set on the windowsill of his private studio.Pilgrims, tourists and Romans gathered below in St. Peter's Square for the inauguration Monday evening of a Nativity scene and cheered when the flame was lit.Later, he will appear in St. Peter's Basilica to lead Christmas Eve Mass. The ceremony begins at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) instead of...

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Pope leads a packed Christmas Eve Mass

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Heralded by the blare of trumpets, Pope Benedict XVI is presiding over Christmas Eve Mass in a St. Peter's Basilica packed with tourists, Italians and other faithful.The ceremony began at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) Monday night instead of the traditional midnight start time. The schedule was changed at the Vatican years ago to let the pontiff rest before he is to deliver a Christmas Day...

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Margaret Thatcher in hospital after operation

LONDON (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the country's first woman elective leader, is in hospital recovering from surgery to remove a growth on her bladder, a source close to the family said on Friday.After experiencing pain in her bladder earlier in the week, he 87-year-old went to hospital where she underwent a minimally invasive operation, Tim Bell, a public relations...

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Margaret Thatcher in UK hospital after operation

LONDON (AP) — Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is recuperating at a hospital after an operation to remove a bladder growth, a friend said Friday.The 87-year-old Thatcher went to see her doctor after experiencing some discomfort and subsequently had the growth removed, according to longtime adviser Tim Bell.The operation was "completely satisfactory," Bell said. He said he couldn't go...

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Pope stresses family values as gay marriage gains

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The pope pressed his opposition to gay marriage Friday, denouncing what he described as people eschewing their God-given gender identities to suit their sexual choices — and destroying the very "essence of the human creature" in the process.Benedict XVI made the comments in his annual Christmas address to the Vatican bureaucracy, one of his most important speeches of the year....

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Pardon for pope's butler who stole papers expected

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has summoned journalists for a briefing on what Italian news reports say is an expected pardon for Pope Benedict XVI'S former butler, who stole the pontiff's personal papers and leaked them in a bid to expose the "evil and corruption" in the Catholic Church.Paolo Gabriele was arrested May 23 after Vatican police found heaps of papal documents in his Vatican City apartment....

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Russia: Syrian chemical weapons under control

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's foreign minister says the Syrian government has consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught.Sergey Lavrov says Russia, which has military advisers training Syria's military, has kept close watch over its chemical arsenal. He says the Syrian government has moved them from many arsenals to just "one or two centers" to properly safeguard them.U.S....

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Golf-Wind stops play at Australian Open

SYDNEY, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Play was suspended during the final round of the Australian Open on Sunday when high winds resulted in balls moving on the greens at The Lakes Golf Club.Organisers announced the suspension at 11:45 a.m. local time (0045 GMT), some 35 minutes before the leading group were scheduled to tee off.John Senden and Britain's world number four Justin Rose will be the last players...

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Cricket-New Zealand coach Hesson's advice 'laughable' - Taylor

WELLINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Disgruntled former captain Ross Taylor has slammed New Zealand's team management, dismissing head coach Mike Hesson's advice as "laughable" and claiming he was not given enough support in his 18-month stint as skipper.Taylor was stripped of the Twenty20 and one-day captaincy last week on Hesson's recommendation, and rejected an offer to stay on as test skipper in the...

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UPDATE 1-Golf-Play resumes at windy Australian Open

 SYDNEY, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Play resumed in the final round of the Australian Open on Sunday after a three-hour delay forced by gale-force winds at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney.Organisers announced the suspension of play at 11:45 a.m. local time (0045 GMT) after the 80 kilometre per hour winds resulted in balls moving on the greens and a TV tower collapsing at the 18th."It got to 80 kilometres,...

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Play resumes at windy Australian Open

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Play resumed in the final round of the Australian Open on Sunday after a three-hour delay forced by gale-force winds at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney.Organizers announced the suspension of play at 11:45 a.m. local time (0045 GMT) after the 80 kilometer per hour winds resulted in balls moving on the greens and a TV tower collapsing at the 18th."It got to 80 kilometers, which was...

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UPDATE 1-Golf-Senior masters Sydney gale to win Australian Open

* Senior oldest winner of his national Open* Wind dominates final round* Rose fades to share of fourth (Adds detail, quotes)SYDNEY, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Peter Senior drew on all his experience from 34 years as a professional golfer to master galeforce winds and win the Australian Open by a shot on Sunday, 23 years after he first held aloft the Stonehaven Cup.Gusting winds of up to 80 kilometres an hour...

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