Two firefighters shot dead in New York state: media

NEW YORK: Two firefighters were shot dead and two others wounded in New York state on Monday when at least one gunman opened fire as the emergency personnel responded to a blaze, local media reported.The incident -- which comes as debate rages in the United States about gun control following the Newtown school massacre -- happened in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, the Democrat and Chronicle...

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Nitish positive after finance minister's statement on special status

PATNA: With the demand of special category status to Bihar at the top of his agenda, chief minister Nitish Kumar sees a silver lining and a ray of hope for the state in finance minister P Chidambaram's statement in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. "Now, we can hope that something positive will emerge," said Nitish at a function here. He said that Chidambaram while admitting Bihar's backwardness on various...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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4 Firefighters Shot, 2 Killed Responding to NY Blaze

Two firefighters were shot and killed and two others taken to a nearby hospital after a gunman opened fire on them as they responded to a house fire in Webster, N.Y., this morning, according to authorities and local media.Officials at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., told ABCNews.com that two men were taken there this morning and were in "guarded condition" after...

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Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said. The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such...

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Petitioners ask Obama to retaliate for Russia adoption ban

WASHINGTON: Tens of thousands of petitioners are calling for US President Barack Obama to escalate the diplomatic feud that led Moscow to propose a law barring Americans from adopting Russian children.Two petitions on the White House web site are asking for US sanctions on the Russian lawmakers who help pass the law that one of the petitions says will "jeopardize lives and well-being of...

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26 of 48 UP cabinet ministers have criminal past: Report

LUCKNOW: Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government, which came to power in Uttar Pradesh with a promise of providing an improved law and order, has 54 per cent of its ministers with criminal cases against them, a report has said. The report, released today by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) after analysing election affidavits of the leaders, reveals that 26 of the...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Norquist: Obama, Democrats Using Newtown for 'Political Purposes'

Dec 23, 2012 11:23am (ABC News)National Rifle Association board member and president of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist said on Sunday that President Obama and Democrats are politicizing the Newtown tragedy by pushing for gun control.“We ought to calm down and not take tragedies like this, crimes like this, and use them for political purposes,” Norquist told...

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Egyptians back new constitution in referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist-backed Egyptian constitution won approval in a referendum, rival camps said on Sunday, after a vote the opposition said would sow deep social divisions in the Arab world's most populous nation. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the...

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