US-Mexico-Fugitive-Captured
When Joe Saenz walked up to a Whittier, California-area home in summer 2008, a surveillance video shows he was smiling, rubbing his hands and greeting associates, according to authorities. On the streets he was known by the nickname "Smiley," and his demeanor that day fit that handle -- right up until he reached the front yard of the home. That's when, the FBI and police say, he drew a gun and shot one man several times in the head, execution-style. It was not the first murder Saenz was accused of. Authorities also say that in 1998 he killed two rival gang members and kidnapped, raped and killed his girlfriend. The FBI placed Saenz on its 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list in 2009. Authorities suspect he later became a hit man for a Mexican drug cartel. Saenz eluded arrest for 14 years. But on Friday, authorities announced his capture in Guadalajara, Mexico, after a tip led officers to his location.
Dissolving-Sea-Snails
The shells of tiny snails in parts of the Southern Ocean are being dissolved as the water becomes more acidic as a result of the burning of fossil fuels by humans, scientists say.
Bear-attack-british-columbia
An elderly couple survived a bear attack in rural British Columbia, and authorities are hunting for the animal.
Queen-Elizabeth-Portraits-Exhibition
Four portraits of Queen Elizabeth II by pop artist Andy Warhol have gone on display at her home, Windsor Castle, for the first time as part of an exhibition of official images of the monarch marking the end of her Diamond Jubilee year.
SPORT-Golf-McIlroy-Majors-2012
Rory McIlroy is to trim his schedule to focus on 2013's four major trophies after a fairytale year in which he won both the U.S. PGA and European Tour money lists to finish on top of the world rankings.
U.S.A.
SCOTUS-Health-Care-Religion
The Supreme Court has ordered a federal appeals court to take another look at a key requirement in the health care reform law, and whether it violates religious freedoms.
US-Court-Harassment
The Supreme Court on Monday tried to make sense of conflicting standards when determining a key question in workplace discrimination claims: Who is the boss? In an intense oral argument, the justices raised numerous scenarios to explore when a worker's actions were supervisory in nature but appeared uncertain on what approach was best for resolving the central legal question and whether a clear definition could even be established.
US-NASA-Astronaut-Flight
Capt. Scott Kelly, a veteran astronaut, will set the record for the longest single space mission for an American, NASA announced Monday. Kelly and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will embark on a one-year mission to the International Space Station in 2015.
US-Space-Travel-Power
For potential power sources on space flights beyond the horizon, scientists are looking back to the future. A team of NASA and Department of Energy researchers has shown that a reliable nuclear reactor based on technology that's been around for decades could be used in spaceships, according to a news release from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where some of the researchers are based.
US-Body-Armor-Plates-Recall
Body armor plates used by special operations forces in combat are being recalled after a manufacturing defect was found in what the military says is a small percentage of the Generation III ballistic armor plates.
US-Combat-Awards-Flap
The U.S. military's combat awards process is in disarray, and because of that official Department of Defense statistics do not accurately reflect the complete list of those who have been awarded combat medals for bravery in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to some members of Congress.
US-New-York-Utility-Bills
The Long Island Power Authority is assuring outraged customers that their latest electric bills with normal monthly charges are no mistake, despite some being in the dark for days or weeks after Superstorm Sandy.
US-Capitol-Christmas-Tree
The official Christmas tree of the U.S. Capitol arrived Monday and will be illuminated at a ceremony on December 4.
Florida-Roach-Eating-Death
A 32-year-old man who died after downing dozens of roaches and worms last month to win a python at a Florida reptile store choked to death, medical officials said Monday.
New-York-Confidential-Confetti
Authorities in Long Island are investigating how shredded confidential police documents ended up as confetti in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City, according to Nassau County Police.
MED-teens-emergency-contraception
The American Academy of Pediatrics is fighting teen pregnancy with revised recommendations on emergency contraception.
MED-medicaid-kaiser
It's flown under the radar, but perhaps the most dramatic element of Obamacare isn't changes to Medicare, or the requirement for millions to purchase insurance --- it's the planned expansion of Medicaid. That expansion would cover an additional 21.3 million people within the next decade, reducing the number of uninsured nearly by half, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, an organization specializing in health care policy. While that sounds like good news, the sheer size of the expansion has many people worried about cost. Since the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot be forced to participate, eight states have said they won't expand their current Medicaid programs, and several others have said they may follow suit. But the KFF report says those states may be making life unnecessarily hard for their poorest citizens.
POLITICS
POL-Fiscal-Cliff
Is it a slow leak that will grow into a cascade, or a minor drip easily plugged? More and more, conservative Republicans in Congress are breaking from a pledge they signed years earlier against any kind of tax increase or additional tax revenue. Facing the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and deep across-the-board spending cuts at the end of the year, the GOP legislators are signaling their willingness to cut a deal with President Barack Obama and Democrats that would include more money for the government.
POL-White-House-Meeting
Talks to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff are expected to pick up this week as Congress returns to work. But a promised second White House meeting on the crisis between President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders still has not been scheduled -- a possible sign that staff discussions over the Thanksgiving recess did not yield the progress leaders hoped.
