Boy Scouts to Discuss Lifting National Gay Ban

The Boy Scouts of America, under growing pressure from troops across the country to end its 100-year-old ban on gay leaders and members, said today it is "discussing" ending its national discrimination policy, leaving such decisions to the discretion of individual troops."Currently, the BSA is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual...

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Violence flares in Egypt after emergency law imposed

CAIRO (Reuters) - A man was shot dead on Monday in a fifth day of violence that has killed 50 Egyptians and prompted the Islamist president to declare a state of emergency in an attempt to end a wave of unrest sweeping the biggest Arab nation. Emergency rule announced by President Mohamed Mursi on Sunday covers the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. The army has already been deployed...

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US says Iran blast reports not credible

WASHINGTON: The White House on Monday dismissed reports of an underground explosion at Iran's Fordo atomic plant and also accused the Islamic Republic of adopting delaying tactics on nuclear talks.Iran had previously condemned reports in sectors of the US and Israeli media about the alleged blast as "western propaganda" designed to influence the outcome of its stalled nuclear dialogue...

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Taj heritage corridor scam: Setback for Mayawati as Supreme Court reopens case file

NEW DELHI: Nearly a decade after asking the CBI to register FIR against former UP CM Mayawati in the Taj heritage corridor scam, the Supreme Court on Monday sounded fresh warning bells by deciding to examine whether trial proceeding against her and others were closed in a legally correct manner. A bench, comprising Justices H L Dattu and Ranjan Gogoi, decided to entertain four petitions challenging...

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Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

The first soldier to survive after losing all four limbs in the Iraq war has received a double-arm transplant.Brendan Marrocco had the operation on Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, his father said Monday. The 26-year-old Marrocco, who is from New York City, was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009.He also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel...

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Brazil Nightclub Fire: 232 Dead, Hundreds Injured

Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.Witnesses said a flare or firework lit by band members may...

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Nightclub fire kills at least 232 in Brazil

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - A nightclub fire killed at least 232 people in southern Brazil early on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing partygoers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits in the ensuing panic, officials said. The blaze in the university town of Santa Maria was started by a band member or someone from its production team...

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Morsi declares emergency, curfews in Egypt riot-hit areas

CAIRO: President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday declared a state of emergency in three provinces hit by rioting which has left dozens dead, warning he was ready to take further steps to confront threats to Egypt's security.Emergency measures would come into effect in the provinces of Port Said, Suez and Ismailia "for 30 days starting at midnight (2200 GMT Sunday)," Morsi said in an address on...

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Chargesheet against man who irked Mamata

JHARGRAM/KOLKATA: There isn't an easy let-off if one has earned the wrath of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Shiladitya Chowdhury, the villager from Binpur who had "dared" to question Mamata on rising fertilizer prices at a rally last August and was jailed after being dubbed a "Maoist" by the CM, has learnt this the hard way. Unknown to either Shiladitya or his lawyer, Jhargram police have quietly...

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West

New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very...

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