Historic inauguration on MLK holiday means federal workers lose a quadrennial holiday

Inauguration Day normally entails an extra paid holiday for federal workers in the Washington area, but no such luck applies this year. That’s because the public swearing-in ceremony coincides with another federal holiday — the Jan. 21 observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. That means the historic event — the first African American president taking the oath of office on a...

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Karzai leaves Afghanistan for US talks

KABUL: President Hamid Karzai on Monday left Afghanistan for talks with Barack Obama in Washington to focus on security in his war-torn country after NATO combat troops withdraw in 2014, his office said.During his three-day official visit, a decision could be made on how many US troops will stay in Afghanistan after 2014, officials have said."President Karzai will hold separate meetings...

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Low intensity earthquake felt in Arunachal Pradesh

NEW DELHI: A slight intensity earthquake shook Arunachal Pradesh on Monday. The quake, which hit the state at 11:03am, measured 4.5 on the Richter scale, the MeT department said. The epicentre of the quake was located at Latitude 28.1 degrees North and Longitude 94.3 degrees, it said. A slight intensity quake had jolted Churachandpur region of Manipur on Thursday last....

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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Pastor Accused of Killing Wives Faces Trial

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for Pastor Arthur Schirmer, who is accused of killing his second wife and then staging a car accident to hide it.Schirmer, 64, also faces a second trial at a later date for the death of his first wife. He has said he is innocent of all charges.In 2008, the pastor and his wife, Betty, were involved in what appeared at the time to be...

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After ‘fiscal cliff,’ Obama finishes recharging on Hawaiian holiday

HONOLULU — The place where President Obama vacations each winter is farther from Washington than almost any other place in the United States. So, it is not terribly surprising that less than 45 minutes after Congress passed a bill averting the “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 1, Obama was racing back here. The president’s vacation with his family and friends had already been cut short by the protracted,...

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Suu Kyi says any peace bid is up to Myanmar govt

YANGON: Myanmar democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday said she would not step in to help end worsening conflict between the army and ethnic Kachin rebels without government approval."It is up to the government. This case is being handled by the government at the moment," Suu Kyi told AFP when asked if she would get involved in efforts to resolve the fighting, after the army's...

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BJP's Anurag Thakur denies making scathing remark on Congress president Sonia Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing chief Anurag Thakur on Sunday denied having made a scathing remark on Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Facebook. Thakur said the Facebook account in question was not his. "I have made no comments on anyone. The newspaper which did this story, never, tried to find out if it is a fake account. They didn't even bother to ask me. I have never commented...

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Best Pictures: 2012 Nat Geo Photo Contest Winners

Winner: PlacesPhotograph by Nenad SaljicA full moon illuminates the Matterhorn peak near Zermatt, Switzerland, in the winning image...

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Gun Show Near Newtown Goes on Despite Anger

A little more than 40 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where last month 20 first graders and six staff members were massacred, gun dealers and collectors alike ignored calls to cancel a gun show, and gathered for business in Stamford, Conn.Four other gun shows with an hour of Newtown, Conn., recently cancelled their events in the wake of the shootings, when 20-year-old...

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