Obama Admin to Court: End Calif. Gay Marriage Ban

In a historic argument for gay rights, President Barack Obama on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban and turn a skeptical eye on similar prohibitions across the country.The Obama administration's friend-of-the-court brief marked the first time a U.S. president has urged the high court to expand the right of gays and lesbians to wed. The...

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Medicare paid $5.1B for poor nursing home care

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Medicare paid billions in taxpayer dollars to nursing homes nationwide that were not meeting basic requirements to look after their residents, government investigators have found.The report, released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general, said Medicare paid about $5.1 billion for patients to stay in skilled nursing facilities that failed to...

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Japan's factory output up 1.0% in January

TOKYO: Japan's factory output for January rose a smaller-than-expected 1.0 per cent from the previous month, official data showed on Thursday.The rise was weaker than a 1.5 per cent expansion expected by the market and a revised 2.4 per cent increase in December.But the ministry maintained a positive view, saying in a monthly report: "Industrial production has bottomed out and shows some...

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CBI seeks more documents, looks at tweaking of specifications

NEW DELHI: The CBI on Wednesday said it had sought more documents related to the AgustaWestland helicopter deal from the defence ministry as it prepares to question suspected beneficiaries about alleged kickbacks received in the Rs 3,600 crore deal. The agency will also seek all documents related to changes made in the specifications of 12 VVIP choppers by the office of former IAF chief S P Tyagi...

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Holder Says Sequester Makes America Less Safe

The looming budget sequestration will make Americans less safe, Eric Holder says—and anyone who says otherwise isn't telling the truth."This is something that is going to have an impact on the safety of this country," the U.S. attorney general told ABC's Pierre Thomas on Wednesday in a wide-ranging, exclusive interview."And anybody that says otherwise is either lying or saying...

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Vt. lye victim gets new face at Boston hospital

BOSTON (AP) — A Vermont woman whose face was disfigured in a lye attack has received a face transplant.Doctors at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital say 44-year-old Carmen Blandin Tarleton underwent the surgery earlier this month.A team worked 15 hours to transplant the facial skin, including the neck, nose, lips, facial muscles, arteries and nerves.The 44-year-old Tarleton, of Thetford, Vt., was...

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Batman to lose son Robin

NEW YORK: Batman may be able to save the world, but he'll lose his sidekick Robin -- who in his current incarnation as his son -- in the upcoming Batman Incorporated comic book series.DC Comics said the caped crusader's acrobatic young assistant, Batman alter ego Bruce Wayne's son Damian, will die in Wednesday's issue number eight."This master theme of damaged and ruined families was nowhere...

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Amarnath Yatra registration from March 18

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir governor and chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, N N Vohra, on Tuesday reviewed the arrangements made for the Amarnath Yatra which is scheduled to take place from June 28- 21. He was told that 422 branches of different banks spread across the nation will start registration for the Yatra from March 18. The Board's CEO Navin Chaudhary briefed Vohra about all the measures...

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Arias Liked Some Kinky Sex, She Admits

Though accused murderer Jodi Arias said she sometimes felt "like a prostitute" at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander, she admitted today that she often enjoyed their sex life and even suggested sex acts they could try.Prosecutor Juan Martinez, after a day of aggressive questioning and bickering with Arias, asked her about her own suggestions for her sex life with...

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Koop, who transformed surgeon general post, dies

With his striking beard and starched uniform, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop became one of the most recognizable figures of the Reagan era — and one of the most unexpectedly enduring.His nomination in 1981 met a wall of opposition from women's groups and liberal politicians, who complained President Ronald Reagan selected Koop, a pediatric surgeon and evangelical Christian from Philadelphia,...

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