[U.S.] Chuck Hagel's Senate hearing: testy exchanges on key foreign policy issues

Chuck Hagel's Senate hearing: testy exchanges on key foreign policy issues
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/31/chuck-hagel-senate-hearing-exchanges
Republican opposition to the appointment Chuck Hagel as US secretary for defense appeared to be solidifying after a day of combative Senate hearings in which he was confronted repeatedly about his views on the war on Iraq, Israel and nuclear ...

Mahony removed from public church duties
http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=841472
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez on Thursday announced dramatic actions in response to the priest abuse scandal, saying that Cardinal Roger Mahony would no longer perform public duties in the church and that Santa Barbara Bishop Thomas J. Curry ...

Investigators search for killers of Kaufman County prosecutor
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/headlines/20130131-investigators-search-for-killers-of-kaufman-county-prosecutor.ece
Crime scene tape restricts access as law enforcement offcers investigate the scene where Kaufman County prosecutor Mark Hasse was fatally shot Thursday morning in downtown Kaufman.

Some unions already on Lynch's side
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/rep-stephen-lynch-runs-for-massachusetts-senate-seat-scott-browns-decision-still-unknown/
Newly declared Senate candidate Stephen F. Lynch already has started picking up blue-collar endorsements to counter Edward J. Markey's big Democratic backers, but some key unions are staying on the fence for now - despite Lynch's background as a ...

Slain Teen's Mom: "She Was Just Special"
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/hadiya-pendleton-cleo-crowley-msnbc-sharpton-189318801.html
Cleo Cowley's pain was evident when she spoke to MSNBC's Al Sharpton on Thursday night. advertisement. Click Here! Photos and Videos.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie making Letterman appearance
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/christie-heads-letterman-article-1.1252752
New Jersey's outspoken governor is bringing his motor mouth to Letterman. Gov. Chris Christie's first visit to the “Late Show with David Letterman” airs at 11:35 p.m.

Duncan Lauds Progress of Race to Top Program for Schools
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-01/duncan-lauds-progress-of-race-to-top-program-for-schools.html
President Barack Obama's $5 billion Race to the Top education-grant program has sparked “dramatic” change over the past year, though some states' progress lagged, U.S.

NRA Used to Support Background Checks, Now Favors More Illogical ...
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/01/nra-flip-flops-on-background-checks.html?mid=google
One of the crazier elements of the NRA's response to the Newtown massacre is its opposition to universal background checks, though recent polls show the measure is supported by 89 percent of all Americans, three quarters of NRA members, and - back in ...

'Gay' dog gets euthanasia reprieve
http://www.news.com.au/news/dog-on-death-row-for-being-gay-saved-after-viral-facebook-campaign/story-fnejlrpu-1226566820832
A dog whose rejection by his owner caused an Internet uproar has been adopted into a new, and presumably more tolerant, home. The male pit bull mix, whose name no one seems to know, was left at the Madison County, Tennessee, Rabies Control animal ...