Vietnam veterans’ new battle: getting disability compensation

Syrian group claims role in newspaper hacking

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

The website and several Twitter accounts belonging to The Financial Times were hacked Friday by the Syrian Electronic Army in an ongoing campaign that has targeted an array of media outlets ranging from The Associated Press to the parody site The....MORE

Need to know

Rising seas a new reality for many

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

PHILADELPHIA — The night Meghan Wren got stranded by floodwaters and had to sleep in her car, she knew it was time for a reckoning. She had been driving to her waterfront home along the Delaware Bay in South Jersey. As she crossed the wide....MORE

Today's read: Back from the brink

Once thought extinct, big trout is recovering

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

PYRAMID LAKE, Nev. — Hour after hour, Brian Dunn lofted his fly line into the turquoise-blue water of this shimmering desert lake north of Reno. Finally, just after lunch, his line straightened and a smile spread on his face. Before long, a 6-....MORE

Israeli Settlement protests

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

A Palestinian hurls stones Friday at Israeli forces, not pictured, as tear gas fumes swirl in the background, during a protest against the expansion of the nearby Jewish settlement of Ofra outside the village of Deir Jarir near Ramallah, West Bank.....MORE

Commuter train crash injures at least 60

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

Two Metro-North Railroad trains collided after a derailment near Fairfield, Conn., at the height of the evening rush Friday, injuring 60 people, five of them critically, and snarling transit corridors in the Northeast, authorities said. An eastbound....MORE

Editor's choice

Treasury knew about IRS probe during 2012

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department’s inspector general told senior Treasury officials in June 2012 he was investigating allegations that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted conservative groups, disclosing for the first time on....MORE

New guide for diagnosing mental illness is fraught

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

For ADHD, the definition is being broadened, meaning the disorder could be diagnosed in more children. In the case of autism, the opposite is true. The new criteria are among the changes that will be released with the publication this weekend of the....MORE

Today in History

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

It’s Saturday, May 18, the 138th day of 2013. There are 227 days left in the year. Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Jack Whitaker is 89. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Brooks Robinson is 76. Bluegrass singer-musician Rodney Dillard (The Dillards) is 71.....MORE

World Briefing

May 18, 2013 4:00 am

Iraq bombings — At least 66 people were killed in bomb blasts in Iraq on Friday, officials said, making it one of the bloodiest days this year as the country struggles to contain spiraling sectarian violence. Two bombs exploded in Baqouba, the ....MORE

Russia sends missiles to Syria

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

Russia has shipped an advanced anti-ship cruise missile to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar Assad, U. S. officials said Thursday. Russia has previously provided Yakhont missiles, ....MORE

Powerful tornadoes rip through Texas

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

Emergency workers search the debris in Granbury, Texas, on Thursday after 10 tornadoes touched down overnight here and in several other small communities in North Texas, leaving at least six people dead, dozens injured and hundreds homeless. The....MORE

Obama: Military rape is ‘shameful’

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — With arrests in the military continuing to shadow its program to combat sexual harassment, President Barack Obama summoned the Pentagon’s senior leaders to the White House on Thursday, telling them that the levels of sexual....MORE

Obama responds to criticism with ‘fix it’ strategy

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — At a news conference in a rainy Rose Garden on Thursday, President Barack Obama and the Turkish prime minister had weighty global matters to discuss, including Syria. But Obama also had something else to say.“With the prime....MORE

Immigration deal reached in House

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

A bipartisan group of House members announced a deal Thursday on sweeping immigration legislation, a breakthrough that could boost chances for one of President Barack Obama’s top second-term priorities. It came after months of secretive talks....MORE

Data trove now guides drug company pitches

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

In the old days, sales representatives from drug companies would chat up local pharmacists to learn what drugs doctors were prescribing. Now such shoulder-rubbing is becoming a quaint memory — thanks to vast databases of patient and doctor....MORE

Bombing blamed on wars

• Younger suspect left ‘deathbed’ note in boat, officials say

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

As police and federal agents pursued him in a Boston suburb four days after the marathon bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev left a “deathbed" note scrawled inside the hull of the boat where he was hiding that said the attack was retribution for wars....MORE

Editor's choice

The strange case of an alleged spy

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

ST. LOUIS-The freshman-year roommates at Colgate University would talk about what they hoped to do after college. They were just 18 or 19, their paths barely formed. But they had some ideas. One wanted to be a lawyer. Another, a music producer. And....MORE

In D.C.

Merkley urged IRS to verify 501(c)(4) groups

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — More than a year before the Internal Revenue Service apologized for unfairly targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny, seven Democratic senators, including Oregon’s Jeff Merkley, urged the IRS to be on the lookout....MORE

World Briefing

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

Jodi Arias trial — Jurors deciding the fate of Jodi Arias, who murdered her one-time lover in 2008, were brought to tears Thursday by statements from the victim's family. “The nature of my brother's murder has had a major impact on me,"....MORE

Birthdays History

Today

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

— From wire reportsIt’s Friday, May 17, the 137th day of 2013. There are 228 days left in the year. Highlight: In 1973, a special committee convened by the U. S. Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal. In 1510, Early ....MORE

Cutting edge

Cardiac challenges? Docs press ‘print’

May 17, 2013 4:00 am

It may sound like something out of science fiction, but doctors at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington are making hearts. Not actual hearts, but three-dimensional synthetic models churned out by what looks like an ordinary printer.....MORE

Walden, Wyden critical of DOJ’s seizure of phone logs

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle criticized the Department of Justice on Wednesday for seizing phone records of The Associated Press without first providing the newswire the opportunity to resist the subpoena. The outcry has....MORE

IRS chief is ousted

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

Hurrying to check a growing controversy, President Barack Obama ousted the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service late Wednesday amid an outcry over revelations that the agency had improperly targeted tea party groups for scrutiny when....MORE

In focus: therapeutic cloning

In a first, stem cells produced from cloning technique

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

For the first time, scientists have created human embryos that are genetic copies of living people and used them to make stem cells — a feat that paves the way for treating a range of diseases with personalized body tissues but also ignites....MORE

Emails show jostling over Benghazi talking points

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — One hundred pages of emails released by the White House on Wednesday reveal intensive jostling among top intelligence and diplomatic officials over the government’s “talking points" in the aftermath of....MORE

In focus: Associated Press phone records

Criticized, White House pushes media shield law

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — Under fire over the Justice Department’s use of a broad subpoena to obtain calling records of Associated Press reporters in connection with a leak investigation, the Obama administration sought on Wednesday to revive....MORE

World Briefing

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

Texas tornadoes — Officials say at least six people were killed when a spring tornado outbreak devastated parts of North Texas, destroying or damaging dozens of homes and injuring dozens of people. Cambodia factory deaths — The ceiling of ....MORE

Geothermal drilling proposed

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

A Nevada geothermal power plant developer wants to drill 16 exploratory wells on public and private land about 70 miles southeast of Bend, and the Bureau of Land Management is taking public comments about the proposal until Saturday. Ormat Nevada, a....MORE

Eurozone politics prevent big action

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

PARIS — The eurozone economy shrank for a record sixth consecutive quarter in the first three months of the year, according to data released Wednesday. But when European heads of state meet next week in Brussels, don’t look for any big....MORE

Regulators soften Dodd-Frank rule

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

In the battle over regulation, Wall Street is poised to notch another win. Lobbyists for the nation’s biggest banks have persuaded federal regulators to soften a proposed rule under the Dodd-Frank Act, the financial overhaul law passed after....MORE

O.J. makes his case

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

LAS VEGAS — His leg shackles rattling as he shuffled to the witness stand, a grayer, bulkier O. J. Simpson made his case for a new trial on armed robbery charges Wednesday, saying he was relying on the advice of his trusted attorney when he....MORE

Editor's choice

Why the airlines ask for devices to be off

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — The regional airliner was climbing past 9,000 feet when its compasses went haywire, leading pilots several miles off course until a flight attendant persuaded a passenger in row 9 to switch off an iPhone.“The timing of the....MORE

For schools, safety vs. innocence

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

CHICAGO — When a police officer acting as a shooter in a safety drill begins trolling the hallways, students at public schools in Plainfield, Ill., hear an announcement over the PA system and react: They follow their teacher into a closet or....MORE

Birthdays History

Today

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

— From wire reportsActor Pierce Brosnan is 60. Singer Janet Jackson is 47. Political correspondent Tucker Carlson is 44. Actress Tori Spelling is 40. Actress Megan Fox is 27. It’s Thursday, May 16, the 136th day of 2013. There are 229....MORE

Research

On the trail of pollution in the world’s megacities

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

LOS ANGELES — Every time Los Angeles exhales, odd-looking gadgets anchored in the mountains above the city trace the invisible puffs of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases that waft skyward. Halfway around the globe, similar....MORE

Science

NASA progressing on catching an asteroid

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Scheming to rearrange the heavens, scientists are busy planning how to pluck, push and park a spinning asteroid between here and the moon. While most of us hope to dodge space rocks, NASA has unveiled an ambitious, $105....MORE

2 new diseases could both spark global outbreaks

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

LONDON — Two respiratory viruses in different parts of the world have captured the attention of global health officials — a novel coronavirus in the Middle East and a new bird flu spreading in China. Last week, the coronavirus related to....MORE

In fight against Medicare fraud, equipment firms under scrutiny

May 16, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — Dr. Charlotte Kennedy first became suspicious earlier this year when she received a fax from a medical supply company asking her to authorize a back brace for a 92-year-old patient. The doctor from Chesterfield, Mo., had recently....MORE

Report on IRS cites management failures

May 15, 2013 4:00 am

WASHINGTON — Ineffective management at the Internal Revenue Service allowed agents to improperly target tea party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax- exempt status, an internal Treasury Department report said Tuesday. Lax....MORE

Looking ahead: unmanned aircraft

Navy drone, in a first, is catapulted from an aircraft carrier into flight

May 15, 2013 4:00 am

For the first time in naval aviation history, a drone was catapulted off the deck of an aircraft carrier and soared into flight. The U. S. Navy conducted the test Tuesday from aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush off the Virginia coast with its X-47B ....MORE