TMCnet News
AP Top News at 6:05 p.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Taylor Swift talks books and music with kidsNEW YORK (AP) — Who says kids don't read? Not Taylor Swift. The superstar made a stop Tuesday night on her busy tour promoting her new album to share her passion for reading and writing with a gaggle of New York City public school kids — and 100 more giggling on computer screens via Skype from classrooms in Michigan and California. AP IMPACT: US health care unprepared for EbolaThe U.S. health care apparatus is so unprepared and short on resources to deal with the deadly Ebola virus that even small clusters of cases could overwhelm parts of the system, according to an Associated Press review of readiness at hospitals and other components of the emergency medical network. Experts broadly agree that a widespread nationwide outbreak is extremely unlikely, but they also concur that it is impossible to predict with certainty, since previous Ebola epidemics have been confined to remote areas of Africa. And Ebola is not the only possible danger that causes concern; experts say other deadly infectious diseases — ranging from airborne viruses such as SARS, to an unforeseen new strain of the flu, to more exotic plagues like Lassa fever — could crash the health care system. Pentagon orders 21-day Ebola quarantine for troopsWASHINGTON (AP) — Ordering firm restrictions for U.S. troops returning from West Africa, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday that the military men and women helping fight Ebola must undergo 21-day quarantines — longer than required for many civilian health care workers. In Maine, meanwhile, a civilian nurse was vigorously resisting the quarantine she was told to undergo. Kaci Hickox, who had treated Ebola patients in West Africa, said she planned to stop quarantining herself in her home, signaling a potential showdown on Thursday with state police monitoring her movements and Maine officials preparing to legally enforce the order. Dems rush to save suddenly vulnerable incumbentsWASHINGTON (AP) — Desperate Democrats are rushing to save suddenly vulnerable House incumbents, even in states where President Barack Obama cruised to double-digit victories, amid fresh signs of Republican momentum less than a week before the midterm elections. The once friendly terrain of New York, California, Obama's native state of Hawaii and adopted state of Illinois all now pose stiff challenges to Democrats who are determined to limit their losses next Tuesday. Both parties agree the GOP will hold its House majority; the question is whether Republicans can gain enough seats to rival their post-World War II high water mark of 246. Al-Qaida: IS should rejoin group and fight WestWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence analysts are closely watching al-Qaida's overtures to the renegade Islamic State to reunite and fight the West, and while a full reconciliation is not on the horizon, there is evidence the two groups have curtailed their feud and are cooperating on the Syrian battlefield. The al-Qaida global terror network recently has extended olive branches to the rival Islamic State through messages released by its affiliates around the world. The most recent was on Oct. 17 from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based offshoot that denounced the airstrikes and called on rival militant groups to stop their infighting and together train their sights on Western targets. Al-Qaida also has sent emissaries to Syria on unsuccessful missions to get the rival groups working together. Video shows FBI impersonating repairmen in ruseWASHINGTON (AP) — It was an extraordinary ruse. Dramatic new video obtained by The Associated Press, filmed through the lapel camera carried by an undercover government agent, shows how the FBI tricked its way inside a luxury villa at Caesars Palace as part of a major international gambling bust. Defense lawyers said the FBI shut off Internet access to the suspects then impersonated repair technicians to get inside and collect evidence. Russian rocket engines suspected in launch blastCHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (AP) — Crews searched for scorched wreckage along the Virginia coast Wednesday in hopes of figuring out why an unmanned commercial rocket exploded in a blow to NASA's strategy of using private companies to fly supplies and, eventually, astronauts to the International Space Station. The 140-foot Antares rocket, operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., blew up 15 seconds after lifting off for the space station Tuesday, lighting up the night sky and raining flaming debris on the launch site. No one was injured, but the $200 million-plus mission was a total loss. Court orders for Texas pastors' speeches withdrawnHOUSTON (AP) — Houston city attorneys have withdrawn subpoenas that sought speeches and other information from five pastors who publicly opposed an ordinance banning discrimination of gay and transgender residents, the mayor said Wednesday. Mayor Annise Parker said the subpoenas, which the city pursued after opponents filed a lawsuit seeking a vote on repealing the ordinance, inadvertently created a national debate about freedom of religion. The pastors, who aren't plaintiffs but support repeal efforts, argued that their sermons, presentations and other material were protected under the First Amendment. Girls' jihadi quest stirs Muslim communities' fearAURORA, Colo. (AP) — The strange journey of three suburban Denver girls who authorities say tried to join Islamic State militants in Syria has many in their close-knit east African community worried about whether their own children will be the next to be lured to terror. The girls' voyage has mystified many in the U.S., and has been even more troubling among Aurora's Somali and Sudanese immigrants, thousands of whom fled civil war and forged new lives in the Denver suburbs, where refugees easily find jobs driving cabs or working in the meat industry. Police: Man decapitates mother, is killed by trainFARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — A man with a history of psychiatric problems decapitated his mother and then killed himself by walking into the path of an oncoming train, police said Wednesday. Neighbors initially took the woman's killing as a macabre Halloween prank. Patricia Ward, a 66-year-old professor, was killed in her Farmingdale apartment and dragged onto the street in her working-class neighborhood, Nassau County Police Detective Lieutenant John Azzata said. Her 35-year-old son, Derek Ward, was killed by a Long Island Rail Road train. Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |