Peres tasks Netanyahu with forming new Israeli government

JERUSALEM: Israeli President Shimon Peres tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday with forming a new government after two days of intense talks with the parties recently elected to the new parliament."I have decided to charge Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the government," Peres said at a press conference at his official residence in Jerusalem, after 82 of the 120 members...

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NASA marks 10th anniversary of Columbia disaster

Evelyn Husband-Thompson, widow of Columbia Commander Rick Husband, remembers the fallen crew and the devastating impact of the 2003 disaster in a ceremony Friday at the Space Mirror Memorial honoring fallen astronauts.(Credit:William Harwood/CBS News)In an emotional memorial service, the widow of the shuttle Columbia's commander recalled their last meeting the day before launch and the devastation...

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Clinton's legacy: Smart power, celebrity status

(CBS News) After four years as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton was officially replaced by Sen. John Kerry Friday. An improbable pick after a tough primary battle with Barack Obama back in 2008, Clinton has used her celebrity status around the world to make changes both at home and abroad. John Kerry sworn in as secretary of state In a heartfelt goodbye to thousands of State Department employees...

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Obama Clings to Shotgun in WH Photo

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)After a week of speculation over the authenticity of claims by President Obama that he regularly participated in skeet shooting at Camp David, the White House released a photograph today showing him firing a shotgun.The photo shows Obama targeting clay pigeons at the presidential retreat last August, according to the White House. In an interview published...

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Suicide bomber kills guard at U.S. embassy in Turkey

ANKARA (Reuters) - A far-leftist suicide bomber killed a Turkish security guard at the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Friday, officials said, blowing open an entrance and sending debris flying through the air. The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body after entering an embassy gatehouse. The blast could be heard a mile away. A lower leg and other human remains lay on the street. ...

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Tennis: Nadal braced for struggle on return to action

SANTIAGO: Rafael Nadal admits that he could find things tough on his return to competitive tennis next week after seven months on the sidelines.The Spaniard arrived in Santiago on Friday amid great expectation and was received by Chilean president Sebastian Pinera at his residence, La Moneda Palace.Nadal, an 11-time Grand Slam winner, is preparing to take part in the ATP event in Vina...

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Friday Poll: Will the Z10 save BlackBerry?

The release of the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone will be remembered as either a breath of new life for the company or a last gasp as it fell into irrelevance. By all accounts, the Z10 is a tremendous step forward in design and hardware over previous BlackBerrys, but it's coming at a time when the smartphone market is crowded with established contenders with massive app stores already in place.CNET contributor...

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Cell users complain: Too many Amber Alerts

LOS ANGELES The next time a child is abducted near you, your cell phone may shriek to life with an alert message. A new national Amber Alert system officially rolled out earlier this month to millions of cell phones, and because the alerts are automatically active on most newer phones, the messages have already taken tens of thousands of people by surprise. The newly-expanded emergency alert system...

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Ala. Hostage Suspect Had Court Date Scheduled

The retired Alabama trucker who shot a school bus driver and is now holding a kindergarten student in an underground bunker was scheduled to be in court Wednesday to answer for allegedly shooting at his neighbors in a dispute over a damaged speed bump.Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, has been holed up in a 6 by 8 foot bunker 4 feet underground with a 5-year-old autistic boy named Ethan...

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Syria protests Israel attack, warns of "surprise"

BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria warned on Thursday of a possible "surprise" response to Israel's attack on its territory and Russia condemned the air strike as an unprovoked violation of international law. Damascus could take "a surprise decision to respond to the aggression of the Israeli warplanes", Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali said a day after Israel struck against...

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Biden to meet Russian FM, Syrian opposition leader

WASHINGTON: US Vice President Joe Biden will discuss the carnage in Syria in meetings on Saturday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Syrian opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib, the White House said.Biden will hold the meetings, and also see UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi at the Munich Security Conference on a trip that will also include talks with leaders of Germany,...

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CES gives Dish Hopper with Sling 'Best of Show' award

The Consumer Electronics Association, a trade organization that represents 2,000 technology companies and runs the International Consumer Electronics Show, announced today that the Dish Hopper with Sling HD DVR is joining the Razer Edge gaming tablet as a co-winner of the 2013 Best of Show in the CES awards program. The CEA also designated the Dish Hopper a 2013 Design and Engineering Award Honoree...

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3 dead in mile-long Detroit freeway pile-up

A section of multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 75 is shown in Detroit, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. Snow squalls and slippery roads led to a series of accidents that left at least three people dead and 20 injured on a mile-long stretch of southbound I-75. More than two dozen vehicles, including tractor-trailers, were involved in the pileups. / AP Photo/Paul Sancya DETROIT Snow squalls and slippery...

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Hagel, McCain Butt Heads at Confirmation Hearing

Facing a rocky confirmation process, Chuck Hagel today defended his record before his former Senate colleagues, including an openly impatient Sen. John McCain."I'm on the record on many issues, but no one individual vote, no one individual quote, no one individual statement defines me," Hagel said in his opening statement at his first confirmation hearing for secretary of defense."My...

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Egypt curfew scaled back as Mursi seeks end to bloodshed

CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Authorities in an Egyptian city scaled back a curfew imposed by President Mohamed Mursi, and the Islamist leader cut short a visit to Europe on Wednesday to deal with the deadliest violence in the seven months since he took power. Two more protesters were shot dead before dawn near Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Wednesday, a day after the army chief warned that...

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Bill Gates says fame not goal in aid work

NEW YORK: Bill Gates, one of the world's richest men and highest profile aid donors, says he doesn't care if he's forgotten after his death -- as long as polio and other major diseases have been eradicated."I don't need to be remembered at all," the co-founder of Microsoft, 57, told AFP in New York.Gates has a fortune estimated by Forbes at US$66 billion, second only to Mexican telecoms...

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BackBlaze iPhone app gives access to online backups

Backblaze's iOS app gives access to an account holder's backed-up PC files.(Credit:Backblaze)Backblaze, an online backup start-up, announced plans to release an iPhone app in coming weeks to let customers tap into their files."Having restored 2.5 billion files for our customers, we found that 22 percent of recoveries contained a single file and realized customers were using Backblaze to access their...

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Teen inaugural performer shot dead in Chicago

CHICAGO A teenage girl who attended presidential inauguration activities in Washington earlier this month was shot to death at a Chicago park. Play VideoChicago mother takes stand against gun violencePlay VideoChicago mayor puts pressure on gunmakers Police say 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot in the back Tuesday and later died at University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. An unidentified...

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Giffords to Senate: 'Americans Are Counting on You'

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, whose congressional career was ended by a bullet wound to her head, opened a Senate hearing on gun violence today by telling the panel, "Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important."In a determined and forceful voice, she told the Senators to be "courageous" because "Americans are counting on you."Giffords sat alongside...

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Army warns unrest pushing Egypt to the brink

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief said political unrest was pushing the state to the brink of collapse - a stark warning from the institution that ran the country until last year as Cairo's first freely elected leader struggles to curb bloody street violence. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a U.S.-trained general appointed by President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the armed forces,...

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US consumer confidence down sharply in January

WASHINGTON: US consumer confidence dove sharply for the second straight month in January, the Conference Board said Tuesday, with rising taxes cited as a likely reason for the surge in gloom.The board's consumer confidence index sank to 58.6 in January from 66.7 in December, far below the 2012 peak of 73.1 in October.The January level was also below where the index stood in January 2012,...

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Creepy realistic vampire baby dolls are immortal

Awww, what a cutie-patootie!(Credit:Bean Shanine)Thanks to "Twilight," vampires are more popular than ever. It's only natural that people would want their own vampire babies, isn't it? OK, maybe not, but there is a niche market out there for vampire baby dolls. I'm not talking about action figures or stuffed toys, I'm talking about dolls so realistic you'll feel like you've crossed the Uncanny Valley...

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Clinton reveals her biggest regret as secretary of state

In a global "town hall" with young people today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about her legacy -- including the parallels between her tenure as secretary of state and another historical diplomat's -- and her future of helping women in politics. "I do want to see more women compete for the highest positions in their countries," Clinton said in the "Global Townterview," a Washington event...

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Palin and Fox Part Ways, but Is She Really Over?

Sarah Palin's break up with Fox News should not have been, well, breaking news, as she had publicly complained in August on Facebook that the network had canceled her appearances at the Republican National Convention. And going back even further, Palin didn't give Fox the scoop in October 2011 when she announced she wasn't going to run for president. Still, the news of the...

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Violence flares in Egypt after emergency law imposed

CAIRO (Reuters) - A man was shot dead on Monday in a fifth day of violence that has killed 50 Egyptians and prompted the Islamist president to declare a state of emergency in an attempt to end a wave of unrest sweeping the biggest Arab nation. Emergency rule announced by President Mohamed Mursi on Sunday covers the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. The army has already been deployed...

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