US Marine killed after vehicle capsizes, sinks in Oceanside Harbor, California

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US Marine killed after vehicle capsizes, sinks in Oceanside Harbor, California

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US Marine killed after vehicle capsizes, sinks in Oceanside Harbor, California

An amphibious vehicle belonging to the United States Marines capsized and sank to the floor of the Del Mar boat basin, California at 1130 PST (1930 UTC) resulting in one death and three injures.

Three instructors and three students were conducting driver training when the vehicle capsized and sank, trapping them inside. Three injured individuals were transported to hospital and two were uninjured. The deceased Marine was rescued at around 1415 PST and was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1447 PST. Oxygen was being pumped into the vehicle for hours in an attempt to keep the Marine alive.

Captain Daniel J. Thomas revealed that "There will be a thorough investigation into this mishap that occurred." He continued, "[there will be] reports that come, lessons learned in terms of preventing anything like this from happening." Major Thomas said that training would not be stopped, but "We’re going to take a look at this and the commander will then make a decision before anything goes back into place to make sure any safety briefing that need to be given are conducted."

The identity of the dead Marine has not yet been revealed; the family have yet to have been notified.

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Tucson gunman appears in court for Giffords shooting

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Tucson gunman appears in court for Giffords shooting

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Tucson gunman appears in court for Giffords shooting

Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old former college student, has appeared in federal court following the shooting on Saturday at a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona. The shooting killed five people including John Roll, a federal judge, and injured 19 including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Loughner has been charged in federal court with attempted assassination of a member of Congress, first-degree murder and attempting to kill employees of the federal government. Prosecutors for the State of Arizona are trying to determine whether they can bring charges for the other killings and attempted killings in state court.

Loughner confirmed his identity to the court and was denied bail but did not enter a plea. He stated that he understood the potential punishment for the charges include the death penalty or life imprisonment. He is being represented by Judy Clarke, who has previously defended Theodore Kaczynski (the 'Unabomber') and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Surgeons have had to perform emergency surgery on Giffords, including a hemicraniectomy, which involves removing a large section of her skull to reduce the pressure from the swelling in the brain caused by the gunshot wound. Dr. Michael Lemole, one neurosurgeon operating on Giffords said that she was "not out of the woods yet". He also noted that "swelling can sometimes take three days or five days to maximize. But every day that goes by and we don't see an increase, we're slightly more optimistic." Giffords has been able to respond to basic commands from doctors like holding up two fingers.

Meanwhile, debates rage following allegations that Loughner had a political basis for his attack. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik blamed some extreme rhetoric in the media. "The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. This has not become the nice United States of America that most of us grew up in and I think it's time that we do the soul-searching."

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Release of Verizon iPhone set for early February

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Release of Verizon iPhone set for early February

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Release of Verizon iPhone set for early February

In a Tuesday media event, Verizon Wireless announced it had reached an agreement with Apple Inc. and would begin selling a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 beginning early February. The move means the end of rival company AT&T's status as the only official US carrier of the iPhone, a status it held since the first iPhone debuted in 2007.

The press conference, held in New York City, was hosted by Verizon's president, Lowell McAdam, Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, and Verizon Wireless' chief executive officer, Dan Mead. Neither Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg nor Apple CEO Steve Jobs attended the conference. During the event, McAdam said, "If the press writes something long enough and hard enough, it eventually comes true. We're bringing the fruit of our labor with a giant partner, and that's Apple." Such a partnership had been rumored for years, and the amount of speculation grew over the past few months.

iPhone 4 pre-orders for current Verizon users begin February 3, and a public release is scheduled for February 10. The "Verizon iPhone," as it has been dubbed for months, has been altered from the original iPhone 4 so it can utilize Verizon's 3G CDMA (code division multiple access) network. This means, however, that Verizon iPhone users will not be able to use the company's 4G LTE (long term evolution) network, and will thus be unable to make calls and access the Internet at the same time. Cook told the audience that the LTE hardware was not ready yet, saying, "The first generation LTE chip sets force some design compromises, some of which we would not make. Secondly—and most importantly—Verizon Wireless customers have told us they want the iPhone now." However, Verizon's iPhone 4 allows the user to create a personal Wi-Fi hotspot, which means up to five other wireless devices can connect to the Internet through the phone.

Pricing was announced as US$199 for a 16 GB version and US$299 for a 32 GB version, both requiring two-year contracts—the same cost for an AT&T iPhone 4. However, Verizon said it would not mention the cost of data plans at this time, with Mead saying, "We talked about the device pricing, but we're not going to talk about the pricing for the network for that connectivity."

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US President Barack Obama speaks at memorial for Arizona shooting victims

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US President Barack Obama speaks at memorial for Arizona shooting victims

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US President Barack Obama speaks at memorial for Arizona shooting victims

United States President Barack Obama spoke at a memorial in Tucson, Arizona Wednesday night, in the wake of last Saturday's mass shooting. Earlier in the day, Obama visited five people injured in the attack, including Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona.

Obama spoke to almost 14,000 people in the University of Arizona's McKale Center, as well as 13,000 others outside. During a 33-minute-long speech, he attempted to begin the "healing process," urging the nation "to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds." He recognized the victims of the incident as well as those who helped the wounded immediately after the shooting.

Jared Lee Loughner, aged 22, is accused of opening fire on a "Congress on Your Corner" event on January 8, killing six people and injuring thirteen others. The incident has sparked a fiery political debate on whether intense political campaigns could incite violence.

During his speech, Obama said of Giffords' condition, "Gabby opened her eyes so I can tell you know she knows we are here, she knows that we love her and she knows that we are rooting for her through what will undoubtedly be a difficult journey." Peter Rhee, a trauma surgeon at Tuscon's University Medical Center, said Giffords is making progress and is able to move more.

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Church Bombing in Alexandria, Egypt kills at least 21

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Church Bombing in Alexandria, Egypt kills at least 21

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Church Bombing in Alexandria, Egypt kills at least 21

Alexandria, Egypt - Christians clashed with Egyptian police in the northern city of Alexandria on Saturday, furious over an apparent suicide bombing targeting worshippers leaving a church after New Year's Mass. At least 21 people were killed in the worst violence against the country's Christian minority in a decade.

The Interior Ministry blamed "foreign elements," and Alexandria's governor accused al Qaeda, pointing to its branch in Iraq, which has carried out attacks on Christians there and has threatened Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christian community as well.

Egypt's government has long insisted that al Qaeda does not have a significant presence in the country, and it has never been conclusively linked to any attacks in Egypt. Al Qaeda involvement would raise the prospect of a serious new security threat within Egypt.

The bombing, about 12:30 a.m., stoked tensions that have grown in recent years between Egypt's Christians and the Muslim majority.

It was dramatically different from past attacks on Christians, which included shootings but not serious bombings. Christians have increasingly blamed the government for not taking seriously violence against them or anti-Christian sentiment among Muslim hard-liners.

In the wake of the bombing, they unleashed their rage at authorities.

"Now it's between Christians and the government, not between Muslims and Christians," shrieked one Christian woman as several hundred young men clashed with riot police in the street outside the targeted church. As the rioters threw stones and bottles, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas. Some of the protesters beat Muslim passers-by.

Alexandria, the famed city of antiquity, was once Egypt's most cosmopolitan city, with a mix of Muslims, Christians and foreigners. In the last decade it has become a stronghold for Islamic hard-liners. Stabbings at three Alexandria churches in 2006 sparked three days of Muslim-Christian riots that left at least four dead.

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Myspace woes continue

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Myspace woes continue

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Myspace woes continue

Myspace, a once fruitful social networking site, is now at a crossroads in what to do next with the websites future. Founded in August 2003, Myspace quickly found itself as the dominant player in social networking surpassing other sites such as Bebo and Hi5. Seeing what many calling its best years from 2004-late 2008, Myspace still was a dominant player, but with the rise of Facebook, Myspace has slowly lost a lot of its traffic to the now current player in social networking. Facebook added new features to attract traffic to the site which has aided in the decline of Myspace.

Over the last few years, as Facebook became the dominate player in social networking which has prompted its ailing competitor to make changes to its music service, videos, layouts, and various other parts of the site. Last year Myspace even implemented the option to connect via Facebook login. The other 2010 updates to the stream, profiles, and colours of the site were that of what Facebook has done already. This was done in an attempt to attract users back to Myspace, but some see this as a sign that Myspace is falling to Facebook.

While there has been speculation that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has been looking to sell off Myspace, they would have to sell the ailing social networking site at drastically less then what they paid for it like AOL did when they sold Bebo. News Corp bought Myspace for $580 million in 2005. It was even valued at $12 billion when News Corp attempted to merge Myspace with Yahoo. News Corp’s chief operating officer Chase Carey has described the site as a “problem” and said that a sale or partnership with Internet giants such as Yahoo or AOL were two of a number of options under consideration.

Carey, who has previously described Myspace’s losses as "neither acceptable or sustainable" has refused to set a deadline for the social networking site to return to profitability before it pushes ahead with a sale. "I'm not going to break down [the number of] quarters," he said. "It's not years... we need to deal with this with urgency." But Carey also said the company’s engineers had done a "very good job" at redesigning Myspace to help it better match market leaders Facebook and Twitter. He said it would have been "pretty tough" to sell Myspace before the revamp.

With the restructuring, Myspace is cutting jobs internationally with cuts in the UK and Europe. In 2009, the website closed offices in four countries. When Myspace announced the closing of those offices, it cames weeks after Myspace laid off 420 jobs from what Owen Van Natta, the then Myspace chief executive, described as its "bloated" United States operation. Myspace's international employees was expected to go from 450 to 150 during that time. The United Kingdom is the biggest base for Myspace outside of the United States. Van Natta said: "MySpace's staffing had become too big and cumbersome to be sustainable in current market conditions. Today's proposed changes are designed to transform and refine our international growth strategy."

"With roughly half of Myspace's total user base coming from outside the US maintaining productive and efficient operations in our international markets is important to users worldwide and our immediate financial strength," he added.

Now in 2011, Myspace will layoff most of the people from it's international offices. "Everybody is expecting some kind of announcement next week," said a digital executive close to Myspace. "And there is not much hope left for the international offices. A few staff will probably remain, but essentially, everybody at MySpace is expecting the international operation to be closed down. MySpace isn't making money and News Corporation needs to cut more costs dramatically."

After last years swingeing cuts, the only Myspace international offices which remain are in London, Berlin and Sydney.

London and Sydney’s respective offices employ around 55 people each, while Myspace’s Berlin office employs around 20 staff. The United States will see 50 percent of the Myspace employees laid off which has the majority of the Myspace employees.

As of June 2010, Myspace has an about 66 million users. It has also slipped to 25th in the Internet rankings.

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Obama signs healthcare bill for 9/11 emergency workers

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Obama signs healthcare bill for 9/11 emergency workers

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Obama signs healthcare bill for 9/11 emergency workers

On Sunday, January 2, United States President Barack Obama signed into law a five-year benefit package to provide healthcare treatment for emergency workers including police, firefighters, and rescue workers affected by illness and respiratory problems contracted while working at the site of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001.

The bill—the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which is named after a police officer who died of a respiratory illness he got during a rescue operation at the World Trade Center — will provide $4.2 billion over the next five years. This money will be raised by increasing a levy on foreign companies that win procurement contracts from the United States government.

The new legislation also provides new funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a federal program for victims of the terrorist attacks.

President Obama signed the bill in Kailua, Hawaii, where he is staying on vacation. In a statement, Obama said: "We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers and first responders who risked their lives to save others. I believe this is a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks."

The law was the only one that passed through Congress during the lame-duck session in December, with some Republican opposition. New York Senators and Congressmen have praised the passage of the measures.

"The heroes who rushed to Ground Zero in the hours and days after the attacks will not be forgotten. These first responders were like veterans, and this law keeps with a time-honored tradition of standing by our veterans when they get harmed answering the call." said Charles Schumer, Democratic Senator from New York. He also vowed to "begin work immediately to make sure this law gets renewed for another five years".

New York Republican congressman Peter T. King said that "Justice is finally being served", and that the passing of the law marked "A great day for America."

Democratic congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney said that "The Zadroga law will save lives and fulfills our moral obligation to care for those who rose to the defense of America in a time of war."

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Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Araucanía, Chile, no tsunami warning

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Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Araucanía, Chile, no tsunami warning

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Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Araucanía, Chile, no tsunami warning

A strong Earthquake struck central and southern Chile on Sunday evening. The earthquake reached a magnitude of 7.1, and occurred at 20:20:16 UTC (17:20:16 local time), at a depth of 16.9 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake was centered near the town of Tirúa; 70 kilometers northwest of Temuco, Araucanía Region; 90 kilometers south-southeast of Lebu, Bío Bío Region; 130 kilometers southwest of Los Ángeles, Bío Bío; and 595 kilometers south-southwest of Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region.

"At coastal locations which have experienced strong ground shaking, local tsunamis are possible due to underwater landslides," the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement. Radio Bío Bío reported that the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy had ruled out the possibility of a tsunami in Chilean coasts. However, according to ADN Radio, coastal zones are undergoing precautionary evacuations.

The National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry reported that there were power outages, although some of these appear to have been controlled outages, where power was purposefully cut to access damage. The earthquake was felt from the O'Higgins Region to the Araucanía, in cities such as Rancagua and Talca. The earthquake was also reportedly felt in Temuco, where officials at the city's airport said it caused no damage. According to Vicente Núñez, director of ONEMI, this earthquake "is not related to the February 27, 2010 one."

The University of Chile Seismological Service reported that the earthquake occurred offshore Lebu, 149 kilometers west of Tirúa, at a depth of 29.5 kilometers, and that it reached a magnitude of 6.5. The service later updated the magnitude to 6.9.

Many aftershocks have been reported by residents in the area, although only one has been reported by the University of Chile Seismological Service: a magnitude 5.3 seism that occurred 54 kilometers northwest of Tirúa, at a depth of 32.1 kilometers.

"I'm arriving at the National Emergencies Office, in order to monitor consequences of tremors in the south and the needs of the people," President Sebastián Piñera (@sebastianpinera) said on Twitter. Piñera announced in a press conference that the National Emergencies Office "would be reorganized into a new agency."

Several other seisms have occurred throughout the day in Chile: a magnitude 3.7, east of Valparaíso; a 4.7, and a 3.7 magnitude seism centered west of Pichilemu, O'Higgins Region; a 3.6 tremor centered northwest of Los Vilos, Coquimbo Region; and a 4.7 seism that occurred northwest of Talca, Maule.

It was reported at 19:25 local time (22:25 UTC) that electricity has been restored almost completely in the Tirúa area.

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Pakistan: At least eleven killed by US drone strikes

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Pakistan: At least eleven killed by US drone strikes

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Pakistan: At least eleven killed by US drone strikes

Pakistan officials have stated that two US Drone strikes have killed eleven people in the country today. The attacks occurred to the north of Miranshah town in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan.

Security officials in the town informed AFP that in the first strike, US drones fired four missiles on a car, killing seven suspected militants. A nearby "militant compound" was also destroyed by the missiles. "Three militants were killed in the car while four were killed in the house," the official said.The second attack occurred within minutes of the first, and four militants, who were carrying on rescue work were killed by the two missiles that had been fired.

Intelligence officials believe that the militants were associated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur. "We are trying to establish identity of the militants but most of them are believed to be fighters of Hafiz Gul Bahadur," an official told the media. However, the death toll and the identity of those killed was not officially confirmed. A local official stated that they had heard reports stating "that four foreigners were also killed in these fresh attacks". However, he added that their identity is "still not known" and mentioned that they "are collecting more information."

Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet.

AFP is based in Paris, with regional centres in Washington, Hong Kong, Nicosia, São Paulo, Montevideo and bureaux in 110 countries. It transmits news in French, English, Arabic, Spanish, German, and Portuguese.

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Parcel found at US Embassy in Rome, taken as a false alarm

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Parcel found at US Embassy in Rome, taken as a false alarm

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Parcel found at US Embassy in Rome, taken as a false alarm

A Parcel containing ordinary stationery supplies has been found at the US embassy of Rome, rising high alert to bomb experts, policemen and normal people. It has also been the latest in a series of letter bombs sent to foreign missions in Rome. It is being referred to as a false alarm to the Embassy, police officials said overlooking the Circus Maximus field. .

Bomb experts determined that the parcel contained ordinary stationery supplies, Embassy spokesman J. Nathan Bland reported. Italian bomb squad officials were sent to the Holy See but the Embassy, located on Rome’s Aventine hill, was not evacuated.

It was highly feared for recent parcel bombings in other places like at the Chilean and Swiss embassies in Rome on Friday, injuring two staffers. A third parcel bomb was found at the Greek embassy on Monday, which did not explode. An Italian group, the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI), claimed responsibility for parcel bombs sent to the embassies. Since frequent attacks have been noticed, U.S. authorities have tightened security procedures at their embassies.

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