U.S. isn't ready for superstorms












































Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


Long, slow recovery from Superstorm Sandy


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Hillary Clinton to be back at work Monday






WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will return to work on Monday after a month-long absence caused by a series of health scares, including a blood clot in her head, the State Department said.

Clinton's return, after she was taken ill on her return from a trip to Europe on December 7, was announced in the department's public schedule for the week ahead released late Sunday.

According to the schedule, the US top diplomat will meet at 9:15 am (1415 GMT) on Monday with her assistant secretaries at the State Department in Washington. The meetings will be closed to the press.

A series of other meetings is planned through the week including talks at the White House on Tuesday with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and National Security Advisor Tom Donilon.

On Thursday, Clinton will host visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the State Department and also welcome him for a working dinner.

Last week, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton was "raring" to get back to work after being treated in a New York hospital for the blood clot discovered in a vein behind her right ear.

The globe-trotting 65-year-old diplomat was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital on December 30 after a routine scan revealed the clot in the space between her skull and her brain.

Clinton left hospital late Wednesday after three days of treatment, and headed to her home in Chappaqua, New York, as doctors who have prescribed her blood thinners said they expect her to make a full recovery.

"She's looking forward to getting back to the office," Nuland said on Thursday. "She is very much planning to do so next week."

Nuland said there had been an outpouring of support for Clinton from well-wishers from around the world. "I think you could call the number of goodwill messages a tsunami," she said.

It is unlikely though that Clinton, the most-traveled secretary of state after notching up almost a million miles and 112 countries during her four years in office, will undertake any more foreign travel in her last weeks in the job.

Her doctors have advised her against any international travel for a while, and Clinton is due to step down towards the end of the month.

President Barack Obama has named veteran senator John Kerry as her successor, and he is set to sail through his confirmation hearings later this month.

Clinton first fell ill with a virulent stomach virus, which caused her to become dehydrated and faint, causing a concussion. The blood clot is believed to have resulted from her fall.

-AFP/ac



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NHL, players reach tentative agreement









From Maria P. White and Josh Levs, CNN


updated 1:11 PM EST, Sun January 6, 2013







Mike Brown of the Toronto Maple Leafs strips the puck from Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings during a game last January.




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: Games could resume "hopefully, within a few days," Fehr says

  • Fans react with a mix of frustration and excitement

  • The two sides reach an agreement after a marathon negotiating session

  • If approved, the agreement would end a three-month lockout




(CNN) -- The National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association struck a tentative agreement early Sunday that may end a three-month lockout of unionized players, league and union officials announced.


NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the "basic framework" of a deal had been agreed upon after a 16-hour negotiating session at a Manhattan hotel. The details must be approved by both the players and the league's governing board, Bettman told reporters in a predawn news conference, and he said it was too early to provide details about what it might mean for a shortened hockey season.


But players' union chief Donald Fehr said he expected those steps to follow "fairly rapidly and with some dispatch."


Breaking down the new deal


"Hopefully, within a very few days, the fans can get back to watching people who are skating and not the two of us," Fehr said.


Sunday's deal could salvage the second half of the season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.


The NHL scrapped its preseason and all games through the end of 2012 after its contract with the players expired on September 15, with no agreement between the two sides. There were 526 games, nearly 43% of the season, scheduled from the start of the regular season on October 11 through December 30, the NHL said.


A similar labor dispute canceled the entire 2004-05 NHL season. Bettman has said any abbreviated regular season should probably have a minimum of 48 games per team.


Some players had a "crucial role in the final stages" of reaching the agreement, the union said. "Players in the room early Sunday for the announcement were: Craig Adams, Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche, Shane Doan, Andrew Ference, Ron Hainsey, Jamal Mayers and George Parros," the players association said.


Sports Illustrated has tracked the intricacies of the talks and flashpoint issues, and argued that the NHL is "in dire need" of a new way of handling labor relations.


Initial reactions shared with CNN on social media were mixed.


"They waited too long. I think they're gonna take a well-deserved hit from hockey fans," HBobbie McLeod wrote on Facebook.


But some fans expressed excitement.


"Now time to see the LAKings raise their banner! #Finally," wrote Lisa, a self-described former hockey fan, on Twitter. But, she added, "after being a fan for 23 years through 4 lockouts, enough is enough."


What do you think? Post comments below or weigh in at Facebook or Twitter.








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NFL Playoffs: Ravens beat Colts 24-9

Last Updated 4:55 p.m. ET

BALTIMORE Ray Lewis' last ride now will take him to Denver.

Anquan Boldin, Joe Flacco and a staunch Baltimore defense made sure of that Sunday.





24 Photos


NFL Week 18: Playoff highlights



Boldin set a franchise record with 145 yards receiving, including the clinching touchdown in the Ravens' 24-9 victory over Indianapolis in an AFC wild-card game. The win delays star linebacker Lewis' retirement for at least another week as Baltimore (11-6) heads to Denver next Saturday.

The Broncos beat the Ravens 34-17 three weeks ago.

Lewis even lined up at fullback for the final kneel-down in his last home game of a 17-year career, then went into a short version of his trademark dance before being mobbed by teammates.

Sunday's victory also enhanced the Ravens' success rate in opening playoff games. Flacco now has won at least one postseason game in all five of his pro seasons, the only quarterback to do it in the Super Bowl era.


His main target Sunday was Boldin, who had receptions of 50 and 46 yards, plus his 18-yard TD on a floater from Flacco in the corner of the end zone with 9:14 to go.

Baltimore overcame the first two lost fumbles of the season by Ray Rice, too, as John Harbaugh became the first head coach with wins in his first five playoff campaigns.

Backup halfback Bernard Pierce rescued Rice with a 43-yard burst that led to Boldin's touchdown, and ran for 103 yards.

Flacco also connected with Dennis Pitta for a 20-yard TD and rookie Justin Tucker made a 23-yard field goal.

The loss ended the Colts' turnaround season in which they went from 2-14 to the playoffs in coach Chuck Pagano's first year in Indianapolis (11-6). Pagano missed 12 weeks while undergoing treatment for leukemia and returned last week.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, who went 9-3 as interim coach, was absent Sunday after being hospitalized with an undisclosed illness. Quarterback coach Clyde Christensen called the plays, but Baltimore's suddenly revitalized defense — inspired by Lewis' pending retirement, no doubt — never let standout rookie QB Andrew Luck get comfortable.

Indy's only points came on three field goals by Adam Vinatieri, from 47, 52 and 26 yards.

Reggie Wayne had 108 yards on eight receptions and moved into second in career playoff catches with 91 — only 60 behind leader Jerry Rice.

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GOP Leader McConnell: 'Tax Issue Is Finished'


Jan 6, 2013 10:19am







abc mitch mcconnell this week jt 130106 wblog Sen. Mitch McConnell: The Tax Issue Is Finished

                                                                                                            (Image Credit: ABC News)


Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. R-Ky., Sunday said he will not accept any new revenue in future deals with congressional Democrats and President Obama.


“The tax issue is finished.  Over. Completed,” McConnell told me on “This Week.” “That’s behind us. Now the question is what are we going to do about the biggest problem confronting our country and that’s our spending addiction.


“We didn’t have this problem because we weren’t taxing enough,” McConnell added.


He blamed Obama and Democrats for waiting to resolve budget issues until the last minute.


Read a transcript of the full interview with Sen. Mitch McConnell HERE.


“Why we end up in these last-minute discussions is beyond me. We need to function,” McConnell said. “I mean, the House of Representatives, for example, passed a budget every year.  They’ve passed appropriation bills.


“The Senate Democratic majority and the president seem to like these last-minute deals.”


McConnell said that the biggest issue facing the country in the next year is the deficit and spending. And he predicted that the issue would occupy the congressional agenda in the first three months of the year, overtaking Obama’s other priorities, including gun control.


“But the biggest problem we have at the moment is spending and debt,” McConnell said. “That’s going to dominate the Congress between now and the end of March.  None of these issues, I think, will have the kind of priority that spending and debt are going to have over the next two or three months.”


On the expected nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as the secretary of Defense by Obama, McConnell said he would evaluate Hagel’s past statements before determining whether he could support his nomination in the Senate.


“I’m going to take a look at all the things that Chuck has said over the years and review that, and in terms of his qualifications to lead our nation’s military,” McConnell said. “The question we will be answering if he’s the nominee, is do his views make sense for that particular job?  I think he ought to be given a fair hearing, like any other nominee, and he will be.”


McConnell, who in 2008 praised Hagel for his clear voice and stature on foreign policy and national security, now says he will reserve judgment on his possible nomination until after a Senate confirmation hearing.


“I’m going to wait and see how the hearings go and see whether Chuck’s views square with the job he would be nominated to do,” he added.


Like “This Week” on Facebook here. You can also follow the show on Twitter here.



SHOWS: This Week







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Storm over Depardieu's 'pathetic' move






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed Russian citizenship on actor Gérard Depardieu

  • For Depardieu, a public war of words erupted, with many in France disgusted by his move

  • Depardieu more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit, says Agnes Poirier

  • Majority of French people disapprove of his action but can't help loving him, she adds




Agnes Poirier is a French journalist and political analyst who contributes regularly to newspapers, magazines and TV in the UK, U.S., France, Italy. Follow her on Twitter.


Paris (CNN) -- Since the revelation on the front page of daily newspaper Libération, on December 11, with a particularly vicious editorial talking about France's national treasure as a "former genius actor," Gérard Depardieu's departure to Belgium, where he bought a property just a mile from the French border, has deeply divided and saddened France. Even more so since, as we have learnt this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has bestowed the actor Russian citizenship.


Back in mid-December, the French media operated along political lines: the left-wing press such as Libération couldn't find strong enough words to describe Depardieu's "desertion" while right-wing publications such as Le Figaro, slightly uneasy at the news, preferred to focus on President François Hollande's punishing taxes which allegedly drove throngs of millionaires to seek tax asylum in more fiscally lenient countries such as Belgium or Britain. Le Figaro stopped short of passing moral judgement though. Others like satirical weekly Charlie hebdo, preferred irony. Its cover featured a cartoon of the rather rotund-looking Depardieu in front of a Belgian flag with the headline: "Can Belgium take the world's entire load of cholesterol?" Ouch.


Quickly though, it became quite clear that Depardieu was not treated in the same way as other famous French tax exiles. French actor Alain Delon is a Swiss resident as is crooner-rocker Johnny Halliday, and many other French stars and sportsmen ensure they reside for under six months in France in order to escape being taxed here on their income and capital. Their move has hardly ever been commented on. And they certainly never had to suffer the same infamy.



Agnes Poirier

Agnes Poirier



For Depardieu, a public war of words erupted. It started with the French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, and many members of his government, showing their disdain, and talking of Depardieu's "pathetic move." In response the outraged actor penned an open letter to the French PM in which he threatened to give back his French passport.


The backlash was not over. Fellow thespian Phillipe Torreton fired the first salvo against Depardieu in an open letter published in Libération, insulting both Depardieu's protruding physique and lack of patriotism: "So you're leaving the ship France in the middle of a storm? What did you expect, Gérard? You thought we would approve? You expected a medal, an academy award from the economy ministry? (...)We'll get by without you." French actress Catherine Deneuve felt she had to step in to defend Depardieu. In another open letter published by Libération, she evoked the darkest hours of the French revolution. Before flying to Rome to celebrate the New Year, Depardieu gave an interview to Le Monde in which he seemed to be joking about having asked Putin for Russian citizenship. Except, it wasn't a joke.


In truth, French people have felt touched to their core by Depardieu's gesture. He, more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit. He has been Cyrano, he has been Danton; he, better than most, on screen and off, stands for what it means to be French: passionate, sensitive, theatrical, and grandiose. Ambiguous too, and weak in front of temptations and pleasures.



In truth, French people have felt touched to their core by Depardieu's gesture. He, more than anyone, represents the Gallic spirit
Hugh Miles



For more than two weeks now, #Depardieu has been trending on French Twitter. Surveys have showed France's dilemma: half the French people understand him but there are as many who think that paying one's taxes is a national duty. In other words, a majority of French people disapprove of his action but can't help loving the man.


Putin's move in granting the actor Russian citizenship has exacerbated things. And first of all, it is a blow to Hollande who, it was revealed, had a phone conversation with Depardieu on New Year's Day. The Elysées Palace refused to communicate on the men's exchange. A friend of the actor declared that Depardieu complained about being so reviled by the press and that he was leaving, no matter what.


If, in their hearts, the French don't quite believe Depardieu might one day settle in Moscow and abandon them, they feel deeply saddened by the whole saga. However, with France's former sex symbol Brigitte Bardot declaring that she too might ask Putin for Russian citizenship to protest against the fate of zoo elephants in Lyon, it looks as if the French may prefer to laugh the whole thing off. Proof of this: the last trend on French Twitter is #IWantRussianCitizenship.


The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Agnes Poirier.






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Football: Messi targets record fourth Ballon d'Or






ZURICH: Record-breaking Lionel Messi is poised to become the first player to win four successive Ballon d'Or awards on Monday, sealing his status as the greatest player of his generation.

The 25-year-old is the overwhelming favourite to see off the challenge of Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta and great Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the prize.

It will crown another landmark year for the Argentine who is the top scorer in La Liga this season with 25 goals having also broken Gerd Mueller's 40-year record for the most goals in a calendar year.

He finished 2012 with an astonishing 91 goals in all competitions.

But Messi has insisted that his scoring records will mean nothing if Barcelona do not go on to take La Liga title off Real or fail to win the Champions League.

"It's nice to beat records but the win for the team is what is important. My goals are to win titles with the team, the Spanish league, Spanish Cup or Champions League is more important than any personal records."

He remains just as modest when it comes to Monday's awards in Zurich.

"If Iniesta wins, it will be well-deserved for all that he has done, for the way he plays. Again, it will also be a prize for the dressing room."

Messi and former French star, UEFA president Michel Platini, are the only players to win three straight Ballon d'Or awards while Dutch stars Johan Cruyff and Marco Van Basten have also won three accolades.

Barca coach Tito Vilanova has no doubt that Messi will be a deserving winner.

"Leo's great quality is that he plays as if he still a child," said Vilanova.

"He was always good as a youngster and you didn't need to be a coach to say that. It was a joy to see him play as a 15-year-old and that continues now."

Portugal captain Ronaldo admits he would love to win but it would not be the end of the world if the prize went elsewhere.

"If I win, perfect. If I don't, never mind, life goes on. But obviously I'd love to win. I'm not going to lie or be hypocritical," said the 27-year-old Real Madrid forward.

"Fair or unfair, the decision will be what it will be... I'll maybe be very happy or maybe very sad. But that's life. I can't live according to an individual prize," the 2008 Ballon d'Or winner added.

Other awards on Monday will see Vicente Del Bosque -- who led Spain to Euro 2012 glory and made them the first side to win three back-to-back tournaments -- in line for the best coach award.

He will be up against Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

For women's player of the year, five-time Brazilian champion Marta goes up against US pair Aby Wambach and Alex Morgan.

- AFP/fa



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Armstrong's lawyer: No mea culpa talks









By Jillian Martin and Chelsea J. Carter


updated 1:06 PM EST, Sat January 5, 2013









STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • The New York Times report cites unnamed associates and doping officials in its report

  • Cyclist's lawyer says his client was not in discussion with U.S. or world anti-doping agencies

  • Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life

  • Cyclist has repeatedly denied using banned performance-enhancing drugs




(CNN) -- Lance Armstrong's attorney denied his client was in discussion with the U.S. or world anti-doping agencies following a report by The New York Times that the disgraced cycling icon was contemplating publicly admitting he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.


Attorney Tim Herman in an email to CNN Sports late Friday did not address whether Armstrong told associates -- as reported by the newspaper -- that he was considering the admission as a way to restore his athletic eligibility.


Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life last year after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found there was overwhelming evidence that he was directly involved in a sophisticated doping program.


Silence falls as Austin awaits Armstrong's 'last word'

















Lance Armstrong over the years



























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Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is the subject of annual Bonfire Night celebrations in the British town of Edenbridge. An effigy of Armstrong will be burned during the celebrations, which mark the foiling of Guy Fawkes' "gunpowder plot" to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I in 1605. The Edenbridge Bonfire Soceity has gained a reputation for using celebrity "Guys," including Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Saddam Hussein.






Up in flames



HIDE CAPTION









Armstrong has repeatedly and vehemently denied that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs as well as illegal blood transfusions during his cycling career.


In the past, Armstrong has argued that he took more than 500 drug tests and never failed. In its 202-page report that detailed Armstrong's alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions, the USADA said it had tested Armstrong less than 60 times and the International Cycling Union conducted about 215 tests.


The agency did not say that Armstrong ever failed a test, but his former teammates testified as to how they beat tests or avoided the tests altogether.


The New York Times, citing unnamed associates and anti-doping officials, said Armstrong has been in discussions with USADA officials and hopes to meet with David Howman chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The newspaper said none of the people with knowledge of Armstrong's situation wanted to be identified because it would jeopardize their access to information on the matter.


Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, an athlete who confesses to using performance-enhancing drugs may be eligible for a reinstatement.


Armstrong has been an icon for his cycling feats and celebrity, bringing more status to a sport wildly popular in some nations but lacking big-name recognition, big money and mass appeal in the United States.


He fought back from testicular cancer to win the Tour from 1999 to 2005. He raised millions via his Lance Armstrong Foundation to help cancer victims and survivors, an effort illustrated by trendy yellow "LiveSTRONG" wristbands that helped bring in the money.


The cyclist's one-time high-profile relationship with singer Sheryl Crow also kept him in the public eye.


But Armstrong has long been dogged by doping allegations, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test -- making a series of claims in 2011.


Armstrong sued the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency last year to stop its investigation of him, arguing it did not have the right to prosecute him. But after a federal judge dismissed the case, Armstrong said he would no longer participate in the investigation.


In October 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned. Weeks later, he stepped down from the board of his foundation, Livestrong.


It is unclear whether Armstrong would face criminal prosecution for perjury should he confess. Armstrong was involved in several cases where he gave sworn testimony that he never used banned drugs.


Armstrong and his publicist did not immediately respond to a CNN requests late Friday and early Saturday for comment on The New York Times report.


Armstrong's demise: How he fell from grace












Part of complete coverage on


Lance Armstrong






updated 1:21 PM EDT, Mon October 22, 2012



Lance Armstrong's feat of winning seven consecutive Tour de France titles was like the demigod Hercules achieving his "Twelve Labors."







updated 3:40 PM EDT, Mon October 22, 2012



The International Cycling Union announces hat Lance Armstrong is being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.







updated 11:45 AM EST, Thu December 6, 2012



Forty days alone in the wilderness was enough for Jesus, but Lance Armstrong is facing an altogether longer period of solitude.







updated 4:43 PM EST, Wed November 7, 2012



Lance Armstrong's fall from grace has left one of the cyclist's former sponsors not only "sad" -- but also without one of its biggest marketing tools.







updated 2:15 PM EDT, Fri October 26, 2012



Lance Armstrong has been asked to return all prize money from his seven annulled Tour de France victories by the sport's governing body.







updated 2:57 PM EDT, Wed October 24, 2012



For years, as Lance Armstrong basked in the glow of an adoring public, his critics frequently were banished to the shadows, dismissed by the cycling legend and his coterie as cranks or worse.







updated 4:55 PM EDT, Sat October 20, 2012



Connie and Daniel Roddy did all they could to support Livestrong, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the cancer charity. Now they want their money back.







updated 10:59 AM EDT, Mon October 22, 2012



Lou Hablas has supported Livestrong for years and worn the iconic yellow bracelet in honor of his uncle, stepmother and friends who have lost loved ones to cancer.







updated 5:44 AM EDT, Mon October 22, 2012



For years, Lance Armstrong carried a growing burden of doping accusations up increasingly steep hills, accumulating fans, wealth and respect along the way.







updated 9:38 AM EDT, Wed October 17, 2012



Johan Bruyneel has become the first victim of a U.S. government investigation into Lance Armstrong and doping.







updated 8:45 AM EDT, Wed October 17, 2012



The 84 million bright yellow wristbands distributed by Lance Armstrong's cancer charity have become a well-known symbol of strength and perseverance.







updated 5:45 AM EDT, Mon October 22, 2012



The systematic use of performance enhancing substances within Lance Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service team has been detailed by one cyclist who resisted the temptation to dope.







updated 9:57 PM EDT, Wed October 10, 2012



Cyclist Lance Armstrong was part of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."







updated 5:53 PM EDT, Sat October 13, 2012



A former teammate of Lance Armstrong says there was no question why U.S. Postal Service team members doped during big races.




















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S.C. woman, oldest living U.S. citizen, dies at 114

A 114-year-old South Carolina woman who was the oldest living U.S. citizen has died.

Two daughters say Mamie Rearden of Edgefield, who held the title as the oldest person in the country for about two weeks, died Wednesday at a hospital in Georgia.

Sara Rearden of Burtonsville, Md., said Saturday that her mother broke her hip after a fall about three weeks ago.

Robert Young of the Gerontology Research Group said Mamie Rearden's September 1898 birth was recorded in the 1900 U.S. Census. The group, which verifies age information for Guinness World Records, listed Rearden as the oldest living U.S. citizen after last month's passing of 115-year-old Dina Manfredini of Iowa.

Rearden was more than a year younger than the world's oldest person, 115-year-old Jiroemon Kimura of Japan.

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4 Dead After Aurora, Colo., SWAT Standoff













Four people were killed, including the gunman, during a hostage standoff this morning at a townhouse in Aurora, Colo., police said.


Police pumped tear gas into the home in an attempt to get the gunman to leave, and then went into the home and shot him, ABC News Denver affiliate KMGH-TV reported.


The three people found dead in the home are believed to be relatives of the shooter, Aurora Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson told KMGH. A fourth person was found unharmed, she said.


Officers responded to the home after the first reports of gunshots came in around 3 a.m.








Aurora, Colorado Shootings: What to Tell Your Kids? Watch Video









Colorado Shooting Suspect James Holmes: New Details Watch Video









Colorado 'Dark Knight' Shooting Witness: I Saw A Guy Right Next To Me Getting Shot Watch Video





The suspected gunman was found dead inside the townhome at 9 a.m., but police were not sure when he had been shot by officers or killed himself, she said.


"We're just getting in there with our crime scene detectives, so obviously we'll have to determine if it was our rounds or his rounds," Carlson said. "This is a big investigation, and a lot is entailed."


Carlson said neighboring residences were evacuated while the SWAT team attempted to resolve the standoff.


"We've evacuated several residences in the neighboring townhomes and in the immediate area where we believed would be the most dangerous," Carlson told KMGH-TV earlier today.


The Colorado town was the site of a movie theater massacre last July. A gunman opened fire during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.



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