Wisconsin Assembly's all-nighters targeted

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — To young people, pulling an all-nighter usually involves lots of caffeine and staying up to study.To the Wisconsin state Assembly, it's an all-too-familiar method of doing the state's business.The new Republican speaker of the Assembly has some ideas for ending the all-night sessions, but he refused to announce what any of them were after a private meeting Tuesday with Democratic...

Read More..

AIG says obliged to consider joining lawsuit against government

BOSTON (Reuters) - AIG has an obligation to consider a demand by its former chief executive that the company join a lawsuit challenging some of the terms of the insurer's 2008 government rescue, AIG said on Tuesday.In a statement, American International Group said its board expected to make a decision "in the next several weeks...

Read More..

U.S. launches review of Shell Arctic drilling program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Interior Department will review Royal Dutch Shell's 2012 Arctic oil drilling program to assess the challenges the oil company faced and to help guide future permitting in the region.The announcement on Tuesday follows the grounding of one of Shell's rigs off the coast of Alaska last week, the latest mishap the company has encountered as it undertakes an ambitious Arctic...

Read More..

Congress won't act on gun control. But Obama and the states can

For starters, the president can and should close the "gun show loophole"It has now been nearly two weeks since the Newtown massacre once again cast an ugly shadow of gun violence over our country. In the ensuing fortnight, the pundits have been working overtime generating their ideas on "what to do" about guns.Their ideas aren't new: Ban assault weapons. Limit high-capacity magazines. Make access...

Read More..

Is it wrong to publish the names and addresses of gun owners?

A suburban New York newspaper plots a map of the names and addresses of gun owners, and many readers are up in armsAs the debate over gun control continues to rage in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings in Connecticut, a suburban New York newspaper fanned the flames by publishing a controversial interactive map listing the names and addresses of gun permit holders in Westchester and Rockland Counties....

Read More..

The 5 best fiction books of the year

1. Bring Up the Bodiesby Hilary Mantel (Holt, $28)In Hilary Mantel's hands, Thomas Cromwell has become "one of literature's most compelling characters," said Radhika Jones in Time. Henry VIII's chief adviser was both "loyal and scheming, generous and cruel" — traits Mantel brought to the fore in 2009's Wolf Hall, the first installment of her Cromwell trilogy. In the second, she "deepens her portrait...

Read More..

Did a rapidly changing climate make early humans smarter?

A new study points out that a constantly shifting environment may have forced us to get smart or die tryingThe question: Scientists are always on the hunt for clues in our evolutionary history that might help explain why we have such highly advanced brains. Some have pointed to the advent of cooked food as a tipping point, giving our brains the nutrients and proteins needed to grow. Others say it's...

Read More..

The 13 biggest pop culture moments of 2012

From the rise of an unexpected NBA superstar to the announcement of a royal baby, this was a year of smiles, shocks, and sheer Gangnamminess 1. Linsanity takes over the NBA When the New York Knicks picked up Jeremy Lin as a backup point guard in late 2011, he was widely regarded as a temporary Band-Aid designed to cover for injured players Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis. Shocking both fans and analysts,...

Read More..

Off Fiscal Cliff, Obama Goes Golfing

Taking a break from the fiscal cliff negotiations, President Obama is spending the first day of his holiday vacation golfing with friends and aides, including longtime pal Bobby Titcomb, who was arrested last year on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute.After arriving in Hawaii late last night, the president spent this morning at his family's vacation residence along the shores of Kailua, a quiet...

Read More..

Reid urges quick appointment of Inouye successor

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is asking Hawaii's governor to act before the end of the year to fill the Senate vacancy created by the death of Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.Reid says he's asked Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie to appoint Inouye's successor "with due haste." Reid says he wants to ensure Hawaii is fully represented "in the pivotal decisions" the Senate will be making.Inouye died of respiratory...

Read More..

Early signs show Egypt's new constitution passing

Early indications showed Egyptians approved an Islamist-drafted constitution after Saturday's final round of voting in a referendum despite opposition criticism of the measure as divisive.An official from the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, which backs Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, said that after nearly 4 million votes had been counted there was a majority of 74 percent in favor of the...

Read More..

Obama starts Hawaiian vacation, leaving Washington on ice

Taking what promised to be a very brief Christmas break from the ongoing struggle to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, President Barack Obama relaxed with his family on Saturday at a beach retreat in Hawaii.Congress was to return to Washington next Thursday and Obama has pledged to work with lawmakers to strike a deal to avoid the economic shock from tax and spending measures...

Read More..

Italy dissolves parliament, Monti mulls future

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's head of state dissolved parliament on Saturday and opened the way to a February election, with doubts growing over whether outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti will participate in what promises to be a bitter campaign.Monti resigned on Friday a couple of months ahead of the end of his term of office, after his technocrat government lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right...

Read More..