Case of Wall Street greed gone too far

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein was one of the executives whose stock award was accelerated to beat higher tax rate.STORY HIGHLIGHTSGoldman Sachs granted $65 million in stock to execs before new tax rates beganSusan Antilla says the firm's CEO had endorsed higher rates, called for entitlement cuts She says Goldman benefits from the implicit promise that U.S. will bail it outAntilla: It was unseemly...

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Bangkok governor charged over city Skytrain contract

BANGKOK: Thai authorities charged outgoing Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra Wednesday with extending the multi-billion-dollar contract to run the city's elevated train network without government permission.Sukhumbhand, who has stood down from his post to campaign for re-election in March, failed to consult the Interior Ministry before renewing the contract of Skytrain operator BTSC...

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Opinion: Time for tough talk with Karzai

The last time Presidents Obama and Karzai met was in May in Kabul, when they signed a pact regarding U.S. troop withdrawal.STORY HIGHLIGHTSAfghan President Karzai meeting with President Obama in Washington this weekFelbab-Brown: Afghan politics are corrupt; army not ready for 2014 troop pulloutShe says Taliban, insurgents, splintered army, corrupt officials are all jockeying for powerU.S. needs to...

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Four kids killed, mother badly burned in Georgia house fire

CONYERS, Ga. Four children were killed in a house fire in this Atlanta suburb late Tuesday night, reports CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL-TV. The children ranged in age from infant to 7. Conyers Police Department Maj. Mike Waters tells the station two adults and a 5-year-old boy were able to escape the home, but that the victims' mother had been taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with severe burns. The...

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Dead Lotto Winner's Wife Seeks 'Truth'

The wife of a $1 million Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning told ABC News that she was shocked to learn the true cause of his death and is cooperating with an ongoing homicide investigation."I want the truth to come out in the investigation, the sooner the better," said Shabana Ansari, 32, the wife of Urooj Khan, 46. "Who could be that person who hurt him?"It...

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Why Al Jazeera deal doesn't seem right

STORY HIGHLIGHTSAl Gore sold Current to al Jazeera and could net an estimated $70 millionHoward Kurtz: Gore's Current network failed to gain an identity or viewers He says it's odd that the former vice president is selling to an oil-rich potentateKurtz: Al Jazeera may have a tough time getting traction with U.S. viewersEditor's note: Howard Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and is Newsweek's...

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China press freedom campaign swells with new rally

GUANGZHOU, China: Protesters mounted a second day of rallies calling for press freedom in China Tuesday, as social media users and celebrities backed a campaign which poses a test for the nation's new leaders.Scores of people, some carrying mourning flowers, gathered outside the Guangzhou offices of the Southern Weekly, a popular liberal paper which had an article urging greater protection...

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Cyanide linked to $1 million lottery winner's death

Urooj Khan, 46, won $1 million before taxes on an Illinois lottery scratch ticket in June.STORY HIGHLIGHTSUrooj Khan, 46, won $1 million before taxes on an Illinois lottery scratch ticketHe died suddenly weeks later; authorities first ruled his death "natural"Revisiting the case, they found he died of "cyanide toxicity," a medical examiner saysChicago police are investigating, but haven't made any...

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Pakistan: U.S. drones kill 8 suspected militants

Updated 1:10 a.m. EST DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan Several missiles fired from American drones slammed into a compound near the Afghan border in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing eight suspected militants, Pakistan officials said. The two intelligence officials said the compound was located near the town of Mir Ali, in the North Waziristan tribal area. One of the officials said an al Qaeda operative...

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Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.At age 21, Hagel and...

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