Nation

Obama bans future oil leases in much of Arctic, Atlantic

Published on Tue, 12/20/2016 - 3:44pm
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By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press
 
HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday designated the bulk of U.S.-owned waters in the Arctic Ocean and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing.
 
The move helps put some finishing touches on Obama's environmental legacy while also testing President-elect Donald Trump's promise to unleash the nation's untapped energy reserves.
 

Utah is fastest-growing state as West bucks sluggish trend

Published on Tue, 12/20/2016 - 3:42pm
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press
 
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah is the fastest-growing state in the country, leading a cluster of Western states with populations on the upswing despite sluggish national growth, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday.
 
The state that's long had the country's highest birth rate grew just over 2 percent from July 2015 to July 2016, followed closely by Nevada, Idaho and Florida. Washington, Oregon and Colorado also took top percentage-growth spots.
 

Error sends jet into path of other plane in California

Published on Tue, 12/20/2016 - 3:41pm
LOS ANGELES — Federal officials are investigating after an air traffic controller error sent a jet from Los Angeles International Airport into the flight path of another plane while flying low toward Southern California mountains.
 
An EVA Air Boeing 777 that left LAX in heavy rain around 1:20 a.m. Friday heading to Taiwan was given an incorrect instruction by a controller based in San Diego to turn left instead of right, KABC-TV reported (http://bit.ly/2hnehUN ).
 

Tupac Shakur, Pearl Jam, Yes to be inducted into Rock Hall

Published on Tue, 12/20/2016 - 3:40pm
By DAVID BAUDER, Associated Press
 
NEW YORK (AP) — The late rapper Tupac Shakur and Seattle-based rockers Pearl Jam lead a class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees including folkie Joan Baez and 1970s favorites Journey, Yes and Electric Light Orchestra.
 
The rock hall, in downtown Cleveland, also said Tuesday it would give a special award to Nile Rodgers, whose disco-era band Chic failed again to make the cut after its 11th time nominated.
 

Trump cruises to Electoral College victory despite protests

Published on Mon, 12/19/2016 - 4:35pm
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WASHINGTON — There were many protesters but few faithless electors as Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote Monday — ensuring he will become America's 45th president.
 
An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. Trump's polarizing victory Nov. 8 and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail.
 

Obama urges Trump to take foreign election impact seriously

Published on Fri, 12/16/2016 - 2:31pm
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama suggested strongly on Friday that Russia's Vladimir Putin knew about the email hackings that roiled the U.S. presidential race, and he urged his successor, Republican Donald Trump, to back a bipartisan investigation into the matter.
 

Trump picks his Interior chief, a supporter of more drilling

Published on Thu, 12/15/2016 - 4:04pm
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NEW YORK — Edging closer to completing his Cabinet, President-elect Donald Trump announced his choice of Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke as Interior secretary Thursday, picking a man who should fit smoothly into an administration favoring more energy drilling and less regulation.
 

White House suggests Putin was involved in US hacking

Published on Thu, 12/15/2016 - 3:50pm
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WASHINGTON — The Obama administration suggested Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the presidential election and said it was "fact" that such actions helped Donald Trump's campaign. The White House also assailed Trump himself, saying he must have known of Russia's interference.
 

Dylann Roof convicted of all counts in church slaughter

Published on Thu, 12/15/2016 - 3:45pm
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CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dylann Roof was convicted Thursday in the chilling slaughter of nine black church members who had welcomed him to their Bible study, a devastating crime in a country that was already deeply embroiled in racial tension.
 

Prosecutors give timeline of accused church shooter actions

Published on Tue, 12/13/2016 - 4:16pm
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CHARLESTON, S.C. — Through a dozen witnesses on Tuesday, federal prosecutors reconstructed the activities of Dylann Roof in the months leading up to night he went to a black Charleston church and shot nine members to death during a Bible study session.

Using data from a Garmin GPS found in Roof's car when he was arrested, Joseph Hamski, the lead FBI agent on the case, testified that Roof left Columbia at 6:13 p.m. on the night of the shootings at Emanuel AME Church, arriving in downtown Charleston an hour and a half later.