March 16th, 2013
11:58 PM ET
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Service members in Afghan chopepr crash ID'd

The Defense Department has released the names of the five U.S. service members who were killed when a helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Monday.

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Filed under: U.S. • World
North Korea: Nuclear program not negotiable
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his government have ratcheted up their rhetoric in recent weeks against the United States and others.
March 16th, 2013
08:04 PM ET
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North Korea: Nuclear program not negotiable

A day after the United States promised new missile defense interceptors to guard against a North Korean attack, Pyongyang responded Saturday by blasting the Americans' "hostile policy" and saying it won't negotiate with them over its nuclear program.

"(North Korea's) nuclear weapons serve as an all-powerful treasured sword for protecting the sovereignty and security of the country," a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to the state-run KCNA news agency. "Therefore, they cannot be disputed ... as long as the U.S. nuclear threat and hostile policy persist."

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Ex-leader Musharraf sets return to Pakistan
Musharraf led Pakistan's army before becoming president in 1999 in a bloodless military coup.
March 16th, 2013
07:50 PM ET
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Ex-leader Musharraf sets return to Pakistan

Five years after he resigned as Pakistan's president and left the South Asian nation, Gen. Pervez Musharraf will return to the country intent on leading his party in upcoming elections, he announced Saturday.

Musharraf plans to fly on a commercial airline into Karachi on March 24, then attend a rally attended by 50,000 people including more than 200 Pakistani expatriates from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, he said in a statement.

But whether the rest of Pakistan welcomes him back, including the authorities now heading the country, remains to be seen.

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March 16th, 2013
03:03 PM ET
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2 injured in Miami air balloon crash

Two people - among them, pro football player Donte Stallworth - were hospitalized Saturday after the hot air balloon they were riding in crashed into power lines in Miami, police said. A third person in the balloon was not injured.

Stallworth suffered severe burns and is in stable condition at Miami's Kendall Regional Medical Center, said his attorney, Christopher Lyons. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed Stallworth was injured but said he "will be fine."

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2 killed in Pennsylvania bus crash
The bus veered off a highway and crashed into a tree in southern Pennsylvania, authorities said.
March 16th, 2013
02:56 PM ET
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2 killed in Pennsylvania bus crash

A bus carrying 23 people, who were members of or associated with the Seton Hill University women's lacrosse team, crashed Saturday morning in southern Pennsylvania, killing at least two people, authorities said.

One person died at the scene and the other at a hospital, said Megan Silverstrim, spokeswoman for Cumberland County public safety.

The dead include the team's head coach Kristina Quigley, the county agency said. She was pregnant at the time, and her unborn child did not survive.

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Filed under: Pennsylvania • Transportation
March 16th, 2013
10:48 AM ET
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Bus riders: Trip turned into roach-fest

Roaches crawling out of air vents. Roaches climbing up seats and windows. Roaches on people's coats and hats. Roaches everywhere.

It sounds like a scene from a horror movie - but is in fact what passengers say happened on a Greyhound bus journey from Atlantic City to New York on Friday.

"There's like a thousand roaches," passenger Dawn Alexander told CNN affiliate WABC. "And when I say infested, I mean infested. People were in the aisles literally brushing roaches off of them."

"We thought it was one. It turned out to be a whole house full of roaches," said a fellow passenger.

Cellphone footage shows the pests scurrying across the bus floor and steps.

Greyhound's Media Relations Director Maureen Richmond said the bus driver had acted swiftly when passengers alerted him to "bugs on the bus."

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Filed under: Insects • New York
March 16th, 2013
10:42 AM ET
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Swiss camper in India gang-raped, police say

Police are investigating the gang-rape of a tourist in central India, the latest black eye for the country over violence against women.

A Swiss couple was camping near a forest in India's Datia district when a group of men beat the husband and raped his wife, the district's deputy superintendent of police, R.S. Prajapati, told CNN. There were between five and seven attackers, he said.

The couple arrived in Mumbai on February 3 and were on a cycling tour across the country, said D.K. Arya, deputy inspector general of police.

The attackers stole a laptop, 10,000 rupees (US $185) and a mobile phone, he said. The victims went to police and the woman was hospitalized and later released.

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Quasars discovered 50 years ago
March 16th, 2013
07:11 AM ET
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Quasars discovered 50 years ago

Breathtaking blossoms nearly the size of our solar systemare strewn across the universe - hundreds of thousands of them. Quasars are, at the same time, among the most fiery monsters.

Astronomer Maarten Schmidt was the first to discover one and revealed it to the world 50 years ago Saturday in an article in the journal Nature.

His discovery was a sensation in the 1960s and made its way into pop culture. It was the age of the first manned space flights.

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Filed under: Astronomy • California • Nature • Science • Solar System • Space • U.S. • World Update
March 16th, 2013
06:10 AM ET
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Xi Jinping: China's new boss in a hurry

Xi Jinping has taken the center stage as China's undisputed paramount leader.

The National People's Congress this week confirmed Xi as the new state president and chairman of the State Central Military Commission, making him the Communist party chief, head of state and commander-in-chief.

This completes the handover of power from Hu Jintao, 70, who ruled China for 10 years, to the 59-year-old Xi, who was announced as the country's presumptive leader last November.

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March 16th, 2013
06:06 AM ET
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Supporters of defeated Kenyan contender gather outside court

Kenyan police fired teargas Saturday to disperse supporters of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who lost the presidential election and is expected to file a petition to challenge the poll outcome.
The supporters gathered outside the supreme court in Nairobi, where he is expected to submit his challenge.

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Zimbabweans vote on new constitution before elections
March 16th, 2013
06:04 AM ET
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Zimbabweans vote on new constitution before elections

Zimbabweans voted Saturday for a key referendum on a new constitution that limits presidential terms for the first time in the African nation.

Robert Mugabe, 89, has been in power for decades, first serving as prime minister in 1980 and taking over as president seven years later.

"This is a Zimbabwean document to replace a British one. That is why I voted for it," said Babra Mheno, 34, a university student, referring to the nation's former colonial rulers.

If approved, which is highly likely, the constitution will give more powers to the parliament and limit the president's. It also introduces a two-term limit of five years each for a president.

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March 16th, 2013
06:00 AM ET
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Rights group: Syria expanding use of cluster bombs

More civilians in Syria are dying because government forces are using increasing numbers of cluster bombs in residential areas, a rights group said Saturday.

Human Rights Watch says its researchers have identified 119 locations across Syria, where at least 156 cluster bombs have been used from August to mid-February.

The result is "mounting civilian casualties," the rights group said.

Human Rights Watch said it has investigated two cluster bomb attacks in the past two weeks - in Deir Jamal, near Aleppo, and Talbiseh, near Homs.

These attacks killed 11 civilians, including two women and five children, and injured 27 others, the rights group said.

"Syria is expanding its relentless use of cluster munitions, a banned weapon, and civilians are paying the price with their lives and limbs," said Steve Goose, director of the arms division at Human Rights Watch.

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Filed under: Syria • Uncategorized • War • World • World Update