August 27th, 2013
02:37 PM ET
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Yosemite wildfire grows, threatens reservoir

The numbers are staggering and the prospects are absolutely scary as a massive California wildfire menaces Yosemite National Park.

The Rim Fire, which has devoured nearly 161,000 acres, is also threatening San Francisco's key water and power sources.

"There's a lot of concern, and there's a lot of work to be done," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Lee Bentley said.

The wildfire, which was 20% contained Monday night, was spreading primarily to the east and threatened to grow amid extremely dry conditions and hot weather.

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Filed under: California
August 27th, 2013
02:36 PM ET
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Zimmerman wants $200K from Florida

Lawyers for George Zimmerman, the Florida man who was acquitted of second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, plan to ask the state to reimburse Zimmerman for at least $200,000 of expenses incurred during his trial.

Under Florida law, an acquitted defendant cannot be held liable for court costs or any charges while detained in custody, as long as a clerk or judge consents to the refund.

The costs may include money spent for expert witnesses, travel expenses and fees for transcripts.

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Filed under: Courts • Florida • Trayvon Martin
August 27th, 2013
02:34 PM ET
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Hagel on Syria: 'Ready to go' if ordered

With a flurry of diplomatic signals and activity, U.S. officials sought Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a possible military strike on Syria in response to last week's suspected chemical weapons attack that Washington blames on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry consulted allies and indicated potential imminent action by a coalition likely to include key NATO partners and regional powers.

Days after the United States moved warships armed with cruise missiles into the region, Hagel told the BBC on Tuesday that forces were ready to carry out a strike if ordered. A senior Defense Department official told CNN that any strike could be completed "within several days."

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Filed under: Military • Syria
August 27th, 2013
05:37 AM ET
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Japan slams Tepco over toxic water crisis

Attempts by the operator of Japan's stricken nuclear power plant to deal with alarming leaks of toxic water are like a game of "whack-a-mole," the country's industry minister said Monday.
The time has come for the government to step in, Toshimitsu Motegi believes.
A litany of problems has beset the Fukushima Daiichi power plant since it was crippled by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan in 2011. The most troubling at the moment is how to contain the swelling volume of radioactive water flowing from the damaged reactor buildings.

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Filed under: Energy • Japan • Nuclear • World
August 27th, 2013
03:52 AM ET
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Will Nidal Hasan receive the death sentence?

A military jury could begin considering by late Tuesday whether Maj. Nidal Hasan will be executed for the November 2009 mass murder on a Texas Army base.

Surviving victims and family members of the Fort Hood massacre testified in emotional terms Monday over their personal trauma and grief, as the sentencing phase for the convicted murderer's court-martial moved quickly toward a dramatic conclusion.

The Army Medical Corps officer was convicted Friday on all 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting rampage at a Fort Hood deployment processing center. The incident occurred about a month before Hasan was to deploy to Afghanistan.

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Filed under: Crime • Justice • U.S.
August 27th, 2013
03:05 AM ET
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'Into the wild' obsession leads to teen's death?

Before he went missing, Jonathan Croom had developed an obsession with the movie "Into the Wild," in which a young man leaves society to go live off the land.  

The movie's main character dies. So did Croom. The 18-year-old's body turned up in rural Oregon Monday, authorities say.   

It was a 1,000 feet away from his abandoned car, which officers found last week.

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Filed under: Nature • Oregon • U.S. • Uncategorized
August 27th, 2013
02:42 AM ET
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U.N. probes alleged gas attack site

U.N. inspectors on Tuesday are expected to examine for a second day sites of reported chemical weapons attacks around Damascus.

Government and opposition forces have accused each other of unleashing poison gas last week in a number of towns in the region of Ghouta. Syria's opposition said that as many as 1,300 people were killed.

On Monday, as U.N. experts visited the town of Moadamiyet al-Sham.

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Filed under: Barack Obama • World
August 27th, 2013
12:33 AM ET
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Nuc base sacks security chief

A nuclear missile base in Montana that failed a safety test this month has let its security chief go.

The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force base operates about a third of the nation's Minuteman III nuclear missiles.

It did not relieve Col. David Lynch from his command over the security forces group because of the failure, the base said in a statement released this week. But missile wing commander, Col. Robert Stanley, will feel more confident about passing the next inspection without him.

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Filed under: Military • Montana • National security • Security • U.S. • World Update