Federal agencies bracing for cuts after ‘fiscal cliff’ deal

The fiscal pact Congress reached hours into the new year will delay $109 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts for two months. But it will make a down payment on those reductions that will affect federal operations this year and next. The eleventh-hour agreement to avoid a “fiscal cliff” of higher taxes put off the major cuts known as a sequester until March 1,...

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One killed as cyclone hits New Caledonia

NOUMEA: One man was killed and another was missing after Cyclone Freda hit New Caledonia, as landslides blocked roads and high winds downed power lines, officials in the French Pacific territory said on Thursday.Wind gusts had weakened to 90 kilometres per hour (60 miles per hour) as it moved towards the east Caledonian island of Mare, after hitting the Solomon Islands earlier this week...

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Pictures: Errant Shell Oil Rig Runs Aground Off Alaska, Prompts Massive Response

Photograph courtesy Jonathan Klingenberg, U.S. Coast GuardWaves lash at the sides of the Shell* drilling rig Kulluk, which ran aground off the rocky southern coast of Alaska on New Year's Eve in a violent storm.The rig, seen above Tuesday afternoon, was "stable," with no signs of spilled oil products, authorities said. But continued high winds and savage seas hampered efforts to secure the vessel...

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Hillary Clinton Discharged From Hospital

Jan 2, 2013 7:18pm Hillary Clinton, rear center, leaving hospital. Frank Franklin II/AP Photo.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been released from the hospital following treatment for a blood clot in her head, the State Department confirmed on Wednesday.In a statement, Deputy Assistant Secretary Philippe Reines said Clinton’s medical team “advised her that she...

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Asian markets rise as US averts fiscal cliff

HONG KONG: Asian shares rose sharply Wednesday as the US Congress backed a deal to avert a "fiscal cliff" of drastic tax rises and spending cuts in an upbeat start to the year for regional markets.As the House of Representatives approved the bill, which avoids tax hikes for most Americans and delays automatic spending cuts, the dollar strengthened against the yen and oil prices surged.Hong...

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Supreme Court upholds appointment of Gujarat's Lokayukta

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed Gujarat government's plea challenging governor Kamla Beniwal's decision to appoint Justice (retd) R A Mehta as Lokayukta without consulting it.Gujarat government had challenged the appointment on the grounds that the governor Kamala Beniwal had not consulted the state government. A bench of Justices B S Chauhan and F M Ibrahim Kalifulla passed...

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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

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House Approves 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal

The House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan Senate deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and preserve Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans making less than $400,000 per year.The compromise is now on its way to President Obama for his signature."I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest two percent of Americans while preventing a middle class tax hike that could...

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Obama, Senate Republicans reach agreement on ‘fiscal cliff’

President Obama and Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement late Monday to let income taxes rise sharply for the first time in two decades, fulfilling Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and avoiding the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.” The agreement, brokered by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), primarily targets taxpayers who earn...

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Thousands to march against Hong Kong leader

HONG KONG: Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to rally in Hong Kong Tuesday, calling for the city's embattled new chief executive to quit and for greater democracy.Organisers are expecting 50,000 people to turn up at the New Year day's march against Leung Chun-ying, while pro-government groups staged a separate and smaller rival rally in support of the Beijing-backed leader.Since...

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